Lazy days in Burgundy

Sunshine, rain, wind and thunder, we have had it all in our few days in Beaune, Burgundy. There are worse towns to be stuck in during bad weather- wine tasting, boulangerie (bakeries), jaw dropping cheese shops and cellar doors let the day pass.

Visited the ancient cellars of Patriache, and tasted our way through their wines from a traditional steel tasting cup called a tastevin.

Here there are some of the best wine equipment stores in the whole of Europe. It is really difficult to not take half the store away with you.

We took a visit to the real 'hospice de beaune' today to get some antibiotics. Not sure how much it cost as noone seemed to want to give us the bill.

Any financial problems the French government had with its post offices have been slowly but surely overcome by our passion for magnets and waiters friends.

Pics- beautiful beaune/at Patriarche for tasting/beaucoup de souvenirs heading to oz..

Beaune again...

After Paris and the wine roadie Rach, Janet and Trav met up in Beaune for a relaxing week.

A cheese and wine lovers paradise, it reminds us a lot of Alba, Italy, with it's street markets, food culture and truffles.

Lunch was the local parsley ham, and parmesan soldiers dipped in truffle honey. Dinner was even more gourmet (see pic;).

Happy birthday to the best nephew so far, Joseph. Have a great party mate and see you soon xxxxx

Southern Rhone

In the Southern Rhone we visited a chateuneaf du pape producer where we worked through blending a wine from different barrels and tanks. An amazing insight to the ability of this area to produce very different styles based on the proportions of Grenache, Shiraz, and Mourvedre among 13 other permissable varieties.

Gigondas was a revelation. Like a junior chateuneaf, the wines are an absolute steal with the right maker and site. The landscape is also breathtaking- we visited some vineyards perched high up in the Dantelle Mountains where steep slpoes, forests and rocky soils combine to make a most wild region. Thanks Laurent for a great tour of your vineyards. Spectacular.

//View from the top of Hermitage at La Chappelle// spectacular amphitheater at Les Royes, St Joseph// high up on the south side of the Dantelles in gigondas.

More Burgundy please!

I have read books about the terroirs of Burgundy- about how the vineyards produce very different wines, of very different quality only meters apart.

But it was not until I visited the area, saw the changes in soil and stones, how the sun hits the slope at different times for different intervals and compared the wines that it really hit home.

Eons ago the earth moved in a big way in Burgundy creating big slopes, mountains and valleys. The the deposits were sweeped and pushed in to different corners of Burgundy. It is like all the different wine growing areas of the world were picked up, mangled and squashed in to one tiny slope. Factor in the many landowners, makers and negociants each with their different styles and you are left with a very complex purchase decision.

For me, Chambolle Musigny and Clos Vougeot hit the right spot; more voluptuous styles, perhaps reflective of my love for Aussie juice. Although not as rich as Mersault, I prefer the finer and more diverse white Puligny Montrachet- something which will send us broke.

Sante! T

Montrachet/ Double rainbow/ Almost famous: looking over La Tache towards Romanee-Conti from Malconsorts.

Out on the town (Paris)

Aswell as cramming in the Louvre, shopping, Montmatre and the Sacre Couer, croque monsieurs, shopping, St Germain, Notre Dame and some shopping in our next two days in Paris, we headed out on the town for both the Moulin Rouge and the Paris Opera Ballet.

Have you ever seen half naked ladies lead miniature ponies around a stage? If not, you have missed out on the Moulin Rouge. A little rock eisteddfod-ish with boobs but the costumes, comedy and high kicks were great!

The next night it was onto the Palais Garnier for the ballet. Almost two worlds apart. I think it is one of the largest opera houses for its capacity. Tickets worth their weight just to be there in the jaw droppping building, but the ballet was also amazing with a gorgeous girl in the lead as Manon.

Paris was once again beautiful and too quick; you would need forever to find everything this place has to offer.

Pics- a stormy Paris from the Sacre Couer/at the Palais Garnier

xr

Bourgogne

From Belgium Roh and Trav went to Burgundy for a boys roady while Rach and Janet hit belle Paris. Cold and wet in both places but still magic.

Day one of the 5 day trip centered on a visit to a fantastic 'natural' producer, Francois Legros.

8 hectares, 15 wines scattered across the whole region, the vougeot was sublime, while I think I have found a new love in chambolle musigny.

