DavidandBevTravel.com

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Up early and off to return the car, get to the station and back to Paris. We turned the car in promptly at 9:00, before going to the Gare TGV. Millie, our GPS, was quite emotional, and sobbed as she told us which exit to take from each remaining roundabout on the way to the Peugeot agency. As we parted, she told the Bevigator that she was “brilliant!” It was hard not to cry and hug her, but Bev pointed out how ridiculous David looked trying to hug the console… Our train was scheduled to depart at 10:05, arriving Paris 12:45. Like clockwork, the train arrived and we pulled out of the station at exactly 10:05.

During the train ride, David and I had a chance to reflect on our trip.  David drove our Peugeot 407 wagon a total of 3,200 kilometers or 2,000 miles – from Paris to and through the Loire, to Burgundy and through the many small villages, then to Eygalières for our two weeks of touring. Millie navigated maybe half those miles for us, needing only an occasional cup of tea or scone – but the Bevigator did have to jump in and help out more than a few times. The Peugeot wagon was a real treat – comfortable, lots of room for five and luggage, good handling and power, and – best of all – it averaged 42 miles per gallon. The price of our gazole (diesel) fuel was €1.35 per liter or about $6.50 per gallon (the Euro closed at €1.34 on the 17^th.) Other than a few days, we had absolutely almost-perfect weather and temperatures were ideal.

After check-in at Hotel Le Lavoisier, Darren wanted to go to Willi’s Wine Bar to taste some wine. We jumped on the Metro #1 line and in a few minutes we were a short walk away. We tasted several different wines – a Bourgeuil red from the Loire, a Chateauneuf du Pape, a Meursault, and carafe of Montlouis – then walked back to the hotel.

That evening, we were to meet our friends Marc and Catherine for dinner. Unfortunately, Catherine came down with pneumonia and obviously needed to cancel. But Marc made dinner reservations for us at La Table de Joël Robuchon. La Table had three alternatives to choose from: – a la carte petit plates with a long list of entrées; an a la carte menu of entrées and plats; and a degustastion (tasting) menu. We all decided on the petit plate menu, selecting three different entrees to taste. It was a memorable dinner. Easy to see why the restaurant has earned two Michelin stars. For wines, we had a wonderful Meursault from Prieur for our white, and a hearty but smooth Vacqueryas from the Rhone for our red.  

Friday, October 17, 2008

Everyone had one or two things on their to-do list, such as shopping, going to the Eygalieres market, and a visit or return visit to Aigues Mortes, an hour and a half drive away. By the time we got started it was a bit later than planned, so we realized we needed to drop market day in Eygalières and head right into St-Remy so Darren could buy chocolate treats for his co-workers at Joël Durand’s chocolate shop before it closed for the lunch hour. Anne wanted Steak Tartare for dinner, so we made reservations for that evening at Bistrot Decouverte in St. Remy where they serve an excellent one. Once we accomplished those tasks, we programmed Millie to head us in the right direction for Aigues Mortes. Smooth sailing until Millie took us right through downtown Arles on a Friday – traffic and more! Once through, we made good time the rest of the way to Aigues Mortes. Naturally, we arrived in time for lunch, where we picked out a garden restaurant, Le Dit Vin ( www.ditvin.com ) where we had dined in the Spring.

After a nice lunch, Darren and Anne climbed one of the towers then walked the promenade for a bit. I turned over my camera to Darren to take some photos on my behalf. Aigues Mortes was where the 7^th Crusade was launched in the 13^th century. At that time, the Rhone and its delta were clear for ships to set sail. Today, it is silted over and there are salt refineries where once ships docked. We met up, hopped back in the car for the trip home. We had one stop to make on our way back, to say our goodbyes to our friends, Christine, Philippe and Jean-Pierre; we then headed to the farmhouse to pack.

Once packed, we drove back into St-Remy, had an early dinner. Our two weeks at the farmhouse were up and in the morning we were taking the train to Paris.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

We took a drive south to the coast as Darren had a craving for Moules Frites (mussels with fries) and had never been to the Mediterranean coast in his previous travels. So off we go for the hour-and-a-half drive, exiting near Bandol and winding our way down the coast to Sanary-sur-Mer. Sanary is a picturesque seaside village with its own protected harbor and pastel-colored buildings. Years ago, this is where Jacques Cousteau experimented with and developed the modern-day aqualung. After taking some photos, we took a table at the Café Lyon where we had eaten before in May with Jeff and Dawn, and had lunch, featuring Moules Frites for Darren and a refreshing chilled bottle of rosé.  After lunch, we decided to drive up to the ancient fortified hilltop village of Castellet for more photo ops. After exploring the old narrow streets and taking in the views, we hopped back into the car, drove back to Eygalières, changed for dinner and drove over the Alpilles to Riboto.

Chef Jean-Pierre outdid himself with buchot moules and oysters in an herbed fish sauce for our first course. Darren and I had that for our appetizer, while David and Anne chose the salade with lapin (rabbit) for the starter course. Anne’s second course was a delectable sea bream, while David joined Darren and myself in choosing an incredible pork. Delicious!

Afternoon of Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Check back in for the story of the harvest and crushing of the grapes that grow on the property at Mas de la Rasclaouse.