Early Spring 2009

Should I go for quantity rather than quality? I was musing about the number of my blogs as they become fewer and further apart. Or was it just the novelty that went out of it?

We still had plenty of cold and wet during March but as the month ended, the sun made some discrete appearances and all of a sudden, we had a few days favoring short sleeves and bermudas.
Early March always highlights our daughter and granddaughter’s birthday, which we celebrated with a family party and lots of cake and bubbly. A welcome distraction from an otherwise busy schedule.

Spending a couple of nights in Lyon, I booked a hotel downtown and had time to enjoy a walk in the city center in the evening. Luckily, in-between showers. The quayside of the Saône gives a nice view of the surrounding hillside and some of the monuments look prettier by night than by day.

Spring is nearly there and some of the trees lining the streets show their first green. I thread my way through the rue Mercier that reminisces me of our own rue des Bouchers in Brussels: restaurant next to restaurant, with some displaying seafood.

Instead, I favor an authentic Bouchon Lyonnais for my evening meal. There are fewer and fewer of these bouchons left in downtown Lyon. Rising real estate prices due to the prime location make it almost impossible to maintain a low-budget dining place in the city center.

Le Jura is conveniently located close to my hotel and has a simple bourgeois kitchen. The mirrored walls carry warnings and advise. “Vous avez la montre, j’ai le temps!” “Une cuisine de qualité ne connait pas le mot pressé!” Cute!

I liked it, so I went back a second time and took some pictures (after all guests had left). In Lyon, you inevitably drink a “pot”. This medieval measurement of 0,46l can be of traditional Beaujolais or Côte du Rhône but on my first evening, I have a Côteaux du Languedoc from near the Mont Ventoux, an excellent accompaniment to my Terrine de Veau followed by the Foie de Veau à la sauce Moutarde.

On these trips, eating in restaurants every day, I regularly fancy a very simple meal and on the second evening, Le Jura is almost fully booked, I settle for the Jambon du Pays as a starter and a plain steak with baked potatoes as a main dish. Just like at home. Following the tradition, I have the inevitable “pot” of Beaujolais.The event of the evening happens when the elderly couple sitting next to me prepares to leave the restaurant and the woman mistakenly puts on an overcoat of more or less the same color and size belonging to somebody else. The following exchange of commentaries between the elder couple and the foursome sitting next to them brings a smile to everybody overhearing their conversation. My hotel is located next door and as the insulation of the rooms is below standards, I have a Mirabelle to top off the evening. A delicious deadly sin!

At the end of the same week, I spend a night near Auxerre. To be close to the account I have to visit the next morning, I pick the Hostellerie Saint Pierre in Cravant (http://www.hostellerie-st-pierre.com/index.htm) from my guide des Logis de France. There are only few guests in this small family hotel and those not present don’t know what they miss! The restaurant only offers a fixed menu but it is fantastic (I had it all written down in detail but lost my notebook 2 weeks later).

As far as I remember, it contained potage en croûte, foie gras et rhubarbe, saumon fumé et milkshake à la menthe, roulade de poulet en sauce and a delicious gateau, coffee with sweets on top. With all of that, I had an excellent Crémant de Bourgogne (what else?) to start and a very good Irancy 2005 – Palotte – from Caves Bienvenu, at a more than reasonable price. The wine list is very complete with a nice selection from Burgundy and other regions and the prices are a bargain. Céline and her two young assistants perform service at the table in an orderly and very friendly manner. It was noticeable that all other guests appreciated both the food and the service.
After this gargantuan experience, I retired to my room (Volnay). I’ll admit that I am used to just a little more comfort but I have experienced a lot worse as well. For a short stay, it was certainly more than adequate and if you book early, you’ll probably get one of the better rooms. Need I say that I slept well? Except for the morning where I woke up early by the noise of flushing and showering in an adjacent room. However, I wasn’t there to stay long in bed and a marvelous, very un-French, buffet breakfast compensated for that. For those preferring more luxury and class I can recommend the nearby Hostellerie des Clos in Chablis (http://www.hostellerie-des-clos.fr/). I stayed there on a previous trip and this hotel has an excellent restaurant with a wonderful selection of Chablis and other wines. The bill will just be a little more painful.

As we come close to Easter, our garden all of a sudden explodes in a festival of colors and H’tje’s mood improves by the day as she can

crawl around the garden, wield her rake and do all those funny things that people with green fingers enjoy. Knoert, impervious to all her flurries, enjoys the luxury of the chaise-longue.