Thank you Francois for your patience with my French and for your hospitality.

Degustation with Francois/ Trav and Roh at Clos Vougeot

Paris in the spring time

Mon- From Brussels Trav and I headed our seperate ways. Me to Paris to meet my mum and Trav off to half of France with Roh to taste wine. Both options looking likely to hurt the budget.

By luck I started my journey with a first class train ride to Paris, but followed it up with a not so glam trip lugging the suitcase through the metro and up stairs in the crazy downpour that welcomed me.

Met mum at the hotel and we headed out on the town to once again get drenched with rain, eventually giving up to the warmth of a small bistro with yummy onion soup and provence rose.

Tues - Next day headed off to the Champs Elysees. After a little(?) shopping saved some coins by having a cheap maccas lunch on the CE.

Saw the Arc de Triomphe in, you guessed it, more rain. It rained so much with such a strong wind the rememberance flame went out. The police were on standby and re-lit it quickly.

Found a local fav japenese place for tea and discovered cheese kebabs. Where have you been hiding all my life...

x r

Pics - first class baby/that's us in paris/yummo/la tour eiffel shows off at night and the rain stops

 

Bruxelles day 2

After a drive through the Belgium countryside we headed back to the big smoke to explore the tourist attractions.

Off to the 'Grand Place' first, this is truly beautiful. An interesting off-centre designed town hall and gorgeous old buidings with statue carvings high up that talk to each other across the square.

Lunch included the local fare 'stoenp' - a great mix of mashed potatoes with other veggies. Something we can do at home :)

But of course dessert is the most important meal of the day here! Explored and tasted the major chocolate houses Godiva and Marcolini. Aaammaaazzing.

Pics - hanging out in the Grand Place with our most excellent hosts and Ev's ma, Vonnie / little boy peeing

Bruxelles

With our very good friends Roh and Evi we explored the city. Lunch at the fish market cafe was hectic and raining but we had great food and a very authentic local experience. Chips from the local fritterie were as good as they get.

We visited a local comic book store to stock up on Tin Tin, in French. There is a great comic book scene here with many famous Belgian illustrators. Hopefully it will help with our studies.

Dinner in the country south of Brussles with Roh's parents was very special. The food and wine were fantastic (95' Clos Vougeot and Dom. du Chevalier Blanc with local cuisine) and the convesation was even better. Thank you D. & L. for sharing your little piece of paradise.

Going Dutch

Beautiful canals with tiny crooked old buildings in brown stone, and blossom trees that almost glow white in overcast light.

After dark the city transforms into a seedy place and everywhere smells of pot. You can smell it on the people next to you in the restaurant. Here it is normal.

Bikes rule; pedestrians are at the bottom of the pecking order. Vespas and mini cars also share the bike lane. It is chaotic, but everyone seems to get to their destination. We heard a bike tour guide say 'crossing the road is like paper, scissors, rock'.

We had some great experiences. The house of Anne Frank was a moving insight in to life during the holocaust.

The rooms where she wrote her diary were dark and completely isolated from the outside world. Trav has not read the book but will now.

The Van Gogh Gallery was well laid out, but like the cyclists etiquette was lacking. An interesting insight into the life of a rockstar artist: 10 year career, shot himself at 33.

Red windows, they just shut the blinds/ finally a pair that fit/ canal before sunset

Ham it up!

Hamburg. Original home of Rach's Opa (Grandfather). A very clean city with some great old buildings, green areas and canals.

After a long drive from Kalma in Sweden which included more random ferry detours (getting on Denmark and off Sweden are both difficult tasks with a car) we reached Hamburg in time to go out for a yummy traditional meal. We actually used a Lonely Planet suggestion and could get a table- small miracle and yeah, it was a good meal.

Woke up to Rach's birthday day. After Trav provided the obligatory bday choccie breakfast we explored the city.

Lonely Planet got dinner right, but its recommendation for the local beach area lead us to a very industrial port with a few beach themed bars. Never mind, we did manage to find a good magnet for the fridge.

Turns out 81' was a good year in Vouvray too. Shared a nice bottle with Rach's German cousins. A lovely night with Oliver and Elke and their son Felix!

Birthday cake on the canal with the swans/ Another well aged example

Gotland

Took the ferry from Stockholm to Visby. Gave us a great chance to catch up on email. 3 hours.

