Recovery Day!

This morning I dragged myself out of bed just after 10:30am.  Brian made a lovely brunch and we were just about to collect Anka, Lincoln and Oscar for a trip to a nearby village when they called in to our cottage and  a unanimous decision was made that we would all benefit by having a quiet day of recovery in our respective cottages!


So I spoke with Peggy and Al on skype, did some washing, we had a very competitive backgammon tournament (I won)  and then set off for a long walk to the top of the white cliffs which we can clearly see from our back door.

We walked up the steep narrow road that leads through our village, past the little church and lots of farm paddocks and through a lovely dark forest, before taking a narrow, winding path through the forest to the top of the cliffs.  The view is spectacular with green pastures everywhere, lots of horses and herds of white Burgundian Charolais cattle - and we could clearly make out our cottage in the distance.









After almost 2 hours, we returned to the cottage and walked through Abigail's beautiful garden which is bordered by a fast-flowing stream, has acres of exquisite parkland with trees, flower beds, beehives and of course the adorable cats.  And as I was bringing the washing in from the clothesline, Abigail was grooming one of the horses.


This evening we joined Anka, Lincoln and Oscar for what has become our standard - champagne at 6:30 (tonight it was a Billecart-Salmon) and then a delicious dinner of a roasted Bress chicken, baby green beans with mushrooms and roasted baby potatoes and shallots, followed by a fabulous washed-rind cheese and rockmelon.  And now it is 9:30pm, Brian is already in bed and I'm about to join him before I fall asleep at this computer.

Sunday Dinner Party

Today was overcast and it rained on and off all day - however there was no wind and it was very bright and beautiful outside.  We decided to stay at home to prepare for our big dinner party tonight and Anka, Lincoln and Oscar went into Beaune to buy coffee and bread and then went for  a long bike ride along the nearby canal.

Brian set the fire, set the table, vacuumed the floor and prepared, after consultation from Jasper, the most amazing collection of wine, chatted in the garden and caught up on some reading - and I was in seventh heaven in the kitchen preparing beautiful Burgundian produce, including a huge pot of coq au vin - made from the 6+ kg Bress coq we bought at the market.  It was weighed while its head and feet were still intact, but I asked the butcher to remove those bits.  He did give me the coq's comb however which was very gelatinous and perfect for the chicken stock.

I had a few visitors during the day - one of Abigail's cats (named Squeeky because of his voice), a large black farm dog whose owner was visiting Abigail, and Jasper who delivered raspberries and tomatoes that he'd picked from the garden.

And then at 7:30pm the guests arrived - Anka, Lincoln and Oscar and our landlords, Abigail and Jasper.  We sat in front of the fire and started with a bottle of Krug NV champagne which we bought in Epernay and then moved to the dining table for what was expected to be a quick dinner, but where we ended up staying until well after midnight.

And the menu:

Starters:  Selection of olives, baby radishes and fresh raspberries served in front of the fire.

Entree:  Warm forest mushroom salad served with fabulous white burgundy.

Mains:  Slow cooked standing rib roast with fresh Dijon mustard and a red wine jus, baby potatoes drizzled with olive oil and garlic and roasted and lightly steamed baby green beans with fresh walnuts (also from the garden) served with the most amazing red wine. I removed the meat from the bone to sear it, served it in thick slices and served the bones separately.

Cheese:  A large piece of fabulous 2 year-old Beauford (pronounced bow for) and fresh figs.

Tea & Coffee:  Jasper's herb tea (picked from the garden) or Brian's coffee served with some little champagne cork shaped liqueur chocolates and pretty rose biscuits that we bought in Epernay, served with a delicious vouvray provided by Jasper.

Lots of fresh bread and fabulous French butter.

And the wines  - Volnay, Vouvray, Corton Charlemagne, Chambolle-Musinay, Montagny and the Krug - were unbelievable!

Saturday Market in Beaune

Very exciting day today – the Saturday market in Beaune commenced at 7:30am.  Our hostess, Abigail, suggested that it is best to arrive at about 8:00am after everything has been set up and before the crowds arrive – and that is what Anka, Lincoln, Brian and I did.  Oscar chose to stay in bed and to catch up with a bit of reading - and probably just as well because we were away for over 4 hours!

