Proper Sunday Lunch in France

Lunch today chez Padi et Didou?  Salad with prosciutto and marinated artichokes, delicious osso bucco with homemade pasta, and homemade lemon tarte with ginger ice cream for dessert.  It was so good.  We sat down to a proper table and enjoy a proper 3 hour Sunday French lunch together.  Their house is not too far from Paris, a 20 minute ride on the suburban trains, and it is very quiet and calm out there.  Their house is the entire first floor of a 2 floor building, with Didou's art atelier at the very tip top and Padi's wine cave at the very bottom.  She was more excited to show me her art atelier than anything.  It was very nice and full of fun crafty stuff, although I didn't have the heart to tell her my Granny's was 6 times the size of hers.  It is absolutely uncanny the similarities between the two of them.  The way they act, the way they feel about their families, their hobbies and interests, and both of them have crazy mad cooking skills.  Even some of the things they have in their house such as old cross stitch patterns and dishes are exactly the same.  It is SO weird.  Maybe that's why I've taken such a liking to Didou?  Anywho, she always tells me I have become a part of their family but today she told me she was 100% sure I was part of the family now that I have had a proper meal at their house in Viroflay.  

It was nice to be with them without Marie-Césare, although she was certainly present in every single photo frame all over their house.  Since they lived and traveled all over the world, most things in their house are from different countries and cities.  Most of it reflecting their time in Indonesia and China...but it a very classic, French way.  We passed a lovely afternoon together, and with a delicious meal like that being served I wouldn't hesitate to go again!  

I was looking back through some of my old blog posts from this time last year (laughing at how silly I was about Paris...) and realized that this time last year it was snowing here!  Today it was a mild 54 degrees and isn't suppose to get below 48-50 degrees the rest of this week.  Maybe we are in for a mild winter in France?  Or maybe its just holding out and January will hit the country with multitudinous force??  Either way I'm not looking forward to it!!!