~Written and edited by Veronica Clark ~

Sunday 15 July 2012

Bastille Fest in Franschoek!

Hi dear friends!



The rain continues to fall here and snow has fallen on the mountain tops. It is brrrrr.....!!! Saturday morning I headed to the pretty town of Franschoek in the middle of a raging storm!  I was wondering if I would be the only crazy person...





I arrived early and stopped at the first promise of coffee at La Vendome draped in the French Flag and looking fabulously festive!



The sun was trying its best to put in an appearance...
I had coffee at Cafe Le Chocolatier



A lovely ambiance but no croissants..on Bastille Day??!! I was disappointed!





Peeking out from behind The Tricolour was a treasure trove that I have been into before, so today, I gave it a cursory glance and one photo and trotted of into town to find croissants!!!

Promising it that I would be back...of course!


The entire town was awash in blue, red and white and ready for a fest!!







Staff, officials and visitors alike dressed for the occasion .






Elegant shop windows to drool over...

 



Street fashion to gasp over, sometimes in delight, sometimes in horror...some times hilarious!!


Loved this ensemble...



I had a fabulous lunch at one of my favourite restaurants, French Connection. I adore the ambiance. The fire was burning and it was warm and welcoming with attentive staff all dressed for the fest!



I had been tasting things here and there in town,  so was not very hungry, but who can pass up such scrumptious fare... So, I ordered a Shiraz to ponder my dilemma... The conclusion was simple, order a starter and dessert. Viola!

I opted for the Duck Parfait which was velvety and rich served with an onion marmalade, it hit all the right notes ... sigh of pleasure!

Sublime!



Meanwhile, my neighbours meal arrived and being a snap happy blogger I leapt up and asked if I could photograph their food! Fortunately the gent was a hotelier and perfectly understood my obsessive behaviour and graciously obliged me. Thank you gentlemen! The open lasagna looked amazing and got the thumbs up as did the Moules, which looked luscious as only mussels can, all black and glistening... also pronounced to be utterly delish!



I was persuaded, with much arm twisting, you understand, to have dessert....! Well, I could not be rude, now could I?? So, after a rich duck parfait, I wanted something tart, and of course apple tart tartin served with vanilla creme fraiche was a good choice. As you can see below it looked delectable and was gorgeous!

Find The French Connection Bistro HERE and if you have not visited, please do, you will be delighted!


 Are you decor bloggers eyeing the lanterns??



Thought so, take a closer look ...



 Tour Eiffel cupcakes looking  trĂ©s chic!






I had to pop in a say hi to one of our bloggy friends whom you all know well. Colette from La Broncanteuse has just returned from France where she has been hunting down treasure of monogrammed linen and other desirables and we can't wait to see what she has found.... 




The neighbouring stall of Masquerade was not the place to keep ones head...

 




That hat on the left would do nicely for next years Met!



Street fashion for the fest....



It was a cold, wet day but the crowds turned up as the day wore on and a great time was had by all! To view more of the town, the wine barrel race etc please click here for my blog on Cape Town called Mother City Magic
.



Thank you for your company




Live Well

Veronica

xxx

Please leave a comment in the comment box below

9 comments:

  1. Ah, you didn't disappoint, Veronica. What a celebration it must have been! I'd love to have been there, if only for the duck parfait and onion marmalade. I'm off to check out what else you've posted.....

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  2. I so badly wanted to go to the Bastille Festival, but having just got back from Plett, I couldn't persuade my family to budge! I should have ignored the unpacking and mountain of laundry and just hopped into my car and joined you! At least I got a little taste of it through this post. x Sharon

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  3. Dearest Veronica, it was so lovely to see you at the Framschoek Bastille festival, and thank you very much for the mention, so very kind of you.
    Thank you also for this lovely post, beautifull images and I think our planned girls lunch should be at " the French Connection"! Looks absolutely gorgeous. I wish we had more time to explore the restaurants while we were there..it was a matter of grab and go from the stall holders around us. Love to you Colette

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  4. Hi Veronica,

    It sure does look like you had a wonderful time. The food must have been delicious!

    Dee

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  5. Veronica this was such a fun post! I love that dapper dude with the yellow pants!
    xo
    Sharon

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  6. How festive...I wish I could have been there but it was too soon after my previous trip!
    You have captured it well and I will definately be there in October.
    Such lovely familiar sites decked out in red, blue and white.
    Shel x

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  7. This looks like a wonderful time, Veronica - so glad I got to tag along with you!! Great images ~

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  8. What a great time, the food looks deeeelicious, shame about those croissants but they sure made up for it, great photos. Paul

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  9. Gorgeous photos and I love those cupcakes.....

    Leeann x

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