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This page consists of our daily journal, the leek tart menu, and our Mirabelle dinners.
Thursday, June 2, 2005 Well this is the first trip to Europe for me since 2001. Stayed home the last few years due to Bogart – one part of me strongly wishes I were still home with him. But, in two weeks we get Maximus and Trajan! Got up at 5 a.m. and finished getting packed and the house ready. Taxi picked us up at 8:20 a.m. Got through check-in faster than I think I’ve ever checked in. Had breakfast in the terminal and read the paper. Big sports story is Jerry Rice is a Bronco! Boarded the plane and actually pushed back on time, take off was a little slow but fairly smooth. If I weren’t here today I’d be in Houston with the boys from work looking at an Exxon deal – think I’m in the right place! Landed in Cincinnati at 3:30 p.m. I think we both slept most of the way to Cincinnati. Funny thing about the Cincinnati airport is it’s actually in Kentucky – go figure! Walked around the airport and stopped at Wolfgang Pucks for a snack (butternut squash soup and quesadilla) and a couple of Bloody Mary’s. Had about an hour and a half to kill before boarding the plane. Boarded the plane (a 777) with seating configuration of 3-3-3. We are in the very last row of the plane with just 2 seats right next to the toilet, may be awful, may be convenient. Took off, fairly smooth given cloudy weather. I watched "The Wedding Date" and Lloyd watched "Be Cool". Kind of nice to actually have a selection of movies to choose from. Had dinner, roast with a red pepper sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, roll and a brownie and some red wine. Turned off the light and slept for about 3 hours. Friday, June 3, 2005 About an hour and a half from Paris. Ride has been a bit bumpy. We both got a little sleep, still face two hours in Paris before flying to Bordeaux – UGH! Had breakfast, croissant, granola bar, OJ, dried fruit and coffee. I remember when they’d bring around warm clothes to freshen up with. That would feel really good. Landed at Charles de Gaulle at 9:30 a.m. Pulled the plane onto the tarmac and bussed us all around the airport. It was very bizarre and the ugliest airport I’ve ever seen. Our 2-hour layover was gone in a flash, as we were busy being shuttled around on the bus! Boarded the flight to Bordeaux and got in around 12:30 p.m. Got through customs – no passport stamps! Met Gilbert, our tour leader and other members of the group. Most of the group is older than we are. Checked into our hotel, Tulip Inn. Room is nice but small as is typical in Europe. Met Gilbert and went for a short walk. We went to the baroque church by our hotel, Notre Dame, and it was very beautiful. Visited a neat shopping mall with a beautiful grocery store in the basement. Came back to the hotel to get jackets as it is very cool and took a 1-1/2 hour nap instead. Got up and went for another walk and bought a tuna sandwich and a chocolate banana tart for a quick dinner. Tasted really good! Met our entire group for an orientation meeting. What an interesting group. These are some of the best traveled and well-educated people I’ve ever met, I feel very inferior. And most everyone is retired. Had a glass of welcoming wine and heard more about our upcoming couple of weeks on the Dordogne, Garonne and the Gironde Rivers. After the meeting we walked down to the river and there was a large cruise ship docked! Went to the cathedral then back to the hotel. Was in bed by 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 4, 2005 Got up at 6 a.m. Slept pretty well, room was either too hot or too cold. Took a shower and it felt so good. Went down for breakfast and had the usual tour fair – eggs, meat, cheese, rolls, dried fruit, cereal. Tried to get stamps at the hotel but they didn’t have any for the U.S. Left for Pauillac at 8:30 a.m. The drive was very pretty through lush green vineyards. Got to Medoc and Pauillac and started seeing the Chateaux’s – amazing! They are just like you’d imagine – huge, ornate, old, storybook – I want one of my own! We saw Mouton-Rothschild, Lafitte-Rothschild, LaTour, Margaux, and Las Casas among many others. At Chateau Margaux we got out and looked around. Lloyd and I ran up to an old church, which was closed, but the cemetery was beautiful. Saw a cross Lynn would love. Went back to Pauillac to the visitors center and watched a movie about Bordeaux wines. It was very interesting and talked about the treatment of the vines, the soil types (sand & gravel vs. limestone & clay). The terroir of the region. After we watched the movie we had lunch at a Creperie in Pauillac. We had a half bottle of local wine that was very good and I had a crepe with bacon, mushrooms, potatoes, onions and a cream sauce – awesome! Lloyd had a crepe with ham, cheese and walnuts and said it was very good. After lunch we went to the Chateaux Maucaillou for a visit. We toured their museum that was full of vintage wine making equipment, very interesting. They showed us a movie about the vineyard, in French, and I have to say I dozed off. We then toured the area where they bring the grapes after the harvest, the vats and then where they store the barrels. They