Parking inside the walled city was a breeze and the market was amazing.  An indoor section with mostly meat, poultry and seafood, and a huge outdoor section with everything else.  Brian and I, as usual were like kids in a toy shop and couldn’t help but buy just about everything we saw – so much so that we had to take a load of meat and chicken (both prepared with Carl Torre style grace and devotion) back to the car to store in a soft esky with ice before even commencing our fruit and vegetable shopping.  And everyone at the market – the sellers and the buyers – were so helpful and friendly.  I can’t tell you how many times I was complimented on my very basic schoolgirl French – and I received a couple of charming winks as well!  This is heaven. 

We are hosting a dinner party tomorrow evening, and a couple of casual dinners during the week, so it was essential to purchase lots of produce – beef to roast, chicken for coq au vin, olives, radishes, baby beans, cheese, figs, stock vegies, salad vegies, bread, flowers etc etc.  We  separated and rejoined Anka and Lincoln at a pre-arranged time and place for coffee, then bought some delicious pastries to eat as we drove in the car and headed off to the supermarket on the outskirts of Beaune for additional supplies of butter, olive oil, wine etc before arriving home as the church bells rang at noon.  

As we arrived at our cottage, Abigail was grooming her 18 year-old horse in the front garden after a long ride.  He is so beautiful and so placid – just like a gentle old dog.  He was wearing something over his nose to keep the flies away, and beautiful leather boots (called hippo boots) to protect his feet because he is not shod – Abigail says that it damages their tendons. Abigail then commenced a session of horse yoga!  She stretched each of his front legs, rotated his shoulders, lifted his ribs, stretched his neck and then pulled with all her might on his tail – he wasn’t tethered and he just stood on the spot going through each of these exercises, and really pulled against Abigail when she pulled his tail – he absolutely loves it.

We then unpacked the car, admired and put away all of our shopping and had a very simple lunch before I started my version of burgundian cooking – a big pot of chicken stock simmering for 3 hours, coq au vin (using Marg Johnson 's recipe) marinating in the fridge overnight, and the huge beef rib on the bone seasoned with sea salt (using Neil Perry's recipe) refrigerated overnight.  

Brian checked his email, wandered around the garden with Jasper for a while and then we played the obligatory game of backgammon before retiring for an afternoon nap. What bliss!  

During the afternoon, Abigail’s 3 horses underwent an after-hours’ home visit from the local horse beautician and each had what we would call, when we’re in Bali, a mani-pedi.  The horses are all so placid and so well-behaved - just stood still, untethered, with one foot at a time raised on a small pedestal as the man taped, filed and cut their hooves with a knife. 

And then this evening we joined Anka, Lincoln and Oscar for champagne at 6:30 and the walk to the little restaurant in our village for dinner.  What a gorgeous day this has been. 

Trip to Dijon

Anka, Lincoln and Oscar joined us this morning as we were finishing breakfast and we all headed off in our car for Beaune - so that I could have my eyes tested for my new glasses (and to have a cuddle with the beautiful miniature schnauzer)  and to pick up Oscar's bike from the sporting store.  Then up along the "Route des Grands Crus" between Beaune and Dijon, through the little burgundian villages with names that sound like a fabulous wine list!

I don't know who started it, but suddenly, we 5 reasonably sensible adults were playing a very competitive game of "spotto" in accordance with the rules enforced by Ash and Mila, and I'm afraid to admit that the fabulous scenery took second place to car parks, side streets and private gardens.  Anyway, Oscar won with 15, followed by Anka with 13, me with 6, Lincoln with minus 1 and Brian, as usual came last - with minus 5! 

Dijon is a lot bigger than Beaune and once you're inside the walled city, parking is not easy.     Our first attempt to park in what we thought was a public carpark was a bit of a drama. It turned out to be for "hospital staff only" and Lincoln and Oscar had to physically hold the boom gates open while I restarted the car and made a quick exit!  Then a long walk along the cobbled streets to Place Darcy for lunch in a traditional old French restaurant.  We had a main course each with lots of good bread and a bottle of pinot and then headed off for the Maille Mustard shop - one of Brian's and my favourites.

We tasted and then ordered jars of the fabulous fresh mustard which has a limited shelf life and needs to be kept in the fridge, and then went for a long walk through the beautiful city centre.  We visited the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Dijon along the way, specifically to visit the restored tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy - as recommended by the wife of the optician - and finally made our way back to the car just as the ticket was about to run out at 4pm.

