This Travelling Life

Europe 2023 : France : 9 more days of Rugby and Wine

Monday 25th September to Tuesday 3 October

And we were off again through France, overnighting on Monday in St.Florentin. On Tuesday we met up with Stephen and Carolyn in Nuits St. George in Burgundy for an afternoon of Pinot Noir tasting and more wine with dinner.

Wednesday and Thursday we spent in Arbois, the centre of the Jura wine region and home to Vin Jaune and some good natural wines for Neil and Cremants for me.

I had delicious, local Bresse chicken with morels for lunch; best chicken in the world they say and it was good.

On Friday we stayed by the Rhone river near Montelimar; the home of nougat.

On Saturday we were back at the campsite on the beach near Martique. We spent a great afternoon walking on the beach and enjoying a bottle of wine at Les Ombrelles.

On Sunday it was back to Marseilles for the Springboks vs Tonga game. Only the two of us this time in the Tesla taxi racing down the coastal highway like were in a James Bond movie. And this time I had booked a table at the restaurant with the best vibe within walking distance of the stadium.

We loved the game; such sportsmanship and camaraderie on the field and off.

Monday 2 October saw us starting the trek back to Munich. We stayed over in another Jura town called Dole, home of Louis Pasteur, whose work actually began in oeniology. Where would we be without wine?

Luckily I booked at the fabulous Le Atelier de Louis restaurant because the weather was gorgeous outside and we watched loads of people turn up and get turned away.

There's not much open on a Monday so you could be left with no option but the pizza vending machine!

On Tuesday we were in Egusheim in the heart of Alsace, tasting Reisling and dining on local fare.

That's basically all the wine regions of France in one trip done.

Wine and Rugby!

Europe 2023 : Paris Round Two

Friday 22nd September

We drove back into Camping du Paris with a sense of de ja vu and anticipation.

We followed Mandy's architectural lead to Musee du quai Branly - cool design with good African and Asian art.

We wandered under the Eiffel Tower and over the Seine like real tourists.

We explored the 16th arrond. - more like locals now.

We sat on a busy corner at Cafe Passy people watching. There was a boulangerie two doors down and almost half the locals- from suited execs to kids in strollers- waiting to cross the street in front of us, bit the end off their baguette for a little snack on their way home. The French eat a lot of bread - and pastries and desserts and cheese and butter and meat - and they are all still slim!

We all met up with Barbara and Gavin at Breizh-a Breton galette restaurant.

Galettes are savoury buckwheat pancakes with delicious cheesy fillings; typically French and reasonably priced compared to most Parisienne restaurants. (Even on a budget, I emplore you never to eat at a place offering Menu Touriste in 5 languages! Rather have a baguette and cheese on the banks of the river!)

Saturday 23rd September

Match Day!

Trying to coordinate meeting up with dozens of different friends at different times before and after the game proved near impossible.

Neil and I wandered the streets of the 3rd while the Maggs went to Orsay and the Thompsons to LV. Marche de Enfants Rouge was too crowded to enjoy, so we ended up at a street cafe, eating tarte tatin for breakfast at noon.

Lunch nearby and a stroll along Canal St. Martin, my favourite area in Paris. We finally got our group altogether with more drinks at yet another street cafe and headed to Gare du Nord. The metro in Paris is good but getting to Stade de France in packed trains is just no fun. The game was exciting but the Bokke lost to Ireland and it took us hours to get home after the game!

Sunday 24th September

Montemarte

We had a great lunch at our favourite Au Virage Lepic.

We strolled around Montemarte and Sacre Coeur with just too many tourists!

Drinks at Neil's favourite bar, Le Petit Cafe de Montemarte - with it's avante guarde local crowd - a tiny fragment of what Montmarte was like in it's arty heyday. Channel your inner Hemingway or Dali!

We had a surprisingly good time watching rugby at Le Nazir with a crazy waiter moving all the furniture around to accommodate us and frenetically upselling his food and wine before we realised it. Paris we love you and we will be back soon...

Europe 2023 Loire Valley France

Tuesday 19th to Thursday 21 September

Needless to say, it was a slower than expected start to our journey to the Loire Valley. We spent three nights at the lovely Camping Les Chateaux in Bracieux.