produce 500,000 bottles of first bottling and 200,000 bottles on the second bottling. We then tasted their wine; it was good, a little young. We got to keep our glasses – a very great souvenir! Hope I can get them home in one piece! We then drove to Libourne to meet our barge, the Mirabelle. Before meeting the barge we got a few minutes to look around the main shopping street, it would be fun to have a little more time. Had an ice cream cone and bought some tarts for later. We then saw the Mirabelle! It is so pretty! We boarded and had a kir to welcome us aboard. The barge is so nice, the common area is very warm and welcoming. We got shown to our cabin, #11, and it is small but nicer than our room last night. The beds have duvets! There is so much storage we unpacked and put the bags up and it is wonderful. We had an espresso (from the neatest coffee machine I’ve ever seen) and sat on the deck and waited for dinner and our meeting. Tried to get caught up with my journal. Had dinner with Judd and Sue. Had a fabulous dinner! Started with a stacked salad of tomatoes, clotted cream with chives, olive oil with basil and shrimp. Dinner was pasta with chicken, mushrooms, broccoli and a cream sauce. Had a cheese course with a green salad. Gilbert is going to offer two French cheeses with dinner each night so that we may try them and expand our tastes. He is going to give us each a "cheese notebook" so that we may make notes – awesome idea! The cheeses were Bresse Bleu and Sainte Maure de Touraine. Both were very good. Crème Brulee was desert. The dinner was amazing and each table had a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine. Of course, we finished ours and had some from another table too. If all the dinners are this good the trip will be a huge success! Before dinner, Captain Tim gave a short talk on navigation – fascinating. Should be a fun experience. After dinner we went for a short walk around Libourne and saw the town church all lit up, it was very pretty. Went back to the barge and went to bed about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, June 5, 2005 Got up at 5:45 a.m. Slept fair, got hot and cold all night. Duvet was too warm and room was too cool. Still feel very rested though. Took a shower, it was a really nice shower even considering the tight space. After getting ready, went up to the deck for coffee. Visited with Nan quite a bit. I really like Nan and her brother Tom, he reminds me of Paul Hurford. Had breakfast of eggs, bacon, meats, cheeses, fruits, dried fruits, and juices. It was very good. Walked into the square in Libourne for the Sunday morning market. Awesome! There were flowers, vegetables, meats, fish, clothes, pots & pans, anything you could possibly want or need. It was so colorful and there were so many people. There was a vendor who had live chickens, ducks and rabbits that people were buying to take home to fatten up for a future dinner! We’re not in the U.S.! Another vendor had live lamprey eels that he would skin alive and throw into a tub where it would flop around. People actually eat these! UGH! We then boarded the bus for St. Emillion. We drove past numerous famous vineyards before arriving at the city. We looked at many wine shops and then took a tour of the church, the Monolithic Church. It is the largest underground church in Europe, and is carved in limestone. There is a huge bell tower that sits above it that has caused instability in the supporting pillars. Work has been done to support the overlying weight. The church is amazing, all carved out of one huge mass of limestone. We also visited the catacombs and the grotto in which the monk, Emillion, lived for 17 years. We then bought macaroons for lunch and headed back to the barge. St. Emillion is a much smaller wine region that Medoc with 13,500 acres as opposed to 280,000 producing acres in Medoc. The soil is different also, being clay and limestone and the topography is not flat but rolling hills. The barge left Libourne at 1:30 p.m. for Bourg. It is so smooth. We are fighting a strong current so it will take longer to arrive than anticipated. All along the river are beautiful homes and small fishing huts (carrelet in French). Sat on the deck, had a glass of wine and wrote postcards. This is the way to go – no traffic, quiet and very relaxing! Got to Bourg at around 5 p.m. Walked with Gilbert to the Citadel. It is a beautiful building high on a hill surrounded by walls. It is now used for mostly wedding parties. Had a good view of the river and surrounding area, including a large nuclear power plant across the river! A small group of us then visited the carriage museum. We were greeted by Sylvie of the Coaches! She agreed to give us a quick orientation talk but told us her English was poor. She was amazing! She was so animated, spoke with her hands, used sound affects (boom, boom, boom), and kept patting her pregnant belly (the people). She was absolutely mesmerizing! I think we all enjoyed her more than the museum itself. She told us about WWII and the oil tanks, then about King Louis fig. We looked at the underground oil tank that was destroyed by the Germans, very interesting. Visiting the museum and hearing Sylvie talk will definitely be one