The first stop on our France tour was Bourges. We flew from Thessaloniki to Lyon and drove five hours and some change, in the typical fall rain, to this picturesque cum medieval and totally French city in the Loire Valley. Our place was up three flights of rather arduous steps. OK, to be fair, three flights is not a lot, but … my luggage. I was so proud of myself for packing a relatively small bag, but despite my best efforts it was still somehow bewilderingly 20 kg. Anyhoo, the apartment could not have been cuter: top floor mansard, with tons of skylights and views of the beautiful, gothic Bourges Cathedral.

Dinner the first night was a gourmand’s feast: a bottle of delightful red Sancerre, bread (mais bien sûr!) and butter (my order of which always elicits first a pretense of misunderstanding my non-native French, then a combination of surprise, offense, eye rolls, and/or barely concealed disdain, none of which I give a flying *&#@ about ‘cuz French butter is divine), pork terrine as the entrée, followed by an exquisitely tender lamb shank served in a mini cauldron with silky mashed potatoes and veggies, finished off with mousse au chocolat accompanied by a lovely glass of armagnac. Didn’t bode well for my current or post vacation waistline, and set the stage for the culinary debauchery that predictably followed: baguettes, more of that indescribably delicious beurre with thick jambon, fondue, velouté (our cold weather go-to), rich chocolat chaud, les vins rouge et blanc… All. Just. Yum.

Everything in Bourges — cathedrals, restaurants, même les rues — had a bit of the fairy tale and drama about it. The weather was no exception, and was alternately chilly, sunny, rainy, and on our full last day crazy windy (40+ mph). But it made our (clearly absolutely necessary) walks interesting and the (obviously) subsequent restaurant forays super cozy. We left there a little bit fatter, but with big smiles on our fuller faces. Sans doute, it was the perfect start to our French adventure. Next up: Tours.