Autumn in the Alpes

It is finally fall: my favorite time of year! Well, it was my favorite time of year. Unfortunately, I feel that I must report the sad fact that autumn is much less festive here in Europe. It is still beautiful, but it doesn't have the same feeling as autumn in the States. Growing up in Mississippi meant long, hot, sticky summers so as soon as there was the slightest drop in temperature it was time to break out the scarves and cinnamon scented candles. Not only that, but autumn marks the beginning of a lengthy holiday season. It all starts with Back to School excitement, Labor Day weekend, then everyone gets in the Halloween spirit, then we have Thanksgiving, then on to Christmas. It's simply an exciting time of the year!

Not so much here in Europe, specifically France and Switzerland. The summers here are much shorter than in the southern states and therefore everyone is sad to see them go. Instead of getting pumped for hats and boots they mourn the loss of their booty shorts and bikinis. I do not share in this sentiment and never will. I have seen almost no fall decorations in stores or in people's homes. Maybe this is because they don't really celebrate Halloween and of course, they don't have a Thanksgiving holiday here. I suppose I can do without Thanksgiving because I prepared myself before I ever came, but no Halloween?! It's been a struggle.

To me, autumn is the most magical time of year, next to Christmas, of course! I have yet to find one single fall scented candle. WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?! I understand that not everyone is into #pumpkineverything but I didn't realize it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Oh wait, there is no hay, even though this is the land of cows. You'd think there might be one hayride or pumpkin patch... something? Nope. I even see people in horse drawn carriages in my village and are they in the fall spirit? Of course not.

Luckily, mother nature understands that it is fall. In Mississippi, it always seemed to take FOREVER for the weather to cool down but we do not have that problem here. I am already scraping ice off of my car windshield some mornings. I am fine with that. The leaves on the trees are golden, red, and orange, and the fog rising off of the mountains in the mornings is a gorgeous sight to behold. I can only imagine (and imagine, I must) what it would look like around here if people were in the Autumn-Loving-Spirit, as I strongly believe they should be!

Oh well. Just because the rest of France doesn't know how to enjoy this time of year doesn't mean I can't! I may be lacking in scents and decorations but I can still do some fall baking.

A few weeks ago I decided to make some Pumpkin Maple bread! It turned out great, but finding the ingredients was a bit of a challenge. Canned Pumpkin? Forget about it. You gotta buy a pumpkin and prepare it like they did in the olden days. Honestly, it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be but in the end it tasted no different than good ole canned pumpkin. Oh, and brown sugar? I don't think the French really understand what that is. Their idea of brown sugar is like rock crystals that are brown. Okay... I eventually found what I was looking for but it took a long time and it was called something weird that I can't even remember.

Luckily, the recipe did not disappoint! It was quite a hit!

I ended up having some leftover pumpkin and decided to make some Pumpkin Spice doggy biscuits for Elvis and Izzy, which were also a hit! 

I also made a Roasted Apple Pumpkin soup last week that turned out really well, but I didn't get a picture. Forgive me. 

Until next time, my faithful readers! Happy Autumn! 

-Alli