of the highlights of this trip! We lost our chef on the barge so had to eat at a restaurant tonight, the only one open in Bourg! We had salad, steak, baked potatoes and a banana cake. It was ok, just like something you’d get at home. We drank some Cotes du Bourg wine that was very good. Visited with Ellen, Elizabeth and Gilbert, which was fun. I missed eating on the barge and hope our new chef shows up tomorrow. Bought a couple of bottles of wine to take back to the barge for after dinner. Drank a bottle of Cotes du Bourg (2000) and talked to Sue, Judd and Oleg. Went to bed around 11:30 p.m. Monday, June 6, 2005 Got up at 6:15 a.m. when the engines started up. Due to the tides we are moving earlier than planned to Bordeaux. Barge got under way at 6:30 a.m. Took a shower and felt a little more awake than when I first got up. Went upstairs for coffee and breakfast. Barge made the turn from the Dordogne back onto the Garonne. Had eggs, bacon, rolls, meat, and cheeses for breakfast again. We docked in Bordeaux around 9 a.m. Lloyd didn’t feel like going into the city, decided to stay on the barge and read. I went with the group and Gilbert showed us how easy it is to ride the trains in Bordeaux. We took the train to the Cathedral St. Andre in the city square. Inside the church is beautiful with the biggest pipe organ I’ve ever seen and really nice stained glass windows. I left the group and walked to the post office and stood in line for quite a while with a bunch of French people to buy stamps for my postcards. Finally got them and mailed my postcards, hope they get home before I do! Maybe by mailing them for an official post office they will. I walked back to the barge and got Lloyd. We walked over to the Basilica of St. Michele that has its spire sitting next to the church as the soil is marshy and won’t support the weight if built on top of the church. The spire is the tallest rock spire in France at 374’! The church was built in 1472. It is a very interesting church, very dirty, needs cleaning. There was a flea market outside the church and it was packed and kind of skanky. Many Africans, Muslims, Indians, etc. were participating in the market. This seems like a much different part of Bordeaux compared to what I saw this morning. We then took the train to the end of the line and it terminated in an area filled with trees. From there we walked to the Public Gardens. They were very pretty and peaceful. There were many kids playing and people enjoying the lovely day. We then walked back to the shopping area by the Tulip Inn and bought a sandwich and a tart and ate in the square near Cathedral St. Andre. After lunch we walked back across the bridge and a few blocks down from the river to visit another church, Sainte-Marie de La Bastide. It was very interesting and different from all the other churches we’ve seen. It had wood floors and wood ceilings that were ornately painted. It seemed to have a Spanish influence. We walked back to the barge around 2:45 p.m. Captain Tim decided to move the barge at 3:30 p.m. Went down river and waited for the tide to be right to go under the bridge. He said this bridge is the most difficult to navigate due to the really strong currents under it. Made it through and docked at 4:30 p.m. Had a couple of glasses of Cotes du Bourg before dinner. Met our new chef, Jean-Yann, a young black guy from French Guyana. We had the most fabulous meal. We started with a salad of asparagus with a few greens, baby shrimp and caviar with vinaigrette dressing. Then we had hake with a lemon mushroom sauce, zucchini custard and a boiled potato. We had our cheese course, a Reblochon and a Saint Marcellin (brie-like). For desert we had a brioche fixed like French toast with strawberries in Grand Marnier and vanilla ice cream in a fabulous cookie cup. We had two bottles of wine, a red and a white from Bordeaux. It was an amazing dinner and everyone seemed very pleased with it. When Gilbert introduced Jean-Yann to us after dinner, everyone clapped. Tomorrow he’ll cook us all three of our meals, can’t wait! After dinner Gilbert took us for a short walk. We walked to the bell tower that was part of the old town hall. We then walked to Saint-Michele and saw the tower lit at night, very beautiful. Much better than when surrounded by the flea market. The bridge back to the barge was lit (street lamps above, flood lights below) and it was gorgeous. Got back to the barge and went to bed at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, 2005 Got up this morning at 6:15 a.m. Feel tired and a bit queasy. I’m sure I’m eating and drinking too much. Barge got under way at 7:30 a.m. and is headed for Cadillac. Very cloudy and cool today. People are moving slow this morning. It’s the first morning everyone hasn’t been waiting for breakfast. Had breakfast, hard-boiled eggs, cheeses and meat and for those who wanted it Jean-Yann cooked eggs and pancakes to order. Lloyd had a pancake and it was very good, very sweet. After breakfast, relaxed on board (inside, too cool outside) and expect to arrive in Cadillac at about 11 a.m. Arrived in Cadillac and Gilbert told us that since all the museums were
closed in Bordeaux yesterday OAT would pay our entrance to Chateaux Cadillac.
