Today is my 40th birthday. I wake up with a migraine. Fortunately, it was mild and after a good breakfast and shower, I started to feel better. This morning I just wanted to relax and spend time walking around the farm, maybe snapping a few pictures. (In fact, now that New Year's Day 2010 has passed, I can reveal that my morning was actually spent shooting the photos for my annual New Year's card. Yes, I brought along my costume, wig, tripod and a borrowed SLR specifically for this reason. I did not know what the farmhouse would look like ahead of time, but Jeanette's description over the phone sounded perfect for this year's concept of Alpine Anna's Travel Postcard. Although we tried to be discreet, there was still the odd look of a passing farming neighbor as his drove his tractor by our scene.) As we were winding down the shoot, we visited with Christine, the next-door neighbor, while she oversaw the numerous children she took care of daily in the village. It must be so wonderful for local working parents to know that their kids are being looked after, yet still get to hang out and play so close to their own homes.
While we had some sandwiches for lunch, Jeanette arrived home from the hospital. (I must have been a sight as I was still in my costume from the shoot.) She seemed in good spirits as if she had just gotten back from a short trip instead of minor surgery. My mother spent time talking with her while I was gathering my things for our stay at the hotel that night. After lunch, we took my mom shopping in Thonon-les-Bains. She was trying to find a toy cable car like the ones they use for ascending the Alps. She wanted to give it to her great-grandson. We went from shop to shop, but couldn't find anything, although I was collecting more postcards along the way. My sister called me on my cell phone to wish me a happy birthday and we talked awhile. Finally, we abandoned our search for the cable car hoping to find it later in another town.
We dropped my mom off at home with Jeanette and continued on to the Hotel de la Plage for a romantic evening by the lake in my little village of Excenevex. Our room was perfect: spacious with two windows that overlooked the lake. There was a breeze running through. We took a walk down below on the lakeside and continued to the beach briefly. Soon it was dinnertime and we took a table on the patio so we could look at the lake. Although I can get by in conversational French, the menu was a challenge with all of its cuisine terminology. After a while and a few consultations with my dictionary, we decided on our choices. Unfortunately, the wind had really picked up in a short time and it was getting cold. The waitress moved us to the inside dining room with the last table next to a window. It was a perfect spot.
Charles started with an unusual salad containing green beans, quinoa and smoked duck that was as thin as prosciutto. The duck tasted out of this world. My appetizer was perch fillets perfectly cooked in a light meuniere sauce. For our main entree, Charles had the veal on the bone with chanterelle mushrooms. Mouth-watering. I was going to try pigeon legs for the first time, but they informed me they had just run out. So I chose another veal dish: "ris de veau aux morilles," which I thought was something with rice, veal and mushrooms. ("Rice" would have been "riz," not "ris.") I didn't realize it at the time, but it was actually veal sweetbreads. It came in a filo pastry dough with an amazing sauce and morel mushrooms which I'd never had before. (In fact, the "filo dough" turned out to be something called omnasum, the third stomach of a cow that looks similar to filo dough.) Whereas Charles' veal was quite savory, my veal entree had a more sweet taste. I'm rather glad I didn't know exactly what it was because I would have never guessed how good it would have tasted.
Our meals were finished off with decadent desserts: a chocolate tart for Charles which was of a solid and rich consistency I hadn't seen before. I had a more exotic dessert with a baked banana in it's skin accompanied by three small scoops of gelato (dark chocolate, strawberry and mango) with chocolate syrup and a bit of homemade cream on the side. It was a jaw-dropping meal, especially for the price. We spent a good deal of time just savoring each bite of the meal and enjoying our view of the glittering lake at night. I was in heaven and still a little teary-eyed as I was realizing that I had finally made it to where I so longed to be for so many years...and enjoying it in the most amazing way possible. Later that night, Charles gave me a gift of beautiful vintage beaded gloves. They fit perfectly, of course. Although his being there with me for this trip was what really meant so much to me.
I also received a text message from my friend Bob back in LA wishing me a happy birthday. I texted back that I was spending my birthday having a gourmet meal whilst overlooking Lake Geneva. He wrote back simply, "You're never coming back, are you?" Shortly after, we noticed fireworks going off on the shore of the lake a few towns away. It was amazing timing. Seemed like the stars were all aligned to give me the best birthday ever.
Before going to sleep, I realized the shutters of the windows were still open. With the wind whipping about, I didn't want to be wakened by a banging shutter in the middle of the night. So I opened the windows and tried to pull the shutters closed. It felt like one of those fleeting, surreal moments when I leaned with my body halfway out of the window and was enveloped in the wind while reaching for the shutter handle. I stayed halfway out the window for a few minutes, just letting the wind whip around me. Although it was cool, I felt like I could have just stepped out onto the tile rooftops where I would sit in the wind and bright moonlight, just watching the waves all night.
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