Gotland is to Stockholm what Kangaroo Island is to Adelaide- remote, open seas, quiet and relaxing. It is always nice to visit a place where you feel like you have it all to yourself.

We stayed with Rach's Great Aunt Ilse and Great Uncle Bjorn. They have a big house in the countryside. Conversations were very interesting as ran well in to the night- often with whiskey and wine. We slept well!

On our first night we were treated to the most traditional Swedish dinner of meatballs, potatoes and ligonberry jam (you may have seen this combo at ikea- but it tastes much better here!)

We explored one of Gotland's islands, Faro. Checked out some very cool sandstone, fossils and, back on the main island, Viking burial sites.

On our last day we explored the medieval city of Visby- a world heritage site with very well preserved buildings and city wall. The fog made for a very eerie but beautiful atmosphere.

Foggy Visby all to ourselves/ Alice found a sunny spot/ limestone on Faro

Stockholm

High costs aside, Stockholm is a great city to visit. It is just the right size to be able to explore in a few days; different islands with their own subcultures, it is very clean and the seamless combination of classic and modern architecture gives you something new every time you look up.

Visited the Vasa Museum where a 350 year old shipwreck has been put back together from pieces scattered across the Stockholm Harbour. The then king built the giant warship to invade his cousin in Poland, but it sunk after 30 minutes of sailing.

Walked accross rhe city to the residential island Södermalm through the old town to have dinner with Rach's second cousin Andreas. Dinner in a local restaurant in the middle of a village of appartments was a great night out.

Local architecture/ good thing we did not send our jackets back home/ upmarket ikea- please come to Aus!

København

Danish locals call it the Devil's Island. It was a devil to get here! The first ferry from Germany was full, the waiting list was full. After 2 hours driving we had to drive another 2 to the other ferry- in the rain.

Ferry ran like clockwork, arrived at 430 and managed to get on to the 445. Amazing. We were all ushered on within 5 mins and the ferry left straight away. Beautiful smooth sailing- Trav thougt we were still in the dock half way to Denmark.

Realized we only had euros as we left the ferry- last night as we sat in a very cool restaurant eating we had our fingers crossed they would take euros (no luck had to credit card it:).

Funny really, because we do not know how much the wine, food cost in Aussie dollars- kronor make it look very expensive. Ordered the cheapest things just in case we had to work it off in the kitchen.

Visited the Lego store, the Harbour, and the palaces. For the changing of the guard you can follow the soldiers around the square. They have been on duty for 24 hours.

Off to Stockholm today for a few days- hopefully we can find some affordable Scandinavian design souvenirs- the small wooden bowl Rach found in an antique shop was 200 euros best price.

Most beautiful public toilets yet at the Harbour- free. Mosaics, brass fittings and a small office with a tv for the caretaker. Free!!

Pic- look cool.. how much is 100 kronor Trav?/ More Lego than you can poke a stick at/ let's follow the people with guns

The Wall

Visited a section of the Berlin Wall where many made their escape through tunnels and where a cemetery and church were removed/demolished so that the wall area could be made wider. Amazing that it was still in place in the late 80s.

The DDR Museum provided a great insight to everyday life on the east side. Berliners have put their history on show in very open and honest ways so that all can learn and make their own judgements. The holocaust memorial park is beautiful and solomn at once.

Rach spotted a great wine bar/rotisserie for dinner. The chefs brought us our meals- a great touch.

Wish we had more time to explore this very edgy city that has so much recent history. Very young and old at the same time.

The coolest job in the world/ The exit to the once American controlled section of Berlin/ Holocaust memorial/ @Potsdamer Platz where the Wall once divided the city

Berrrrrerr-lin

Still cold, but above 5 which is nice. A big day of driving across Germany. No speed limit and no tolls. Gotta love that!

Other cost saving measure was that we found we can get a refund on our toilet stops if we buy something.

Toilets are big business here- even in cafe's there can be a turnstile asking for .70€ or more. Alas, it is less than Venice...

Double rooms in Germany means 2 separate single beds pushed together with a doona folded on top of each. Not in the aussie/frenchy way where they try to hide the fact that they have made a double out of two beds.

