Bonsoir

A fine evening to end my trip. Not wanting a big meal, I walked to a nearby creperie. It was rustic like it belonged in the Alps. The owners were older and casual. He wore jeans. He quickly took my order and poured me a glass of wine. This is the kind of place with the small tables and one long bench on the side against the wall. If it's crowded, you sit very close to your neighbors. A family of four came in with two small children. They said they would be seven, so tables were pulled together, and the little boy sat next to me. When three women came in, with two who looked to be in their twenties, the faces of the children lit up. Some things are universal. When I left, the owner followed me out to ask me where I learned to speak French. Ha! It turns out he lived once in Vancouver, Canada and worked in the Yukon. 

Hotel Sainte Beuve

Yesterday I was looking forward to getting home, but today I realize how much I haven't seen and how much I will miss. I didn't buy a museum pass and couldn't bring myself to stand in long lines at museums. Maybe next time, and there are no shortage of things to do without lines. In 1977 there were no lines. We walked right into the Louvre. We walked right up to the Mona Lisa. Ok, maybe my memory has colored things a bit. We easily joined the crowd around the Mona Lisa. And the Pompidou? It was new. It opened in 1977. It hasn't worn well with age. 

Last night I turned the wrong way out of the Metro station on my way to a restaurant that was highly recommended by a friend. I caught my mistake when the vista opened to my right and there stood the beautiful-at-night Eiffel Tower. So close. The lights on the tower are stunning, and from this side there were no crowds. No good photo ops though because of construction. Yesterday's wrong turns led me through the classic buildings of the Sorbonne. Today is my one last day for wrong turns. 

Pont des Artes

Pont Alexandre III

A beautiful morning along the Seine among the joggers and Sunday strollers. 

American Church in Paris

An interdenominational and international congregation with a large presence of African and Filipino worshipers.  

Au revoir au château

This incredible sunset appeared on our last night at the château just before the dinner prepared by Ryan, our guide extraordinaire, and another great cook in our group. A fine ending to a great week. Now for my four days in Paris. 

Saumur - Domaine Filliatreau - La Gambetta

Creative cuisine at La Gabetta. Delicieux. Sushi. Shrimp. Spinach foam with pansy and quail egg. And that red dyed egg shell had a foam top with mostly raw egg inside. It tasted good. Really. 

The owners of the nearby vineyards purchased this cliff or cave dwelling and have partially restored it after years of neglect from squatters. The owner pridefully referred to his family as peasants, said with a emphatic puff of air on the "p" and enjoyed being blunt and unreserved. He joked about Americans who will allow every gun and automatic weapon imaginable but get frightened when a little Camenbert or a pate cross the border. The red wines here are Cabernet franc only, mind you, if you want a blend, go elsewhere. Were they good? Yes. Were they mostly meant to drink young? Yes. Was he happy to sell us some? Mais oui. 

A peaceful and pleasant visit to this chateau which became a museum early in the 20th century and has been used as a prison and a weapons storage facility. Instead of opulent reproductions of former royal living, you saw the bare bones of a beautifully built structure. I enjoyed watching a young teacher lovingly talk to and teach her four young students. 

This is my first time working with a blog. The most frustrating feature is not being able to control and change the order of the posts. So if it looks strange, that's why. There is also the teeny keyboard, working in the early morning hours, the gimpy hand......

Domaine de la Renaudie

This domaine, along with a group of others, worked very hard to get this new appellation approved in 2011. The wines are just now being sold mostly in France. 

Angers

Second driving adventure - the car with the newly purchased map and somewhat functional GPS and the car with neither of these things plus a non-functional windshield defroster drive away from the city at night in opposite directions. 

Chenonceau

Jean d'la Queue in Nantes

Domaines Landron in La Haye Fouassiere

This facility is fairly new and modern. The owner converted to organic and biodynamic methods with good success after his parents retired.  He rode and walked with us through the vineyards to show us the clay and rocks in the soil and in one spot a huge difference between his fields and the neighbors. So beautiful. Another of his employees joined for lunch n Nantes where the meats were grilled over local wood. 

Cheverny - Fougeres - Chinons

Biggest lesson learned late this evening -- you can't always trust the GPS. 

Angers

This was a beautiful and interesting town to visit with a medieval castle, the massive Apocalypse tapestries, and an cobble-stoned church plaza where we had lunch. 

Calling it a chateau may be a bit of a stretch but it is une grande maison. My window is one of those on the third floor. Many rooms are decorated in an old country French style. Mine is more simple and I'm hoping the heat comes on. There are woods around us and beautiful farm land. We had a good meal at a bistro nearby after a long drive to get here. 

Le Bourg Tibourg

Kim started growing his wine cellar in earnest when he was a young lawyer and the kids were little. While I was skimping and saving, he was buying cases of wine every month. It was his project and an all engulfing hobby. There was so much to learn. So many winemakers. So many vintages. Finally I told him one day that when you die, that wine cellar will be my trip to Paris. It was a joke between us for a long time. I didn't expect it to happen, but when it did, I sold some of the wine, and kept a separate fund.  I didn't add it to that account's balance and planned to some day take that trip to Paris. So here I am. To be fair, Kim was also saving and investing in college funds for the boys which made it possible for them to concentrate on their studies even after he was gone. He believed that investing in his kids was the single best investment he could make. So here's to you KC. The wine cellar goes to Paris (and other wine growing regions of France). Salut. 

Here's where it started.