Up with my alarm around eight this morning.  Flo goes to see her mother every Sunday for dinner so we will get together for lunch today.  I spend time writing about yesterday and sending pictures and responding to people.  Tomorrow night I will have to make my way back to Paris and eventually to the airport.  I can’t take a Tuesday morning train because the earliest train doesn’t give me comfortable time to get to the airport before my eight o’clock flight time.

I will head down for lunch shortly.

Great lunch of roast chicken, green salad, and truffled mashed potatoes with Flo and Raynal and Nina.  Then cheeses and desserts.  I am happy to know these people.  So kind and so loving.  Very happy to be a part of their lives.

We talk about tomorrow, my last day.  They work, of course, so lunch is out.  After work they must work on the new apartment (demolition of the old bathtub with hammer and chisel).  Thus tomorrow I will be on my own again in this wonderful village, as I am for the remainder of the afternoon now that F&R are leaving to visit Flo’s mother (and to feed Manon’s cat along the way).

If I do not see them otherwise I will stop at the new apartment to say good-bye.

As usual, my dreams are larger than time.  Even though I have done a lot I can see that there are unchecked items which will remain on my list.

I have made my promises to return, and with this new job these seem likely to come true.  If I visited France every couple of years for a month my French would get very good.

Regardless of my plans for the remainder of today, I have a full belly and can continue to rest my feet.

As it is my last chance I looked to see if any of the restaurants on my Orléans list were open this Sunday.  Ty’s restaurant was not.  However, the restaurant recommended by the Parisian couple was open:  Le Brin de Zinc.  It’s a place with fun decorations and an extensive menu.  Also pretty busy (though it turns out there are like five different seating areas over three floors and the main bar and two outdoor areas so it’s possible only the lower bit was full).

I start with Notre incontournable foie gras me-cuit, which is their foie gras served with a rhubarb compote with Sichuan peppers.  I still prefer fig.  The foie gras is quite good though.  I also order a kir royale.

For the main I order Poêlée de rognon de veau, which is veal kidney served with pasta in a house-made foie gras sauce.  At this point the server stopped me.  He was very concerned that I did not know what I was getting myself into.  The menu does show the English version which clearly states kidney.  He was struggling to explain I was ordering organ meat (though he did keep pointing to his liver) and I kept saying “yes, it’s kidney”.  Finally he looked up the word on his phone and we agreed it was in fact kidney.  I explained to him you have to try new things.

He was very afraid for me and thought I’d perhaps lost my mind.

The sauce was amazing.  It is true the kidney has a strong flavor, but being veal I would think it less strong than beef kidney.  That being said, if you cut a piece and combined that will the sauce and a bit of carrot or mushroom and some pasta it was pleasantly balanced.  He asked several times if it was ok.  I think he was still suspicious even when I emptied the fry pan in which it was served.  Kids today…

I ate a dessert.  Probably I was already full but it was called ma cherie and was a scoop of chocolate ice cream, two scoops of cherry sorbet, chocolate sauce, berry sauce, some crunchy bits of cookie, and whipped cream.  So… full…

Nothing to do but return to the apartment and sleep.