The Holy Week brings me down the west of France in a full week trip to la Rochelle, Rochefort, Saint-Pierre des Corps, Montlouis sur Loire and back to Valenciennes and Crespin. Unwittingly, for one of the nights, I have booked rooms for our party of three in a real chateau. A fantastic experience featuring a very large room (Henri IV) with a canopied bed, a bathroom as large as some of the smaller rooms I had to stay in and a beautiful view over the surrounding garden.

Couple that to the absence of a television and the absolute quiet during the night and you’re in for a wonderful experience. The bedding and cushions deserve a special mention: top class! Don’t wait until you feel romantic again! (http://www.labourdaisiere.com/)

We have about just the time to make the trip to nearby Amboise and enjoy the view on the chateau d’Amboise from the Loire and make a short walk through the medieval streets of the borough. At the cave of the Vignerons Indépendants, I buy a few bottles of red and rosé Amboise-Touraine AOC.

The trip is not ended yet, a last evening meal with a customer at la Gentilhommière in Artres, deserves more than a mention. The food is superb. I understand why I never succeeded in booking a room there because they only have 9 rooms and are always fully booked. Luckily, they’re expanding and are adding another 17 rooms. There is hope after all.

First and second week in February

A working week has 5 days and 4 nights (I'll always sleep at home on Fridays unless something very special happens). So far in 2009 we've had 20 nights and I slept away from home on 8 of them. At the end of this week it'll be 11 nights out of 24.Last week: 1 night in Germany, 2 nights in Holland. Highlights? A superb glass of Monbazillac with our dessert at the Krone Restaurant in Weinstadt and an excellent Bourgogne Pinot Noir (2005) from Domaine Parent in Pommard at the van der Valk Hotel in Gilze Rijen. On Thursday evening, to compensate for my absences during the week, Htje and I had dinner at the local Italian. Nothing special, but everything OK. The Montepulciano d'Abruzzo was reasonable. Nothing more.During the weekend at home, I celebrated our victory in the last bridge competition drive of the year with a Chablis Premier Cru Montmains 2006 (La Chablisienne) matching perfectly with the shrimp & gamba rice salad. (Mineral, more vegetal than fruity, nothing of the sometimes coarse buttery taste present in some of Burgundy's whites, all class and refinement. Should better nicely in the next 2-3 years.) Htje later spoiled me to death with beef carpaccio followed by lamb cutlets with beans. I opened up the first of my Chateau Arnauton 2005 - Fronsac. Already excellent, I should have thought of de-caraffing it. Should be really OK in 2010. It's Monday, and I'm off to the south with a full planning bringing me to Tarbes, Toulouse, Montauban, La Canourgue and Montpellier in the week to come. Ryanair brings us to Carcassonne for a mere 115,40 Euro (return) and Hertz charges us another 139,80 Euro to let us drive around. On my way to the hotel I witness another beautiful sundown over the Pyrenees.

The mountains are white-capped and look very clean.I arrive at the hotel at 19:15. Hostellerie Les Cèdres in Villeneuve en Rivière is an old fashioned, traditional hotel. They upgrade my room, it looks out over the courtyard facing he village church and has a large King size bed and a comfortable bath tub. A second adjacent room will be left unused. Only in the morning I noticed that it takes ages for the hot water to get to the room but otherwise, no complaints.The restaurant is quite crowded and I settle for the standard menu: Mille-feuilles de Saint-Jacques (with one large scallop served in its half-open shell and a mille-feuilles filled with tomato sauce and smaller scallops with their coral on top, olives and salad). Followed by lotte with rice and vegetables as a main dish and all this accompanied with half a bottle of Jurançon Sec 2006 - Chant de Vignes (Domaine Cauhapé - 64360 Monin). Made of Gros Manseng - 100% harvested end of September. A complex, ripe, full-bodied, fruity white; unlike anything else I have ever had. I foresake dessert but settle for the cheeses. All local: Bethmal, Barousse and Goat (from a local farmer). I trust the sommelier's choice and get a glass of a marvellous Madiran 2005. Chateau Bouscassé from Alain Brumont - Maumusson. Thick oily tears, beautiful structure with some tannins but full of dark red fruit. More than a mouthful! Nothing old-fashioned here! Hoping that the beautiful sundown would forebode a beautiful morning was idle! Awful weather the whole day! It hardly stopped raining with stormy wind gusts up to 140km/hour. Thousands of homes in France without electricity and a lot of damage to roofs, crops etc.