The 'going' rate in Venice/ Rach looked hard for the double bed/ We will need a proper translation for 'nien gluten' but Rachel's second shnitty was amazing

White Easter in Munchen

Went to barvarian pub for some local fare. Rach had her first legit German shnitty, and Trav found out how hot horseradish can be when mistaken for grated cheese.

Woke to snow in Munich. Thought it was behind us! A beautiful city to see covered in snow. Easter Sunday in the main square at a great cafe- you can buy hard boiled eggs for 1€ each. With local sausage, pretzels, cheese and ham we had a great brekkie.

Explored the very clean and well designed city and took in the beautiful snow-covered 'Englischer garten'. Watched the surfers in the garden hit up the river waves :) looks fun but v cold.

Off to Berlin today- hope the roads are not too icy.

Ps everything reasonably priced so far except for toilets and water, again no taps...

Trav et Rach in the snow/ surfers in 'Englischer garten'

Roads are rivers in Venice

The first thing you notice here is the lack of engines running. Very quiet and slow.

Thursday: Each night between 6 & 7 locals and visitors flock to the many little bars with 'snacks': cheeses, salami, anchovies, bread, artichoke etc.

No one here drinks or eats fast, and you can sit on your 'spritz' or glass of wine for an hour and watch the world float by.

10€ for 5 snacks and 2 glasses of wine. At 7 peak hour is over and you realize that you had better get to a restaurant before they are full.

In the very residential Dosodoro where we are staying we found the best gelato we have ever had: Grom.

The pistachio is grainy, savory and sweet. The salty caramel is out of this world and strawberry has pips through it. We made 4 visits in 2 days. That is how good it is.

Good Friday: visited the tourist side of Venice. So so so busy. The main square is so grand for such a small town; police have their work cut out confiscating knockoff handbags and sunglasses and moving on people who sit on the ground (it is forbidden).

Took a gondola ride through the residential (quiet) part of Venice. The gondolier took us through the rivers of his childhood and also on to the Grand Canal.

An arm and a leg but worth twice the price. Once he saw we were comfortable he offered us a 'discount' on the hour long journey which was impossible to resist.

It changes how you look at the village. So calm, as authentic as a tourist experience gets. The sun was coming down as we turned on to the home stretch. Magical, surreal and something we will never forget.

Quote of the day... In response to 'tap water thanks' the waiter said 'we only have bottled'. So, you do not have a tap?

Wine bar & shop/ Venice back (waters)

One for dad and jase (and other racing nerds)

Wednesday: After a full day of sightseeing in Florence and Pisa we were on track to arrive at Venice (sans accommodation booking) around 11pm. We were also battling with over 100 semis across the mountains.

Deciding the late arrival may create an issue due to the relaxed way of life here (read reduced reception hours), lack of wifi action (you need an Italian phone number to access at public sites) and limited driving ability because of the canals we looked on the map for an overnighter and found... Imola!

Unfortunately we forgot F1 is no longer here but a visit to the track this morning was still good fun. Saw some bikes out on practice, checked out the start/finish line and peered into the Ferrari digs.

Annoyingly though, in typical Italian driver style, the 'imolese' think they should be on the track too.

Tuscany

Tuesday: Wine tasting in Montalcino started the day. Stand out visit was the beautiful vineyard / home of a biodynamic wiz. A great couple of hours with her and the three dogs, looking at the vineyards, cellar and bio equipment. Very interesting and awesome wine too!

Arrived late in Florence but got a spot on dinner recommendation from our (kitschy but great) hotel. A local family run trattoria Rach got her first taste of homemade pasta- amazing!

Wednesday: A full day of bootlegging. Regrettably we only had a half day in Florence. For us, it is the most beautiful city so far- along with Porto.

The lineup to see Michaelangelo's David was moving slower than a french check out chick so we ditched the line to explore the city.

On our way to the river we saw the replica David where the famous statue once stood. Bootleg No. 1.

Set off for Pisa to see its famous tower. It is really hard to look away. At the top its lean is about 5m off of centre. Sorry that our pics do not do it justice. Beautiful, funny and bizarre all at once and well worth the detour.

On the way back to the Pug we were heckled by a pack of dodgy watch salesmen. We negotiated a price: bootleg No. 2!

Trav with some very happy vines at Pian Dell Orino in Montalcino/ Missing Florence already/ Pisa