It's all about the wine

Another great dinner in a 12th century cave in Beaune. We had eaten here 6 years ago when Dave & I first visited this city. The women had trout, I had duck and Dave had beef. Opened with a Chablis, finished with a 1999 Nuits St George. We're some lucky sob's. Life is good. Tomorrow we rent bikes and tour the wine country. Ciao PC

Dinner in Beaune

"Kicked out of port, Mr. Roberts"... Jimmy Cagney to Henry Fonda in Mr. Roberts... we were kicked out of Lyon... shut out... the 3rd largest city in France and there were no rooms. Say What ????? We moved on. we're now in Beaune... for dinner we had... pate, snails, beef bourgenoune and these wines... Chassagne Montrachet 2001 - 1st Cru Les Caillerets - Marc Colin et Fils and and and Gevrey Chambertin 2000 Les Evocelles. The food was OK. The wines... ahhhhhhh. Next time, gimme the wine and some bread and cheese. Hanging here for the next two days. May never return cuz we're in wine heaven. Ciao 4 now. PC

Rain Rain

We all got lots of excerise yesterday. Ros & Dav on bikes. Caren and I walked. Had a couple of forgettable meals and some beers. Power nap... out last night... started raining... rained all night. We're down to b-fast, then catch the 10:01 to Lyon. Will keep you posted. PC

Sleep

Went to bed last night and actually put together 7 WHOLE, uninterrupted hours of sleep. No screaming outside my window, no street fighting man posturing for his gang bangers, no boom-boom radios blasting from BMW's, just peace and quiet. What a concept. I like it here... it's a little more normal. So we're off to b-fast and then perhaps a bike rental to tour around the lake. Ciao. PC

Annecy

Sunday afternoon 16 September

We arrived in Annecy, where it’s at least 10 degrees cooler. This is France’s answer to Venice, with a beautiful lake and little canals that run from it. Very picturesque. We had an early meal, which was Ok, but forgettable. We’re all pretty wiped from Montpellier. Don’t get me wrong, MontP was great, but the rugby world cup is happening there and the place is overrun with partygoers. I mean, at 4:15 in the a.m. people are still dragging home from the bars. The town in general really hops, but add rugby to the mix and you’ve got a quiet riot. So north we head, though I will miss the beautiful Mediterranean women. Annecy is more normal, though still French. Plans are two nights here, then Lyon for 1 night, then Beaune for two nights. But plans change… PC

Postscript... we have free wi-fi, but it's spotty. FYI... my Canon S80 is barfing... E18... what the F ! It may end up in the lake. P

Plans change

Sunday 16 September 2007

Midday…

Plans change… we’re leaving the coast and are on the train headed to the French Alps. So where have we been? After Carcasonne, we went back to Montpellier and looked for some non-French food. We found tapas, which we loved. Also had a bottle of Rioja. The bottle was wrapped in burlap. What does this mean? No idea, but it was good. The food was caliente et spicy. I paid later, but it sure was tasty. On Saturday morn, we drove to Sete, a small fishing town. It was like Coos Bay. We then drove out on an isthmus on the coast. The road reminded me of the road to Key West… right on the beach. We stopped and put our feet in the Med. Yes, raftman, there are girls who do not wear tops on the beach. The sun was pretty intense, so we did not stay long. Stopped in a town called Adge, where we had crepes. Then we headed into Montpellier to return the car… ugh!. But with GPS, it was a non event. We got turned around once, but pretty much just drove right to it. What a relief.

So, getting a little tired of the humidity and the big city, we tried to book a hotel on the French Riveria. No joy. So, screw it. Let’s head north. So, we are currently headed to Annecy, which is on a lake and is a gateway to the French Alps. I’ll send pics on my next blog. More later… PC

Carcasonne

OK... so I finally nodded off in my sauna called a hotel room around midnight. Right outside my window is a major intersection, where it sounds like the Indy 500. Big thunder storm around 3:00 am, followed by some rain, which cooled the place down. We rolled out around 8:30 and headed to Carcasonne, which is a 13th century medieval town. 100 foot walls, turrets, the place looks like Disneyland. Walking around the outside was really fun. Walking in the city center was like the day after Chrismas at Nordstroms. Tourist city!!! But we did manage a nice lunch, before heading back. We're back in a cooler Montpellier and now have to figure out where to dump our rental car tomorrow. That's always fun. Returning a rental car at the airport is easy, in town it's a bitch. Imagine the Pearl on a Saturday afternoon, if a '57 Caddy... ya get the picture?? So, tomorrow we day train to Sete, a seaport village. Sunday we train outta here... looks like Cassis at this point... need some r&r. Ciao for now. PC

