Picardie

A land of sandy farms and inland lakes, Picardy slopes to the sea. Boulogne, its port, is the first fishing city of France. Its other towns are primarily industrial centers divided one from the other by sand dunes on whose sparse grass big sheep graze hungrily to produce wool and mutton.

Essentially this is a land of home cooking and family meals in both the country and the cities. In the seaports the fare is fish soup accompanied by great schooners of beer. Inland the rural family dines on salty mutton or fresh pork with leek tarts and a salty cheese called Marolles.