How wonderful it was to sleep late, with no one to take care of but myself! I had no worries and no responsibilities. Ah, vacation! Don't we all need time to relax and recharge? Unfortunately, Desmond did have responsibilities. He had left early for the office while I blissfully slumbered. I was on my own for most of the day, but that didn't bother me. I knew I could find plenty of things with which to occupy my time. On such a gorgeous day, even just a long walk would be a pleasure. I never tire of looking at the lovely architecture of the old stone buildings in Orléans.
Just a cute house in the neighborhood.
I began the day with fresh coffee and a slice of marbled brioche before setting out to do a bit of shopping. I mostly just "window shopped" while browsing in Halles Chatelet, Monoprix, and Mr Bricolage. At a bookstore, I found a cute Paris coloring book, or adult color therapy book, as they are known now. I planned to purchase one for each of my sisters. I am still using the one that Desmond gave me a while back. It contains page after page of stained glass windows to color. At CarreFour I bought a small bedside lamp for "my" room, along with a basket of fresh strawberries, a demi baguette, and a jar of pork rillettes. I rode the tram back to the apartment, where I munched happily on my little lunch, texting Craig, who had just gotten up. The poor guy wouldn't be starting his vacation for a while.
A perfect little lunch.
After lunch, I tidied up and then attempted to take a nap. I didn't fall asleep, but it was nice to rest in my lovely, cool room. When Des returned, we enjoyed an apero of cold drinks accompanied by sausage, cheese, and some of the snack mix I had brought from Nifty Nut House in Wichita. My son and I had fun preparing a vegetable roulade for supper. He thinly sliced strips of beautiful heirloom carrots that were purple, yellow and the classic orange, along with zucchini and eggplant. I arranged them in a puff pastry crust atop a layer of creme fraiche and Dijon mustard, placing the veggies in an ever-growing spiral. This was topped with a drizzle of olive oil and a few dashes of salt and pepper. After baking, the dish was garnished with fresh herbs. It was as tasty as it was beautiful! We ended the meal with plump, fresh strawberries dipped in a rich chocolate ganache.
A temptingly delicious veggie roulade.
We finished our day with a board game and a sitcom before heading off to dreamland. It had been a rather uneventful day, but sometimes that's just what the doctor ordered.
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