Trotted along the whole day without even a chance of taking a picture of the Pyrenees and reached my hotel in Moissac in the pouring rain around 18h45. I’m given a room looking out over the slow bend in the Tarn and the bed must be the largest I’ve ever slept in. The Moulin de Moissac hotel has a wellness and spa centre and it’s noticeable from the many complimentary soaps, shower gels, peelers that can be found in the bathroom.

After an extensive phone call with my colleague Soumia I have

dinner at the hotel's restaurant. I have the carpaccio of fresh salmon as a starter with a glass of Sancerre (Sauvignon Blanc); correct but nothing more. The sommelier wanted to give me a glass of Tariquet (local white wine made of Ugni Blanc) but no bottle was open...

I took the local main dish from the menu: Cassoulet. You like it or you don’t; I love it! Probably the best I ever had and chef René Bajard deserves a citation. What else could I drink with it than a 2003 Madiran from Chateau Montus? Less fruity and exuberant than the 2005. Already complete with excellent structure and mild tannins. But guess what: also produced by Alain Brumont in Maumusson. No cheese this time but a delicious dessert of crêpes.
Up early on Wednesday, I hurry to my first appointment in Montauban and afterwards drive 220km, mostly over departmental roads without any scenic views - except for the sign board signalling the village of Gaillac where they make excellent reds; but I don’t even have time to stop for a cup of coffee - to the next one in La Canourgue. I am now in the country of the river Tarn and the scenery changes completely and the drive becomes pleasant for the last 50km or so. From La Canourgue it is another 120km to my hotel. The weather has been dreary the whole morning, but later in the afternoon, the wind clears the sky, and the sun appears between the clouds.

By the time I reach the magnificent viaduct in Millau, the sky is completely clear and a watery sun makes it bearable. It’s the second time I drive by. The first time, it was raining and misty and we could hardly see anything. And although I don’t really like bridges too much, I stop to take a picture. The view of that bridge hanging over the deep ravine is breath-taking. At nearly 700m above sea level the wind is very hard and cold, cold, cold.
The last 100km or so are a nice drive through the hills towards Montpellier.

Without knowing, I booked a room at the Montpellier Golf Hotel. We’re deep south by now and dinner is only served at 20h00. An extended phone call with Stacy and Tamara to discuss business closes most of the gap and reading and answering emails the rest of it. In between I watch a French dubbed version of the original Cape Fear with Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck. Had it been in original version, I’d cancelled the calls! Amazing how that movie still stands!
At dinner I settle for the standard menu. The cold salmon and dorade (Gold bream?) starter uses just a bit too much vinegar to my taste but the pintade, accompanied with deliciously flavoured cabbage and fried potatoes is delicious. On recommendation of the waiter, I have the local Chateau Valoussière 2004 – Coteaux de Languedoc from Philippe et Frédéric Jeanjean. Won bronze metal at the Macon contest in 2007. I’ve no idea what the main grape is they use although it reminisces me of Pinot Noir. The wine is pleasant but I’ll not bend over backward to find some more of it.
Instead of a sweet dessert I settle for the fresh fruit salad. Coffee to top it off and I’m back in my room by 21:00; in time for the friendly (soccer) match between France and Argentina

(coached by Maradonna!). France will loose with 0-2. A superior Lionel Messi directed his troops perfectly and the French, despite all their talent, were unable to counter effectively. The great news of the evening, however, will be that Hiddink will train Chelsea, at least until end of this season. During half time I happily zap around and linger with a beautiful costume drama depicting the alleged (?) liaison between Cardinal Mazarin (Chancellor and prime minister of France) and Anne of Austria the King’s (Louis XIV) mother. At a par with the renowned English drama! Costumes, sets and acting: a joy for the eye!
Breakfast: very un-typically French, with fried eggs, sausage, ham, tomato and mushrooms at the bay window overlooking the golf course. The first golfers arrive on the green, it’s 8 o’clock. The weather is cold, the skies are clear; the sun is coming up and promises a beautiful day. But first to Vailhauquès, then to Montpellier and before I know, I’m on the road to the airport in Carcassonne. This is too good to be true and as I receive 2 really pressing phone calls, I have to stop and call around. I end up in Carcassonne with barely time to have a lunch and settle for the restaurant at the Intermarché. It’s good value for money but I’ll not add anything to it. The faithful Opel Astra is returned to Hertz with 1100km on the odometer in less than 4 days.

The plane is going to be late and I kill the time reading and answering emails. It's still light when we take off but the skye is clouded and there is little to see. At the landing at Charleroi in the night, the landscape looks like a giant Christmas tree.