Adventures in the snow, Part 1

To continue our truncated snow story from earlier in the week - now that we have safely made it to the weekend and can look back fondly at our experiences - we were disappointed to discover that the little Italian restaurant where we had intended to have lunch was closed.  For the first time I realized that its weekly closure is on Wednesdays!  Our trek through the snow had been in vain.

Our fallback plan was to head up to the local château which was serving as the main venue for the annual Marché de Noël (Christmas market) for my village from 1-5 December.  Surely, there would be somewhere at the market where we would could find something to eat!

As it happened, there were indeed several stalls at the Christmas market that were set up to provide food items for hungry patrons.  But once again, there had been an epic failure on my part to inform myself.  The market did not officially open its doors before 14:00 (2 p.m.) Wednesday through Friday.  Exhibitors were still in the process of scurrying about and setting up their stalls.  They were already having difficulty doing so in the snow and we were clearly in the way.

Because it was barely 13:00 (1 p.m.) and we were hungry, we decided to take our chances at the nearby Auberge du Château.

Fortunately, there was plenty of room for us - not too many of the usual patrons had ventured out of their warm homes - and we happily shook out our coats and caps as instructed by the waitress so that we could sit by the window and watch the action.  Upon learning that the plat du jour (special) was lasagne, accompanied by a mixed salad, we ordered and relaxed for a pleasant interlude while we waited for the market opening.

Believe me, it was much more pleasant to be seated inside in a warm spot, awaiting warm food, while it looked like this outside!

Afterwards, fortified by our hearty meal, we ventured over to the Christmas market.