This building is a large chateaux built on the top of a hill. It has had a
varied life. It has burned a few times and been used as a women’s prison in the
early 1900’s. It was very fascinating and had nice gardens out back. We then
walked around the village a bit. It is quite small and very pleasant. We went
back to the barge for lunch today. Dinner again was exceptional. Had escargot (served with a muscadet wine) that was wonderful. And Lloyd actually ate some and didn’t die! Chicken with a mustard sauce, haricot verts wrapped in bacon, an escalloped potato terrine, all of which was fabulous, followed this. The cheese course was Crottin de Chavignol and Livarot. Again, the cheese course was fun. Then came desert. A banana filled crepe with chocolate sauce. It was awesome! I ate the whole thing – I’ve got to stop – but it’s so good! Went for a short walk (waddle) to the town center where Gilbert talked about how to greet someone in France. Got back to the boat and in bed by 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 8, 2005 Got up around 5:40 a.m. Didn’t sleep well last night and am not feeling well this morning. I definitely ate too much yesterday and feel like it’s pay back time. Showered which felt really good this morning. Skipped breakfast and rested in the room until departure at 9 a.m. for the Sauternes region. Drove across the Garonne River and through small villages. Sitting on a hill was a huge chateau, Yquem! It is beautiful but has, sadly, been sold to a corporation due to infighting in the family who has owned the chateau since the 16th century. Took a few pictures and had our picture taken with the travel section of the paper. It’s almost mystical getting to see the greatest Sauterne chateau ever! Left Yquem and drove to the Chateau de Malle for a visit. We got a tour of the castle, it is a livable size! It has nice Italian gardens in the back. We then had a tasting of their Sauternes and it was very good. We bought a couple of bottles, one for after dinner to share with folks on the barge and one to bring home. Gilbert talked about the Botrytis Cinerra, the "noble mould" that causes the Sauternes wines to be so concentrated in their sugars. It is interesting because the Contessa still lives in the Chateau de Malle with her oldest son. We then left for the bastide town of Bazas. Bazas was a nice town with a large town square and at the end of it the Cathedral. It looks like a mini Notre Dame and was built in the 14th century. It was built in the gothic style. We then walked to a bakery that specialized in organic baking. The oven was a huge wood fired brick oven where they made 70 kilos of bread a day. We bought a baguette for 1 euro and ate part of it. It was good, very crusty. We then walked around and looked at all of the closed stores (once again). They (OAT) seem to be good at getting us to places when everything is closed for lunch. We left Bazas about 2 p.m. We then made a very quick stop at a fortified castle, called Roquetaillade. It is a real castle! And beautiful! Wish we could visit but the British lady that owns it wanted more money from OAT for admission and they didn’t want to pay it so now it’s just a drive by! What a shame. Back on the bus for a quick visit to Saint Macaire. This afternoon has gotten very slow moving. I’d really like to get back on the barge. I’m very tired today, having trouble keeping my eyes open on the bus. Gilbert has never been to Saint Macaire so it is a discovery for him as well as us. It is a bastide town and again everything is closed. Visited a Romanesque church (12th century) which is much darker than the other churches we’ve visited but with a wonderful fresco dome. There were some children rehearsing a play on the steps of the church – very quaint. A local lady who had a flat tire said she’d guide the group for a few minutes to show us around – very nice. Got an ice cream and some water before returning to the bus. Finally got back to the barge at 5:15 p.m. The barge is docked in Castet en Dorthe. Took a short nap before dinner. Dinner again was wonderful. Had a mustard cream soup, unusual but very good. We had beef bourguignon with carrots, turnips and mashed potatoes. Our cheese course was Chaource and Roquefort. The Roquefort was very strong, some people weren’t too crazy about it, I loved it! I’m going to miss my cheese courses when I go home. For desert we had chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream with a cassis sauce. We then opened our bottle of Sauternes and shared it with anyone who wanted to try it. After dinner we had a nice walk with Nan, Elizabeth, Ellen, Betty, Bob and Kitty. We walked in the village and there were no people, very quiet. Walked to the overlook that looks over the Garrone valley, beautiful! We are now on the edge of Bordeaux, less grapes and lots of corn. Got back to the barge and was in bed by 11 p.m. Thursday, June 9, 2005 Got up at 6:30 a.m., slept well and feel better today. Showered and went upstairs for coffee. Barge got under way at 8:15 a.m. Had wonderful eggs benedict this morning for breakfast. Wasn’t going to eat but couldn’t pass it up. The canal is awesome, calm and green. It’s like floating through a green tunnel, and birds, birds, birds. This is wild, you actually move upstream. You enter a lock at a lower river level, the