Back to my own kitchen

After a long day of travel by taxi and by plane, I'm back in my own house. Our suitcases are empty, though all is not quite organized. I didn't bring home very many souvenirs -- but a few of them are in my kitchen.

Magnets from the Cluny Museum, the Orsay Museum,
and the area around Arles are on my refrigerator.

... I'm glad to see my kitchen!

On my counter, a bag of sea salt mixed with herbes de provence...

... I bought this salt at the market in Arles a week ago.

Though glad to be back, being in my own kitchen with American ingredients does make me think of all the French food I saw or tasted.

Update May 11: We've used the herb-salt on three dishes: inside a roast chicken with a cut up lemon; sprinkled on vegetables before roasting; and as a garnish on an omelet. Very satisfactory!

Here are a few more photos:

Cheese at the market near our Paris hotel yesterday.
Really, there's no cheese here that has the savory complexity of French cheese.
By the time it arrives here, it's just been kept too cold for too long, I suspect.

A baker at the market.

Our breakfast near the market.

And one more pastry shop window -- too bad we didn't try these,
though we did have some pastry later in the day...

... from this patisserie case we selected two delicious pastries.

Well, it's good to be home, but I wish we had some markets, pastry shops, restaurants, and cafes like those in Paris.