Today marks my third week in Europe and a couple of weeks of hiatus from blogging since NYC. So far working from the road has been hectic, to say the least, so when I finally catch a break to join a day trip to the northern tip of France, I say oui to Sedan, France.
The commune of Sedan, bordered by the Meuse River which separates it from the neighboring country of Belgium, first emerged in the 1400s. Sedan has long been both a political/religious refuge and occupation between warring factions, from the War of Religions to the Franco-Prussian War to the two World Wars.
These days, Sedan is mostly known for being home to the Château de Sedan, the largest medieval castle in Europe. We shall tour this huge fortress–covering an area of 35,000 square meters on seven floors–in the next entry.
Today I’m just going to take you around the historic city center to a French restaurant recommended by TripAdvisor and kick about a bit before we actually tour the castle. Just how cute is that parking lot in the photo above?
I know today’s entry has nothing to do with fashion, but wouldn’t you know it, this was on the table:
And then it was used as a serving tray for my dessert:
And by it I mean ardoise, or slate. Ardoise happens to be an Hermès color. Hey, we build on our French vocabulary from whatever source we can find, non? But I digress…
It’s always been a voluntary decision for me to not eat meat (more specifically, anything that used to make a noise) and after some 20+ years, I’ve never fallen off the wagon. Just never missed it. But on this day, I really wish my dining choices were not so limited. We got here later than expected, around 1:30pm, and the trout was no longer on the menu. So while everyone around me got to enjoy the local fares of foie gras, lapin, or this very popular cassoulet…
I had to make do with the only two appetizers that had no meat:
Ok, so that second dish is escargots drowning in champagne butter. (Snails never made a noise, right?) Like I said, for the first time in a long time I wished I were a carnivore. But the moment quickly passed once the owner brought some great baguettes to the table :D.
Not too much to see around here, but beyond this bend…
let’s go storm a castle!
Enjoy the trip! You are much braver than I am as could never bring myself to eat ‘escargots’! Though I guess no different to prawns.