gate behind you gets shut and the water level rises 6’-8’ to the upper water level then the front gate opens and we move out of the lock. Fantastic! We are all on the deck of the barge and everyone seems to be really enjoying the morning. At one lock some folks got off and walked for 1.5 miles. They actually beat the barge to the next lock! At the fourth and final lock the walkers got back on and I and three others (Sue, Carl and Oleg) got off with bikes. We took the road to the village of Hure and it was a very pleasant ride, green and sunny. It was really fun to get some exercise and the ride to Meilhan is only 4 miles and flat. Rode along the canal, a bit bumpy with tree roots but very cool and quiet. Loved hearing the birds sing. Took only 30 minutes to make the ride. The barge showed up about 25 minutes later. Got on board and relaxed a while before meeting our host family for lunch. We were broken into three groups and our families picked us up at 12:45 p.m. We were to have lunch with Catherine and Paul. Our group consisted of Lloyd, myself, Kitty, Robert, Judd, Sue and Viktor (our translator). We walked to Catherine’s car and Sue and us got in thinking others were going to another car. Oops! The others, including Viktor, walked up 100 steps to the overlook. I felt awful we had ridden. We then walked down the street to our host’s home. Paul is a furniture builder and Catherine is a book restorer. There home is small but comfortable. Sits high in the city and is 400 years old! They had a dining table set up in their living room for all of us. We met two of their four cats. We sat down and they served wine (a red, a rose) and a salad of rice, cucumbers, tomatoes, and ham in a nice vinaigrette. We then had a quiche Lorraine and a salmon and green pepper quiche with a green salad with lots of olive oil. Then we had a cheese course with four different cheeses. Desert was fruit cocktail with a chocolate or praline sauce and cookies. We talked about what we do for a living and where we live. They knew of Colorado. We listened to Edith Piaf sing, Viktor had requested a CD by her and it was awesome. He enjoyed it so much and was so fun to watch. We then went to their garden for coffee. Catherine left as a friend had been in an accident so Paul gave us a short tour of the village. He walked us back to the barge around 4:30 p.m. It was a very enjoyable experience. I was a little hesitant about it but it turned out very well. We gave our family a gold aspen leaf and a deck of cards with Rocky Mountain National Park pictures and they seemed pleased. The other groups seem to have gotten a better experience but I still enjoyed ours very much. After we got back to the barge some of us went to learn to play petanque (kind of like croquet and lawn bowling). Lloyd and Judd had some beers at the local market. I went with Ellen, Kitty, Bob, Sue and Serge to play. It was very fun and my team lost by only one point. When we got back on board Serge bought a bottle of wine for the players. What a fun afternoon! Got ready for discovery and it sounded like everyone had a wonderful day with their families, people were excited and animated. Of course, we had another wonderful dinner. Lloyd wasn’t too happy because lots of fish. We had a smoked salmon rose with caviar and capers with a dill sauce. Then salmon and sea bream with hollandaise sauce, ratatouille, and rice pilaf. The cheese course was wonderful again. We had Munster and Brie. Everyone loves the cheese courses, it has been so much fun discovering the different cheese of France. Desert was a molten chocolate cake with a chocolate cup filled with orange sherbet and a chocolate sauce. Awesome! After dinner we walked the 100 steps to the overlook to atone for our earlier sin of making Viktor walk. It was beautiful at the overlook, the valley is so fertile. Went back to the barge and sat and watched bats for a while. There were quite a few along the canal. Visited with Judd and Oleg and had a couple of more glasses of wine. How much wine did I drink today??!! It has been a wonderful day. Friday, June 10, 2005 Actually slept until 7:15 a.m. as we decided to stay on the barge today and skip the excursion to Nerac. It is the last day (boo hoo) on the barge and I don’t want to spend it on the bus. Had breakfast, wonderful French toast. Went through four locks this morning. Jean-Yann gave us a cooking demonstration. He showed us how to make a leek tart. (Recipe at the end of journal) It was really fun to watch him, no wasted movements. I’m sure we’ll have the tart for dinner and it will be fabulous. Dropped everyone else off at 10:30 a.m., we are the only ones beside the crew left on the barge! For a while it is our private boat. Set on the deck, read, wrote in journals, watched the scenery and watched the world go by. I’m not sure if it can get much better than this! We had some fruit and drank some Sauternes – awesome! Samie invited us to lunch with the crew so we of course accepted. The crew sat up a table on the sun deck and we had a wonderful omelet, ratatouille, rice and green salad. Serge brought out a half bottle of wine and we had a glass. It was really fun getting to visit with the crew over lunch. After lunch tried to read but kept dozing off so took an hour nap. Cruised about another hour and arrived in Damizan