Another cup...?

source

It's a bright but chilly day today & I'm glad I have a hot cup of coffee to warm me up.

source

The many French start the morning warming their hands around a café au lait bowl.

Children often have hot chocolate in theirs,
just like the famous Delespaul-Havez chocolate publicity.
I just love the expressions on the children's faces...

source

We have some lovely café au lait bowls in the shop...

We're love these, they look so pretty sitting next to each other on the shelf...

source

So you're out & about, you stop at a café, what should you order?

un café
a small espresso
♥
un grand café
a double espresso
♥
un café crème
a white coffee made with frothy hot milk
sometimes called un café au lait but crème seems to be more commonly used
♥
un grand crème
a large white coffee
♥
un allongé
an espresso with the same amount of water
♥
une noisette
an espresso with a dash of cream
♥

Remember these so next time you visit a café here in France,
you can order your coffee like a true monsieur or mademoiselle!

source

We also have a perfect set of coffee cups in the shop for your for café, café crème or noisette.
These are rather special as they are decorated with the logo of the Wagon-Lits company.

Wagon-Lits is a French travel company,
famous for running great train routes like Le Train Bleu or Le Nord Express..

source                                                                                                                                                                      source

...but the most famous was, of course, Orient Express...

source

...such luxury...

source

..sip your café crème from these cups
& imagine being transported back to the golden age of luxury travel...

source

A misty view this morning from the Petit Pica atelier...

Café du matin...

source

I don't know about you but I can't function without a cup of coffee first thing in the morning.
Strong & black with a wonderful aroma; it sets me up for the day.

source

The French love their coffee.
In the cafés, it's made by an espresso machine.

source

Many cafés have a zinc-lined drawer under the counter into which the old coffee grounds are tipped before a fresh cup is made. I love the gentle thud sound made when the used grounds are knocked out, together with the chinking of cups and the lovely aroma of the coffee, this sums up French cafés for me.

source

At home, they may use a machine, stove-top pot, cafétiere (French coffee press) or even instant,

(my French friends would be horrified I'd mentioned the last one as it is classed as the lowest of the low!).

source

Moka pots, as stove-top espresso makers are often called, are such an iconic design.

Not only do they look good but make a decent cup of coffee too.

source

First made by Alfonso Bialetti in 1933 to provide both an affordable espresso maker & a beautiful object to make it in. The inventor came up with the idea while watching his wife boiling up water to wash the laundry.

source

The design is simple, the bottom chamber holds water which is brought to the boil, steam is then forced through the coffee grounds in the middle chamber & the coffee is brewed in the top.

source

 We have our own little beauty in the Petit PIca shop. An unusual design with a 70's style orange & white flower print. It would look great in any kitchen.

 

Our café du matin at the market this morning...

...un grand café and une café crème...

...with a wickedly delicious croissant aux amandes...

...sitting in the Autumn sun...

...bliss...

Vintage love...

source

(Big sigh!)

I love this picture! Lots of vintage goodies stacked high on a dresser.

 We have been putting some of our own vintage lovelies in the shop this week.

Café au lait bowls are so adorable, they look great in any kitchen.

Traditional French storage jars add that bit of je ne sais quoi to any home & are not just for the kitchen. They could be used for utensils but how about on a desk to store pencils and pens,  or for art or craft tools, the list is endless...

These oval plates were originally designed for the dining table but would make gorgeous soap dishes or perhaps for jewellry or on a bedside table.

Aren't these café cups & saucers fabulous? Each printed with the Wagons Lit crest. Think Murder on the Orient Express....Wagon-Lits were the company who ran the Orient Express & the Train Bleu among other routes & were part of that wonderful era of steam.  Just imagine when your sipping your coffee from these, what it would have been like on those glamorous trains...

I couldn't believe my luck in Bergerac yesterday, in the middle of a roundabout, a huge bar of chocolate just waiting to be eaten. No such luck! It wasn't real, just to advertise the Salon du Chocolat (Chocolate fair) being held in the town this weekend.

Bon weekend mes amis...

A day in the life of a tourist...

source

 

Did you miss us? We've been a bit tied up lately what with the end of the summer holidays and preparing for la rentrée, (back to school). There have been numerous shopping trips to buy supplies for school, such as new exercise books in just the right size. God help you if your child has the wrong size book with too few or too many pages, or the squared paper has the wrong size squares! Each year we buy dozens of pens & pencils as there never seems to be any left by the end of the school year. I'm sure their pencil cases have a pencil-eating monster lurking in the bottom!

 Now the children are packed off to school, we decided to treat ourselves to a day out in the nearby town of Sarlat, about ½ an hour's drive from Bergerac. This is a very pretty town with ancient buildings packed tightly together along narrow winding streets. At this time of year it is busy with tourists, so just for a day, we became tourists too. I have to say we seemed to spend most of our time eating & drinking, well I suppose that's what tourists do! Starting our day with the obligatory cup of café at a lovely café on the steps of the ancient maire (town hall).

We then wandered the streets doing a little window shopping...

Isn't this wedding cake amazing?! So delicate, it would be a shame to cut it. I wouldn't like to be the one to transport it to the wedding venue!

This indoor market was created by one of France's top architects, Jean Nouvel, converting the church of Sainte-Marie in the centre of Sarlat. It is a mix of the old & new, especially with the huge steel doors. There is also a panoramic lift in the bell tower which you can ride up to see breathtaking views of the surrounding area. We were too busy looking at the food on display & forgot to go up in it! Well there's always next time...

This is one of the stalls that was distracting us, look at the wonderful display of macarons...yum, yum!

We emerged from food heaven to see the restaurants setting up for lunch. So that was our cue to pull up a chair at one of the tables & order le menu du jour (daily set menu). Made up of local dishes, it was delicious but very filling. We just about managed to finish the walnut tart, washing it down with some cold rosé - hic!

Talking of wine, we saw this still outside a wine shop, what an amazing contraption!

Better for us on such a hot day would have been water from this spring.

Sarlat has a lot of cobble streets, the honey coloured stone is wonderful especially in the dabbled sunlight.

Many of the buildings have stone tiled roofs. No wonder the buildings are made from large blocks of stone; they need to be sturdy to take the weight.

There are some lovely old doors in the town, we couldn't resist taking just a couple of snaps. The blue hue was so gorgeous and the other looked like it lead to a secret garden. Who knows, maybe it did!

A bit more wandering before an afternoon tea, (well actually Orangina and Perrier as it was so hot), & then heading home, ending our day as tourists.

Aren't these roses lovely?

A gift from Kelly - they are so beautiful and such an unusual colour.

Merci mon amie xx