From Provence to Brittany

For our final evening with Christian and Dominique, we have a local wine, a Corsican wine and one of CJ's Australian selections to accompany courses of terrine, merguez and magret.

 

A morning TGV delivers us to Paris where we change stations for the TGV to Brest. In spite of our fears, the transfer is very easy. The taxi queue is short, there are taxi/bus lanes most of the way, and traffic is not bad during this holiday period.

The TGV to Brest is not really.  The train travels at TGV speeds for part of the way to Rennes. After that is travels at or just above normal train speeds finally explaining the four and a half hour trip.

Welcome drinks are enjoyed in the Great Room of Meznaot in front of a roaring fire. CJ overindulged on the cous cous to the point that he cannot enjoy the fine cheese course offering.

 

 

Monaco and Eze

We awake to a beautiful sunrise over the Med and the boat basin below our room.

Although Monaco's Palace may not be the most beautiful in the world, its location has to be in the top ten. Sited high on a cliff overlooking Monaco and Cap d'Ail it has a commanding view of the Mediterranean Sea into Italy.

CJ makes a short tour of the cathedral where Prince Rainer and Princess Grace were married and are buried.

Unable to catch a taxi at the summit, a town bus delivers us to the Monaco Christmas market where after a short period we are able to hail a taxi and get back on the road to Chateaurenard.

Carol decides she has recovered sufficiently for a stop in Eze.  It's yet another unique village perched atop a huge rock.

We leave the south and its 50 degree F temperatures and return to Avignon where the temperature has dropped to near or below freezing.

French Riviera

The road along the coast is a route of beautiful scenery, tunnels through rock cliffs, solo and peletons of bikers, and endless mansions and apartment buildings.

 

After passing through Nice and Cagnes sur Mer, we take a walk through the marina and old city of Antibes. Note the snow covered southern most Alps.

We pass through Cannes, a relatively unattractive pretentious city of gaudy displays of wealth on the way to Grasse, the perfume capital of France. Grasse is a hillside town with an attractive old center.

The last stop of the day is in St. Paul de Vence, one of the most beautiful of the beautiful towns in France. It is a walled hilltop city with attractive narrow streets and no vehicle access.

The Lost Day

Our first day on the French Rivera becomes a non day when an overnight bout with gastro, leaves both of us exhausted and weak.  The day is spent in bed. 

Marseille

Our French son Vincent graciously offers to accompany us to Marseille and provide an expert tour.  He went to university there and currently is studying for his PHD and working in Marseille.

As we approach the sea the winds are up to gusts of over 30mph making a relatively warm day feel very cold. Our first stop is at the very south of the city at Presqu'ile du Cap Croisette. We have discovered a second "wild coast" in France.

Notre-Dame de la Garde with its commanding views of the city and bay is our second stop. The interior reminds us of orthodox churches in Russia.

 

A very popular pizzeria is selected for a quick lunch.  The city has become quite crowded in the afternoon so the final two tour stops wait another visit.  Vincent is dropped at the TGV station and we make our way to Monaco.

Christmas Day 2014

A lazy morning and exchange of gifts is followed by a drive to Aix-en-Provence on the toll road (peage).  We took it because we were running behind schedule and it was faster. Then we got caught in a 20 minute accident stoppage.

Christmas brunch at the Renaissance hotel was followed by a short walk about Aix.  Most everything was closed except for the Christmas market and a few cafés. At Christian's suggestion we had a post-brunch coffee and hot chocolate at the famous Les Deus Garcons.

 

There has been too much eating in the past 18 hours. A simple meal of leftovers is the perfect solution.

 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is for cooking and family. In the morning CJ finally gets Carol to Les Halles de Avignon for the first time.  It is very similar to the Adelaide Central Market; Adelaide has more produce, Les Halles has more seafood and magnificent bread selections.

 

 

Following lunch, Carol and Dominique cook, and cook, and cook! Christian and CJ stay out of the way and take Gibson for another long walk.

 

It was quite the Grand Fête. There were 12 of us for dinner sharing many courses of fantastic food, great unknown wines, good cheer and great humor; International laughter can not be beat.

 

Merry Christmas to our incredible friends around the world

 



When in France, Sample Wines!

Today is wine tasting day.  The day begins at Domain Pegau in Chateauneuf du Pape at a tasting organized by our favorite wine shop in the D.C. Didier explains their philosophy of natural wine making as we tour the facilities. Laurence, the winemaker passes by to apologize for her schedule conflict. The tour ends with a sampling of their full range of wines.

 

There is a castle ruins on the hill above CNDP. Near it one finds a vineyard with the typical rock "soil" of the region.

 

 

After a short walk through CNDP our next stop is our first visit to the village of Gigondas.  Although we have visited wineries in the area previously this is our first climb to this quaint village. The streets are very steep and very narrow.

 



 

Christian has arranged a tasting for us in Gigondas at Domaine des Bouquets.  The owner, Julian Bréchet discusses his art of extracting the best from each of his properties. His terrior consists of low altitude sandy soil and higher altitude limestone. There are three elevations of vineyards in the photo. The one in the forefront is the oldest vineyard in Gigondas. He opens "bottle samples" of the 2013 vintage. It will be released in April 2005 and we're drinking from the bottles set aside for members of the press.