We drove back to Bouilland around the back of the motorway, on the very narrow road that follows a canal for some of the way, and passes through tiny villages, green fields and beautiful, dark forests.

Then a brief stop at Anka, Lincoln and Oscar's cottage for cold beers in the garden before Brian and I returned to our cottage for a game of backgammon.  We retrieved the backgammon set from the cupboard in the living room, and in the box was our score sheet from 3 years ago!  It would appear that we are the only guests in this cottage who find and/or are interested in playing this silly game.

At 6:30, we walked back to our friends' cottage for pre-dinner champagne, delicious mushroom omelettes, a huge bowl of salad and a crusty loaf of bread with white burgundy, and a fabulous selection of cheeses with pinot.

The evening finished with Brian teaching Oscar his old 2 corks' trick, before we returned to our cottage and once again, cannot wait to have our showers and head off to bed.

Beaune Task List...

Our day started with a quick breakfast at our cottage before Anka, Lincoln & Oscar arrived and we all set off for Beaune in our car with a serious list of tasks:

1.  Repair Oscar's bike (damaged in transit from Perth):  We found, after Oscar's excellent research, a huge sporting department store on the outskirts of Beaune, and of course, this being France, there is an emphasis on everything cycling.  Spare parts were found and arrangements made for the repairs to be carried out tomorrow morning.

2.  Wine for our stay in Burgundy:  We went back to our old favourite wine shop where  Brian & Lincoln were quickly ushered into the VIP (very increased prices) section.  After about 5 minutes, Anka, Oscar and I decided that we needed to move on without them  because most of the shops in Beaune close for several hours from about 12:30.

3.  New spectacles:  I found her - the beautiful little schnauzer named Krys whom we met 3 years ago.  She is now 10, the same age as our son Oswald, and has that same adorable nature as he does.  Krys' parents have a large optician's shop (also named Krys)  in Beaune, and it was lovely to see them again.  It took no time at all to choose my new French glasses which will be ready for collection next week.

4. Walking shoes:  Across the road from Krys is the Mephisto shoe shop where Anka and I tried on several pairs of shoes and I eventually bought one pair.  

5  Simple food for dinner:  Into the charcuterie for pate and some sausages, and then the boulangerie for 2 different types of bread.

6.  Lunch:  We rejoined the boys in the wine shop just as  they were sorting out payment and most of the other shops were preparing to close. The delightful, and very knowledgeable lady in the shop (also very happy with the fabulous sale she had just made) recommended a restaurant for us - right in the main town square.  We sat outside in very bright sunshine and ordered from the day's luncheon menu with choices of salad and pickled fish (we think it was herring) or terrine for entree, fish fillets or lamb with vegetables for mains and soft cheese (like yoghurt) with cream or peach tart for dessert, then coffee and petit fours - and of course the essential bottle of pinot and glasses of sparkling water.  It was quite simple food, but we were all happy with our choices (especially Anka who was the only one to order the peach tart).

7.  Supermarket:  The supermarkets in Beaune are superb - and we all took off in different directions looking for bits and pieces and emerged about 15 minutes later with huge bags of goodies for our respective cottages.

So that was the task list done!  

We drove home to unpack all of our shopping and have afternoon rests after which the temperature dropped sufficiently to warrant lighting the fire for the first time.  Our dinner guests arrived as the rain began to fall at about 6:30 and we all sat around the fire with glasses of champagne before moving to the table for dinner - pate de fois gras de canard with bread and a white burgundy as our entree, thin pork sausages, slow roasted cherry tomatoes and a big bowl of salad with a pinot for mains, some local cheese and bread and a huge bunch of Italian grapes.

Then Oscar helped Anka to update her Instagram (internet access is not great at their cottage) before they all headed off at about 10. 

Brian and I tidied up the kitchen and put one of our gentle classical music playlists on.  He then sat at the dining table to update his diary and I moved to this corner (where the internet access is best) and got on with this blog. And now to bed...

Champagne to Burgundy

Today was all about revisiting one of our most favourite destinations in the whole world - "our" little cottage in Burgundy.  We had  breakfast as usual at 9am with the gorgeous young French-Canadian couple - Kate & Vincent (pronounced van-soh), and four other guests, and then said our goodbyes to them all and to our hosts, Sylvie, Dominique and Harry.

