Best Anniversary Ever

Tuesday was our ninth anniversary. As we were both on spring break, Sylvain reserved a restaurant/hotel, Les Gorges de Pennafort, for the actual day. We had been there to eat several times before, including for our anniversary in 2010, but had never stayed at the hotel. Our room was very nice, a sort of mini suite with separate living room and bedroom decorated very modernly in shades of grey with a big slate-colored oval stand alone tub in the bathroom.

We enjoyed relaxing there for the approximately twenty hours of our stay, apart from the evening hours spent in the restaurant. The meal was excellent as we have come to expect. This is the chef that likes to serve lots of surprise dishes that you haven't actually ordered which may or may not be due to the fact that our friend, Philippe, who knows the chef, called ahead to say we were coming. Sylvain's favorite course was, surprisingly enough, a fish dish: turbot with diced vegetables including peas, carrots and broad beans.

 Mine was perhaps a lobster and duck concoction that was very prettily arranged on the plate to look like a sort of orange and pink flower.

 The next morning, we had our breakfast tray served in our room and lounged around in bathrobes enjoying the excellent pastries, fruit salad and fruit basket. On the drive home, we both agreed that it was one of our best anniversary celebrations ever. Up there alonside Pic in 2009 from which we came home to Roy, Nicole and Rachel who had just arrived for a visit. Apparently, those anniversary celebrations which we remember the most fondly are the ones for which we slept onsite. Not having to drive home after dinner definitely makes for a more relaxing experience.