The old French men thought we were crazy. I remember their amused expressions as our young co-ed American college student group played pétanque at a park in Southern France. Someone brought pastis that we diluted with water and sipped surreptitiously.
Nobody cared who won. What stuck with me was that feeling of easy-going enjoyment. The Mediterranean sun shining, ice melting in a tall glass, relaxed smiles all around. That, to me, is the Midi.
Read MoreThe borage flowers were practically hitting us in the face when we opened the front door over the summer. The edible blue and pink flowers grew in my mom’s plant-your-own-cocktail Christmas present. They clearly liked the weather.
Instructions with the kit suggested freezing the flowers in ice cubes for a gin and elderflower liqueur cocktail. Guillaume became adept at making the sweet-celery-like drink, which called for muddling sizable borage leaves and throwing fresh flowers in at the end.
Before we could blink, summer was over and our planter got covered in snow. But we still had the flowery ice cubes and a bottle of Lillet Rosé in the fridge. I decided to experiment.
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