Candes Saint-Martin, my favourite spot in La Touraine.

Thursday 24 September 2009

La Dame Blanche

One of the most famous and best liked desserts in Belgium and France is without any doubt 'La Dame Blanche'. It is vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce and whipped Chantilly cream (optional).




Care for a lucious dessert?



The Dame Blanche or White Lady in this post has however nothing to do with this widely appreciated dessert. In this case it’s the name of the Chambre d’hôtes where we spent the third and final night of our Alsace-Lorraine expedition. The renovated farmhouse is set at the end of a dead-end road in the middle of the countryside. There’s a church and three other houses … and that’s it. The terrace at the back offers a magnificent view over the pastures and fields. You can admire it while bubbling away in the outdoor Jacuzzi or swimming in the heated pool.




The house is named after a white night owl – like Harry Potter’s pet owl - which is said to live in the old barn. We never got to see it though, nor did the two other couples who were staying there at the time.

Our room had beautiful antique furniture and a mezzanine with a comfortable coach and a large flat-screened television set. With its dark wooden beams it was the complete opposite of the bright room which we had occupied at the Moutonneraie in Hipsheim.

We spent a quiet evening outdoors having our usual picnic on the terrace in the company of the landlord’s cat that came begging for food. The other patrons were having the ‘table d’hôtes’ dinner prepared by the landlord. The next morning, at breakfast, they told us that the meal had been delicious but far too abundant.



My friend shot this superbe photo at 6 a.m. while I was still fast asleep.


Around 10 a.m. we said goodbye to the landlord and the other couples who were still having their breakfast. We had a 350 km drive ahead of us, which would take approximately 3.5 hours, without counting a pit stop to have a quick lunch at the Ferme des Sanglochons.


LA DAME BLANCHE
rue de l’Eglise
F – 57660 BERIG-VINTRANGE
Tel. : 03 87 01 73 72

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3 comments:

chm said...

The early bird get the worm! He is a very good photographer. NIce picture

Jean said...

Lovely photos.
This dessert looks similar to a chocolat liegois - one of my favourites.

ladybird said...

chm, I think it was more a case of insomnia :) But I agree that the picture is great!

Jean, Thanks ... I can see that you are a 'fine gourmet' too!