at 4:50 p.m. Took a quick walk up to the small town square. The rest of the group arrived about 5:20 p.m. and they seemed like they had a great time in Nerac and at their wine tasting in Buzet. I still think we made the right choice staying on the barge today. We cruised for another hour, made a u-turn and then cruised the hour back to Damizan where we will spend our last night on the barge. Jean-Yann cut the leek tart into appetizer-sized pieces and we all got to try it. It was wonderful; I’ll have to try it at home. Had our port talk and then sat down to the final dinner aboard the barge, the Gala Dinner. I had watched Samie fold napkins earlier in the day in the shape of shirts and baskets and everyone was very pleased by what they saw in the dining room. We actually had white table clothes for this dinner. We started with a foie gras with fruit chutney and toasts, very good. Had a tenderloin steak with béarnaise sauce, bacon wrapped tomato, boiled potato with sour cream and snow peas. It was wonderful. Our cheese course included Camembert and Comte, both of which were delicious. For desert, Jean-Yann presented a fabulous baked Alaska. It was huge and flaming and delicious. We had champagne with the desert and Viktor gave a toast to the crew and Captain Tim gave a toast also. We ate with Tom and Nan and it was a wonderful evening. After dinner we went for a short walk around the town and then back to the barge where Norm gave us some Port and it tasted really good. We went back to our room and started packing. Went to bed at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, June 11, 2005 Got up at 5 a.m., packed and showered and went upstairs for coffee at 6:30 a.m. Packing was easier than I thought – just cram it all in! I can’t believe we’re leaving the barge this morning. It has been such a wonderful experience and very special. It may be a good time to go while the mystic of the experience is still there. Had breakfast and boarded the bus for the day from hell, 12 hours on the bus! We are headed to Tours with stops along the way at different points. We lost three of our group as they are returning to Paris on their own to avoid the bus ride. Drove until noon where we reached the town of Poitiers, a town sitting high on a limestone ledge. We got off the bus and walked to the square where there was a market. Bought a couple of bottle of wine for the next few dinners. Walked up to the cathedral and went in to visit but there was a wedding going on. It was quite beautiful as the sun was streaming into the church through some windows above. Walked around a little more and decided to stop for lunch at a creperie. I had a Galletta Feta, a crepe filled with eggplant and squash and topped with tomatoes and feta. Very good! Lloyd had crepe with ham, cheese, an egg and raisins. He said it was very good. We split a quarter liter of wine. Bought some tarts at the local bakery and met the bus which is now headed to Chenonceau. Drove for about two more hours. I’m using the bus ride to catch up on my sleep. Every time I sit down I fall asleep! Arrived in Chenonceau and we’re not on the barge anymore! There are tour buses and tourists everywhere. I miss my solitude! We left Jean on the bus as she is not feeling well – sure hope she is ok. We walked down a long drive lined with huge plane trees (sycamores). They are beautiful! At the end of the drive is the Chateau – it is spectacular! It was built for the mistress of Henri II and her gardens are on the left (when approaching). She built the bridge over the River Cher. When Henri II died his wife (a Medici) threw the mistress out and built the gardens on the right (when approaching). It is a beautiful chateau surrounded by a deep mote and gorgeous gardens. And, I got a floaty pen! We walked to the maze and saw kids playing in the maze that is made up of hedges. We didn’t have time to try it out. Got back to the bus for our final leg of the trip today. On the way to the hotel, Chateau Sept Tours, we drove through Vouvray. There were rooms carved into the tuff hillsides where wine is stored. Would have loved to visit one of these caves. We arrived at our hotel, a beautiful chateau with seven towers (Sept Tours) on a golf course. We got our room; it is nice but nothing spectacular. The bathroom is the nicest part. Went for a short walk and then cleaned up for dinner. Had dinner in a room that had two dead fish on a table, and they stunk! Very weird. Started with smoked salmon with a cream cheese like sauce with chives. Weird salmon, no flavor. Then had gazpacho, cold tomato puree with basil. It was good. The bread on the table was very good. Had roast veal with a small amount of mashed potatoes and a vegetable casserole. Desert was an apple tart with ice cream on top. It was a good dinner but not as good as on the barge. I miss Jean-Yann! The overall feeling of our hotel is that it is a bit pretentious. They seem to take themselves very seriously. And it sucks to be treated like second-class citizens because we’re part of a tour. And most of the people on the tour are probably better educated than most of their usual patrons! As Margit pointed out, this is not the place for people who take a barge trip and like a little adventure. Plus, we’re so isolated you can’t really walk anywhere. After dinner walked around a