Back in the USSR

OK, back to reality. On our last night in St Remy, we booked three nights in Montpellier. We found a chain hotel, like a Motel 6. The price was so cheap we each got our own room. Great, except the room looks and feels like it was designed by Gorbachev for use as public housing in Moscow. Christ. And to top it off, no A/C, so I feel like Alec Guiness in solitary in the Bridge Over the River Kwai. And here's the topper... my room is #107, which is essentially the ground floor. I'm about 10 feet above the sidewalk, looking out over a roundabout!!! I feel like an Amsterdam whore on display in the window. So this is what it's like to live like a European. Thank gawd we don't plan on spending much time in these rooms. Tomorrow we are driving to Carcasonne. On Saturday, we turn in the car and will catch a train to Sete, which is a beach town 15 minutes south of here. This hotel is a far cry from our palace last night... by the way, here's the web site to that place.. http://www.chateaudevarenne.com. Anyway, a breeze is kicking up and it's starting to cool down. More later... PC

Honky chateau

Wednesday night 21:00 hours

OK, I’m stuck in some honky chateau 10 klics outta Avignon and I can’t access the net, so it’s time to “take a letter Maria, address to my wife, tell her I’m not coming home, I’m startin a new life”… Tom Jones (best covered by the Pleasure Barons).

We dumped the brat pack (Nicole and Chris) on the TGV to Paris around 09:30. We headed to Avignon, which was long on expectations, but short on delivery. Unless you like tourist gauntlet, full of trinkets made in China (with lead paint) and 8E beers. We did find a side street and had a reasonable lunch for 9E. Hung out till 2, then headed to the TGV station to rescue sister Caren, due in at 14:56. Right on time. We then jumped into the Passat, fired up the GPS and made our escape from Avignon with only one wrong turn. We crossed the Rhone and headed north to a town called Sauveterre where we had booked two rooms for one night at the Chauteau de Varenne. 16^th century villa… pool… the room Dave and I have is giganto… anyway we headed to the pool for a dip… layed around till 6… then to dinner. Having no idea where to go, we headed north.

We ended up in a little berg called Chateauneuf-du-Pape. They have some red wine there that will make you sit up and howl at the moon. I even got sister Rosanne, Miss Make It White, to agree that it was the best red she ever drank. For you Jack drinkers, this is like going to Lynchburg. Ended up at a restaurant called Le Pistou. Snails, duck, salmon, steak, shit we had it all. Best meal to date. We swilled down on ’04 by somebody er other and then followed with an ’03 gigandos. A buck and a half later, we mossyied down the road to chateau lah-lah. One could get real used to this lifestyle.

Say, I flipped on CNN and saw that the euro is at an all time high… $1.39 to 1E. I also saw that some kid got eaten by a pit bull and a black woman was held hostage by 6 white freaks in West Virginia. I turned that shit off, too depressing. Besides, no one, not no one here has ever even heard of West Virginia or pit bulls… nor do they give a shit. Me either.

So, tomorrow, maybe I’ll get up by 10 or so, put on my robe (furnished) and stroll down to the pool for a dip. Then a little breakfast… then a drive to Montpellier. Ciao. PC

Lazy daze

Just a lazy afternoon. Went to town and strolled. Came back to the house, where we had sandwiches and leftovers. Did a couple loads of wash and the clothes are drying on the line. No dryers... they use mother nature here. It's a little depressing, knowing that we'll be leaving our beautiful house in St Remy and saying goodbye to the brat pack. They've been a good edition, especially Nicole because she can order my steak medium rare with green peppercorn sauce. I'd be lucky to order a hamburger. Chris heads back to Paris with Nicole tomorrow morn, then she heads out to Reims to rendezvous with her old buddies. Chris spends a two nights in Paris, then flies home. I'm quite sure Rosanne will be calling Chris in Paris to make sure that he brushes his teeth!!! She light a candle today at the church in hopes that Chris might start flossing soon. So, all if well in the compound. Ciao PC

It all remains the same

We had a wonderful dinner, where the waiter engaged us with lots of comedy and laughed at our feeble French. It was great fun. We wandered about town at 10:30 pm... a few people out and it was still warm. A man and woman approached us. It looked as though they lived and worked together and they were returning home after working in a restaurant. He's walking about three feet ahead of her and she's just yakking. He stopped, turned towards here, and said something in french, which sounded to me like George McFly in Back to the Future... "What Lorraine?" Relationships... they're the same world wide. Man, woman, boy, girl, scramble those any way you want and it just the same human dynamic.

