This home, nestled beside a rocky turn in the river, demonstrates a relationship with nature I cherish in French sensibility. The honorable place the table holds in the culture is another manifestation of French ‘respect for what is earthly.” So is the care for the landscape—even in the smallest mountain roads, verges are mowed and bushes clipped. The most delicious of cheeses, wines, fruits, and vegetables acknowledge a dependence for excellence on the ‘terroir,’ a combination of soils, temperature and rain variations. Roquefort cheese, Bordeaux wines, Puy lentils, Agen prunes are all acknowledgement of respect for what is earthly.