Hello Friends, Family, and Fellow Campers!
Gourmet Girl Denise here writing to you from Le Petit Saint Barnabé in Mouliherne, France.
This year has flown by, filled with summer camping trips and lots of gardening through a very hot summer. It was a great year for tomatoes, grapes, apples and artichokes!
My tiny little apple tree, an ancient variety here in France called Reine de Reinettes, gave forth at least 40 delicious apples. I made two wonderful Tarte Tatin with them. (Check out the recipe in The Joy of Cooking). 
A whopper!
My boyfriend Alain has a wonderful little trailer, called a caravan here in France, that we travelled extensively in throughout the spring and summer. We named her Marguerite and she is equipped with a bathroom that has a shower and toilet, a kitchen with sink and cooktop, and a wrap around awning /patio that extends the living space in incliment weather. It’s a big switch from tent camping and a good one at that!
Our first trip was to the island of Noirmoutier, known for its salt production and rich oyster beds. We hit the low tides and harvested many delicious oysters! The island is very bike friendly and we spent many a day sight seeing on two wheels.
Our trip to the Dordogne was my favorite! The architecture is delightful and the history of the area is very interesting. It is the home of Lascaux, the cave that was discovered by two young boys and contained amazing Neandrathal cave paintings.
And here is the beautiful Dordogne river valley!
We camped just below the medieval town of Beynac. It was gorgeous!
We were awakened one morning by the strangest sound, like a giant pssssst! We ran outside and lo and behold!
So it was a wonderful summer full of new experiences. It all seems a dream now that winter has set in and the holidays are upon us. Temperatures will be plummeting to -4 degrees Celcius tonight. Brrrrr!
Speaking of the holidays, we Gourmet Girls have a big surprise for you! We are offering our Gourmet Girls Go Camping Cookbook for half off! That’s $15.00 with free shipping! This offer is only available through our website. So go to gourmetgirlsonfire.com and at check out use the code 15BUCKS to get copies for all of the campers and cooks you know.
We wish you all a healthy, happy and prosperous holiday season!
Denise, Gail, and Lindsey
Looks as if you all had an amazing year and got to see some beautiful sites! It’s amazing how such a small caravan can seem like such a large upgrade compared to a tent! Hope you all have a great holiday season and a happy new year. Continue to explore in the new year! Thanks for sharing your adventures!
Thanks for your kind comments JT! Happy new year to you!