EXTREMELY windy here... wind blew all night. Sometimes if feels like the 3 pigs and a huff and a puff and I'll blow your house down. Makes for crazy dreams. Off to St Remy for a day of goofing off. Travel tomorrow. Ciao PC

Mountain towns

Today, Nic & I ventured to the post office to mail home some stuff. Going to the French post office is little like getting drafted, stand in this line, wait in that line, fill out this form, give us your euros... if you would have used THIS box, you could have shipped 7kg for 38E, but since you used YOUR box, you can ship 2.2 kg for 37E. Ah, the french... don't you luv 'em. This country is not run on service and even making a euro, it's all about taking your time and having a conversation and having a nice day and you'll know better next time... which is great and all, except when you're in a bit of a hurry. Then it's like fingernails on a chalk board.

Into the Passat we went (which is turning out to be a nice ride, except for 3 persons in the back seat). We headed for Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue, which I had read about. Sounded great... turned out to be a bust. Everything was closed except for a few restaurants. Watch those expectations boyo. On to Gordes, which did live up to the hype... beautiful from afar, disappointing up close. Way to touristy. Ditto for Roussillon. Beautiful to look at, but not much else. Ever date anybody like that ??? I have. All show and no go.

Now Chris, Nic & I are back home, which is a nice respite. Rosanne and Dave headed up to Les Baux, which is an ancient town carved into rock. We drove through it yesterday on the way to Arles. They wanted to see it up close, the rest of us wanted a beer.

Tomorrow looks like a lay around day. It's our last full day at the house. We may just tour around St Remy. Wednesday, we ship the kids back to Paris and retrieve sister Caren. We have a reservation in Nimes, but may try to get another hotel more out in the country. Will keep y'all posted. Dinner tonight in town. Ciao 4 now. PC

7th inning stretch

I have to keep asking... what day is this? What time is it??? I have no idea. And I don't even care. I turn 60 this year and I feel like it's the 7th inning stretch of my life... "Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack, I don't care if I never come back" Yup. PC

And the beat goes on

So, where'd I leave off - a yeah, 5:30 in the a.m. So I waited around for sunrise and fell asleep and slept till 10. Ain't that grand.. I violated my primary rule... sleep in the states... get up and explore Europe. Oh well. Off to Arles we went. There was a huge festival going on there, complete with bull fights. Weather was mid 80's with a nice breeze keeping it oh so comfortable. The town was nice... had an Italian feel. A little dirty, a little funky, but the booze was flowing and there was lots of people. We drove back that night and cooked at home and devoured our purchased wine. The Chateauneuf du Pape was delicious. Went to bed, took an Ambien and slept to 9:45... Oh well, I'm on vacation right? This morning we left around 11 for Pont du Gard...This is a Roman aqueduct that transported water from Uzes to Nimes. The bridge that we are standing on was build by the French in 1848. It's a very awe inspiring sight and was the one sight I really wanted to see. Again, beautiful weather with a nice breeze blowing. It the sun it would seem to be hot, but with the wind, its very enjoyable. Just standing next to this 2000 year old structure takes your breath away. A day well spent.

From there, we drove to Uzes, a small town which was actually the source of the water for the aqueduct. There was a flower market open in the town square so we decided upon lunch. Here are a few pics from Uzes... so tomorrow we're off to Gourdes.

Gotta go sample some Deutz Champagne!

Butt crack o'dawn

Do you think I was smart enuf to take another Ambien last night? Nope. So here I lay, wide freakin' awake since gawd knows when, with every thot on the planet runnin' thru my feeble brain...not only have I solved the world's poverty and food programs, I figured out whom to marry, where to establish a residence and the color of the drapes in the guest bedroom. Isn't the mind a wonderful thing (a guru once said of the mind... great servant, bad master). Yep,

This is going to be one long ass day, till I can get back here for a siesta. Right now, I'm sprawled in the king. These digs sure are nice. It's 5:30 and not a hint of daybreak. Soon it will be here and the coffee will begin to flow. Now, if I can only get my travel mates to begin moving before 8:30. On to Arles. More later. PC

Aches, like headaches

After breakfast, we jumped in the Passat, fired up the gps and hit the road. Here's what the road looks like...just loping along at 80 klics. Yeah, well after a few doubletimes around the roundabouts, and a coupla WTF's, we ended up on the A-7 headed to Aix-en-Provence (pronounced "Aches", like in head aches). A half hour later we pulled into the main center and parked the car in a subterranean lot. This was a nice lot, recommended by Rick Steves, though it took forever to find the exit.

Here's the main square...

It's a beautiful town - a university town. Lots of things to see, places to eat, people to look at, etc. This is the center of town.

