Penny was playing a napkin in her drama group’s production of Beauty and the Beast last weekend and so to us that seemed the perfect excuse to revisit our favourite French neighbours. France has so many lovely foods and activities it was the perfect way to spend a sunny weekend.
Last time we visited we had found a really perfect French bakery in Liverpool and visited an Art Gallery but there was definitely far more France for us to explore! And this weekend promised to be sunny too.
Food
One of the best things about France is the food and so I made sure that we ate only French inspired meals all weekend. We breakfasted on crepes, pain au chocolate and brioche which everyone very much enjoyed. We washed this down with strong coffee and absolutely no tea (well maybe the odd cup).
I made a lovely Chicken Supreme with French beans (the kids had peas) for tea one night and lunch was a carnival of soft cheese, grapes and French Bread.
You might also notice that our attention to detail includes our beverages, Mark and I are purists in that way!
Baking bread
We also made our own bread! The process was unbelievably easy (possibly because my cake mixer can also knead) and the recipe was, should you wish to try it:
500g strong flour, 2 sachets of yeast, 2 teaspoons of salt and sugar and 300ml of water. Mix, knead, split into eight balls, leave to prove for 45 mins and bake for 20 on 200.
Penny and Freddie got involved with the shaping of the bread and both of them loved rolling it into balls. Penny was so proud when she ate it – she said it was the best bread she has ever had. It was genuinely really really good. I will definitely be making that often for us. I think there is something really important about children understanding where their food comes from and what’s in it. And the house smelled amazing too!
We had the bread with French chipolatas and more grapes outside and it was such a simple and delicious tea. We had Freddie’s most favourite chocolate eclairs for pudding and Creme Caramel. Naughty France!
I do really love how these fake travels get us to try things we wouldn’t normally find the time for! My children are definitely braver eaters because of what we do.
The Show
I was helping out with the production of Beauty and the Beast but Mark and Freddie went to watch Penny’s show and loved seeing her dance to Classics like ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Be Our Guest’. She borrowed her friends Belle dress and it certainly was fit for a Princess. There were three quick changes for her as she went from a village girl to a napkin to a princess. She loved it.
We listened to the songs from the show for the rest of the weekend interspersed with the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Penny loves the fact that she has been to Paris (in reality) and I am so glad we took her.
Painting
The Kiwi suggested that we bought out our inner Monet’s and painted what we could see outside. Sunday was filled with glorious sunshine and so it turned out to be a fantastic idea.
Not only did it inspire Penny’s choice of painting but it also meant that there was far less mess for me to clear up. Sadly Freddie refused both a beret and a fake moustache and so isn’t looking as French as I had hoped. But Mark and I proudly wore ours, I just forgot to take a photo of us…
Eating Out
Of course no trip to France would be complete without a little fine dining and so we went to our local bistro – just ten minutes walk away
If you enjoy this, have a look at when we first created a France themed day
