Courtyard in Tours

The Courtyard and Meals at Home

Breakfast was a tartine, a six-inch piece of French bread, fresh from the bakery, split lengthwise and slathered with butter and strawberry jam made by Madame B. This was waiting for us at the end of the long dining table when we rushed in before school. Bowls of black coffee were served if you sat down long enough to eat your tartine.

The entryway of Monsieur and Madame B’s house in Tours was an industrial gararge door, tall enough for a person on horseback to pass through. The house was old, in the older part of Tours and consisted of the dining room and student bedrooms surrounding a courtyard with la toilette at the side. The bathtub was off Monsieur et Madame’s bedroom and accessible to students once a week.

I drew this picture of the courtyard because I found it so charming. Generally tidy and thoughtfully arranged, a plant here, table and chairs there.

We were served wine both at lunch and dinner. One particular day the weather was perfect, high 70’s let’s say, so Madame set up lunch in the courtyard. The meal was charcuterie, different forms of handcrafted sausage from Monsieur’s butcher shop and crudites or raw vegetables, Madame’s finds from the market, including a vegetable I don’t remember eating before and have loved ever since, radish!