Nicole and I stopped for lunch, right next to the marketplace. We ordered up salads, Nicoise for Nic and a Chef for yours truly. Very satisfying. We wandered and shopped. I love the small shops in France... it's all so formal. As you enter, you greet the proprietor... bon jour madame/monsiuer. They reply, bon jour monsieur (they always acknowledge me first, then my daughter), then bon jour madame. Then they leave you alone. They are helpful, if you speak the language and especially if you want to purchase something. Upon leaving, I say, merci, bon jour, to which they reply merci, au revoir, bonne journee. Which is, thanks and have a nice day. It's like there is an appreciation for each other, the shop owner and the shopper. Quite refreshing...

So, we headed back the St Remy and our compound. Had a light bite and a siesta. Went out to dinner around 8:00 (just like the French), found a bistro, had a delicious meal and now we're home and it's damn near midnight. Life is good. Tomorrow is Arles. Au revoir... PC

Better living thru modern chemistry

Top o the morning to ya! A traveller's best friend...Ambien CR. Yeah, baby... pop one of those suckers and eight solid hours of sleep, which is a step in the right direction, I'd say. It's 7:45 and the house is dead quiet. No sense in waking everybody up - all are pretty pooped. I made it till 9:30, hence my early wakeup. Figured it was 48 hours of next to no sleep, so it feels like I'm alive again.

The picture above is the morning view from our back porch. Notice some mountain in the distance, Mt Somethin-er-other. Can't go up there because of fire danger. Closed mid June thru Sept. Like I was going to haul my ass up there! The back yard is very peaceful. It's where I'm headed after this water begins to boil.

Our VW Passat has a GPS in it. Chris, new age tech that he is, got to speak to us in English and told it where "Home" is. So, we're just going to venture out, down back country roads and then tell the GPS to take us home. Should be interesting. BTW, the wind finally died down. This part of the world reminds me of the Bay Area, say Palo Alto - Mountain View, before all of the housing developments gobbled it up. A noticeable lack of birds... the French ate them all! Ciao 4 now. PC

That Italian light

All of the great artists seemed to navigate towards the Mediterranean because of the wonderful light. This is 5 minutes ago in our back yard, though I did not do it justice. PC

Shop till ya drop

Chris, Nicole and I went shopping for provisions. Before shopping, we stopped at McDonalds because C & N were starving. I had a Mac Royale, as mentioned in Pulp Fiction. It was freshly prepared, and it HAD REAL onions on it. Best Mac burger I've ever eaten. (For you non burger eating veg heads... get over it!) Shopping in France is such an experience. You'll recognize a lot of things in the store, but some things are a total ??? You have to bag your own groceries. If you do not have a bag, then you must purchase a bag or bring you own. None of this...Paper or Plastic? here. We spent 100 E and laid in enough for 3-4 days. Food is reasonably priced here... A 12 pack of Stella for 5.90 E, 5th of vodka for 8E... you know we try to purchase all of the major food groups in our family.

Marci to the rescue... she will send the train passes over with sister Caren next week.

The weather here is really different... there's a major shift going on, so it's sunny, in the low 80's, but the wind is blowing like a tropical storm... we're talking gusts that knock down trees. Lots of dust in the air, so contact wearers are suffering a bit.

Tomorrow we begin exploring... PC

Yo... who's got the train pass?

Whipped... 5 hours to Newark... 3 hours laying around... 7 hours to Paris... race walk to the train station... find the reservations for the seat on the train, but no train pass. Ugh. So, Dave buys 3 train tickets... 3 hour train ride to Avignon, on which the kids fall asleep. Living proof is here >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So we arrive in Avignon, wait for Nicole and Chris to show up, since they were training in from Paris. We hooked up with them, got the rental car at Hertz (VW Passat). Drive a half hour to St Remy de Provence. Met Cornelius, who showed us the house. It's really nice... 4 bedroom, 5 beds... $1,600 a week. Will send more photos, but here's one for now (by the way, double click on the picture to blow them up). We still have to run to the store and get provisions. So, ciao 4 now. PC

Hurry up & wait

"Out on runway #9,
Big 707 set to go" Gordon Lightfoot

Made it thru security... now I have the illusion of safety entrenched in my consciousness. Now we wait... just like the Navy... hurry up and wait. It's five hours to Newark, then a three hour layover, then seven+ hours to Paris. Oh joy. PC

Packing

"All my bags are packed
I'm ready to go"... John Denver - Leaving On A Jet Plane

OK... I think I have everything... 17 days... all one really needs is a toothbrush and some underwear. But I'm quite sure I'll awake three times this evening with... "Did I remember to pack the (fill in the blank)". Oh well, they have plenty of stuff to buy there. So to bed early tonight, up at 5... Steve & Rosanne pick me up at 5:45. It's going to be a loooooonnngg day. Ciao 4 now. PC