little with Tom and Nan. The evening has gotten very cool. Went to the room and watched some CNN – connected to the world again! Went to bed at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, June 12, 2005 Slept until 7:30 a.m.! One of the best nights of sleep I’ve gotten. Decided last night not to go to Villandry because the bus would leave the hotel at 9:30 a.m. and not return until 5 p.m.! Didn’t want to spend 3.5 hours touring Tours on a Sunday when everything is closed. If it had been a few hours to the gardens and back, I would have gone. Gilbert was very nice about not charging me. I’ll just spend the day relaxing at the pool. Had breakfast, very good. Had everything you could possibly want, including brownies! Group left and we decided to go for a bike ride with Carl but they only have two bikes. So Carl left and we went for a short walk. People that work at this place seem frazzled and are a little rude. They seem to look down their noses at the "tour group". It is a beautiful sunny day and we are planning on spending some time at the pool, reading and catching up on journals. Went inside to catch up on my journal because I was being bothered by little black flying bugs. Sat in the "smoking room". It is a wood paneled round room (in a turret) with comfy chairs. Very pleasant. Sat and visited with Nan for quite some time and really enjoyed that. Went out to the pool and had a beer and got bombarded by the bugs again. They were awful, I think they like the beer! Went to the hot tub and, wow, it was wonderful! The temperature was just right and the jets perfect. The jets were really strong and felt great. George joined us and we had fun talking to him. Ervin sat in the shade of an umbrella and read and I checked on him a couple of times. He is an amazing man for 94 years old! Carl came back and it sounded like he had a great bike ride. Nan and Tom came out and we talked to them for a bit. We then got a ham sandwich and a couple of more beers at the 19th hole. Tested the pool – very nice, and then went back to the hot tub for a bit. This has been a very pleasant day and a good way to relax. Started to get sleepy and went back to the room for a nap before showering and dinner. Took a shower and decided I would be pissed if I’d paid a lot of money for this room and was staying here for an extended time. Every time I shower I have water going everywhere! It is so annoying! Had dinner at the hotel again. Started with a cheese log that was good but I’m pretty sure it was the same stuff we had on our smoked salmon last night. Then had pate with fruit compote and toast. Then for the main course we had what I would call corned beef hash on mashed potatoes. Again I think everything was left over from last night but just rearranged to look differently. Very disappointing. Desert was a molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and cherries in sauce that tasted just like cough syrup. UGH! We drank our bottle of St. Emillion wine that we got at the Poitiers market and it was very good, the best part of the dinner. Some people thought dinner was fine but I was very disappointed with it. Took a quick walk after dinner and went to the room to do some packing as we leave in the morning for Paris. Went to bed at 10:30 p.m. Monday, June 13, 2005 Got up at 6:30 a.m. today. Today is our 18th wedding anniversary! Lloyd skipped breakfast but I went down and had some fruit salad, yogurt, cheese and a slice of the good grainy bread and a cup of coffee. I paid our room bill from the charges yesterday for lunch and beer and bought mom a really pretty necklace. We left the Chateau Sept Tours around 9 a.m. and are now headed to Paris. Arrived in Paris at 12:45 p.m. The traffic was great getting into town, not what I remember from the past. Got to our hotel, Home Plaza Bastille, with no trouble and checked into our room. It is a very nice and comfortable room that overlooks a very pretty courtyard. We got our bags, changed our shoes and headed out to the Eiffel Tower. There is a metro station less than a block from our hotel. Took it to the Military School stop and approached the Eiffel Tower from the side opposite the Tracadero along a nice green park area. The crowds weren’t too bad and we were in line to go to level 2 by 2 p.m.! We waited a little while and then were on the platform overlooking all of Paris. It is a clear and sunny day so the view is great. Can see the Arc de Triumph, Louvre, Sacre Couer, Notre Dame and the new tall high rise in Paris. Beautiful! The Paris Air Show started today and there is a blimp and a hot air balloon flying around. Bought a couple of lighted pins of the Eiffel Tower – very fun. Came down and walked over to the river and had a chocolate banana crepe – what a great tradition. Brianna would be so jealous! Walked to the Tracadero to get another view of the Eiffel Tower before heading to the Arc de Triumph. It is such a beautiful monument, and huge. We then walked down the Champs-Elysee and hob-nobbed with the beautiful people. Ha Ha. Finally jumped on the Metro and made our way back to the hotel. I love the metro system in Paris. It is so easy to use and gets you where you’re going quickly. And it goes everywhere. I hope the light rail system in Denver will be as efficient and go to many more areas of town over the years. Returned to the hotel for a shower before our farewell dinner at a restaurant called Chez Clement. Hope it is good. It’s going to be hard to say good-bye to some of the people on this tour, I feel like I’ve made some new friends and will miss them. Met for a kir before dinner and Gilbert gave a little farewell speech. Then we walked to the restaurant. Judd and Sue aren’t going to dinner with us as they have friends who live in Paris and Betty and Jean aren’t going, as Jean is not feeling well again. We said good-bye to these folks before leaving for the restaurant. Arrived at the restaurant and, as feared, they shuffled us off to the top floor, and it’s hot! Started with a vegetable salad (peas, beans, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, and cilantro in olive oil), which was very good. Then things went downhill. Had some meat, what kind is it, and a huge mound of mashed potatoes. Very disappointing. People just seem to be going through the motions – it is a very anticlimactic evening. Desert is cream puffs with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. We each got two glasses of wine included with dinner. Then they brought Lloyd and I a molten chocolate cake with some raspberry sorbet with a sparkler in it for our anniversary and two glasses of champagne. Very nice. Overall, the evening was a huge let down. Our meals on the barge were so wonderful and we made such good friends on this trip that to shuffle you off to a restaurant for a very mediocre farewell dinner seems a shame. They (OAT) should make every effort to make your farewell dinner something very memorable. Went back to the hotel and finished packing for the flight home tomorrow. Watched CNN for a bit as the jury in the Michael Jackson case has reached their verdict – acquitted on all charges. Disgusting! Went to bed at 10:30 p.m. Today was fun but tonight was very disappointing. After the wonderful time on the barge the last three days have felt like filler. People seemed tired and disappointed which was evident at dinner tonight. I’ll have to express my concerns to OAT on their survey. Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Got up at 4:15 a.m., showered and left the hotel at 6:45 a.m. for the airport. A van picked us up and it only took about 30 minutes to get to De Gaulle. Lucky we were going the direction we were as traffic headed into town was horrible. Got checked in and through security with no trouble. It will be a long day, 9.5 hours to Atlanta, 2.5 hour layover then three more hours to Denver. Hopefully all goes smoothly and we’re home by 7 p.m. I am looking forward to getting home. The flight from Paris to Atlanta was on Air France and very nice. The food was very good and the alcohol was free! They even had a station set up where you could get your own coffee, water of soft drink. Watched a movie and tried to get some rest. Arrived in Atlanta as scheduled. Our flight from Atlanta left on time and the plane felt so tight. I was in the middle seat and just felt trapped. I must be tired because I’m starting to loose my sense of adventure! Got into Denver on time and caught a taxi home. We were home by 7 p.m.! It’s really nice to get home this early. We were able to completely unpack and get the laundry started. As nice as it is to travel it is always the nicest getting home. I think this trip will go down in my book as the best vacation I’ve ever had! Fini
Leek Tart For Crust: 250gr flour 150gr butter 2 pinches salt 2 eggs For Filling: 4 leeks, white & light green parts only 100gr butter ¼ liter heavy whipping cream 4 eggs pinch salt pinch nutmeg 2 pinches black pepper 100g grated Swiss cheese Mix ingredients for crust and form into a ball. Let rest for 30 minutes or for 10 minutes in the freezer. Slice and clean leeks. Sauté leeks in butter until soft. Roll out dough to fit a tart pan. Add leeks to bottom of tart pan. Top leeks with cheese. Mix whipping cream, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg together and pour over top of leeks and cheese. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Can be served warm or cold. Serves 8.
Dinners on the Mirabelle (Spelling may not be correct) Saturday, June 4, 2005: Feuilles de tomates con fromage frais et aux crevettes Fillet de volailles aux champignons avec broccolis et tagliatelles Fromages: Bleu de Bresse et St. Maure Crème Brulee a la Vanille Monday, June 6, 2005: Salade d’asperge aux caviar Dos de colin sauce bonne femme avec courgette Fromages: Reblochon et St. Marcellin Brioche – pain perder avec fraises au Grand Marnier et glace vanilla Tuesday, June 7, 2005: Cassolette d’escargots avec ail Supreme de poulet a la eroite de moutarde et gratin de pomme de terre Fromages: Crottin de Chavignol et Livarot Crepes aux banane Wednesday, June 8, 2005: Veloute a la moutarde Bouef Bourguignon avec carottes et navets et puree de pomme de terre Fromages: Chaource et Roquefort Parfait glace au cassis avec mousse de chocolat Thursday, June 9, 2005: Rosace de saumon Saumon et bream avec sauce Beurre Blanc avec ratatouille et riz pilaf Fromages: Munster (Alsace) et Brie Gateaux au chocolat Friday, June 10, 2005: Terrine de fois gras Filet de boeuf roti avec pomme de terre et tomate et pois Fromages: Camembert et Comte Omelette Norvegienne
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