After a final walk around our village, we set off on the long drive along the amazingly efficient motorways - with incredibly polite drivers - and after a couple of stops for coffee and sandwiches along the way, finally arrived at one of our favourite supermarkets on the outskirts of Burgundy.  And wouldn't you know it, they are selling the same champagnes we bought yesterday at even cheaper prices! Brian was almost in tears.

Then on what is now a very familiar drive to our beautiful village of Bouilland.  Our landlords, Abigail and Jasper were both out, but our cottage was open ready for us and we were completely unpacked and settled in by the time they arrived home.  And they still have the 3 horses and 4 cats so I am in seventh heaven.  And the field opposite our bathroom still has the flock of crazy black sheep, and there is a large herd of the famous Burgundian cattle (Charolais) in the field next to that. And the sky was blue, and the grass is green and the garden is in full flower - this is heaven!

And just to top it off, Anka, Lincoln and Oscar are staying in a gorgeous new "gite" just a few hundred metres away and we were invited to join them for dinner tonight where they served a selection of terrines with cornichons, then pan fried duck breasts with fabulous baby potatoes cooked in their skins with lots of butter and garlic, and baby green beans tossed with forrest mushrooms.  Then some cheese which we bought at the supermarket (better than those we buy at the gourmet cheese outlets in Subi) and of course fabulous bread, champagne, and a couple of bottles of burgundy (chardonnay and pinot).  

We walked "home" hand in hand, with the aid of my iPhone torch app, on a gorgeous balmy night. It's now just after midnight and time for bed - this is starting to feel like a real holiday!

Tuesday Tour of Champagne

We started the day with a quick call to Peggy & Al before Harry joined us and we headed down to the dining room for breakfast with 4 other guests – a young French Canadian couple and a middle-aged couple from Belgium.  Then a quick call to Julia before taking off for our version of the Tour of Champagne – based on the suggested itinerary from one of Brian’s thousands of wine books.

So, 4 gorgeous little villages starting with Hautvillers – where we visited the most beautiful Benedictine Abbey in which Dom Perignon is buried.  

All of the villages are set in the middle of vineyards with exquisite scenery and Champagne houses everywhere – some very large and famous, and hundreds of others that are smaller and less well-known – and then on to Reims (pronounced something like razz) to visit the cathedral, the tourist bureau and a bistro for lunch.  

The cathedral is fabulous – building commenced in 1211 (though there has been a church of sorts on the same location since 4 hundred and something) with the most beautiful lead-light windows, including some designed by Chagall. 

We saw Reims’ Notre Dame Cathedral from the outside almost exactly 23 years ago when we were on our honeymoon with 3 children in tow, driving from our luncheon restaurant to Chateau Les Creyers, and it was lovely to finally be able to inspect it at closer quarters.  It is huge and very beautiful and fortunately doesn’t have any of the formalities and queues of tourists associated with its namesake in Paris.

Lunch was great – I had Magret de Canard (duck breasts) with preserved peaches and ratatouille and Brian had braised Lamb Shanks and French beans – and then we both had the Fromage – a plate of 3 fabulous cheeses from the region, served with fantastic bread –and a half bottle of pinot.

And then to continue our tour – 6 more villages, fabulous scenery, champagne houses and vineyards everywhere.  Vintage is very late in Champagne this year – but today the roads and the vineyards were busy with tractors trimming vines and getting ready for something – and there are teams of pickers camped all over the champagne region – and the vines are laden with ripe fruit.  We are hoping that maybe, by the time we leave Mareuil-Sur-Ay tomorrow morning, the vineyards will be a hive of activity and that we will be able to witness vintage in action.

Finally we went back to Epernay to buy some food at a charcuterie for another picnic dinner at our B&B, a hide bone for Harry and some champagne to take to Burgundy.  The little wine shop we went to is wonderful – right in the middle of Epernay, with champagne and other wine stacked everywhere in no apparent order at all.  And it’s run by a most delightful slightly hunch-backed lady who must be around 90 years of age and speaks no English.  Brian could hardly contain himself as he saw the pricelist! He probably could have bought 1 of every bottle on the 4 page list and it wouldn’t have cost much more than a few bottles back in Perth!  Anyway, we left with just 6 bottles of champagne – Krug, Cristal, Gosset, Billecart Salmon, Beaumont Des Creyers, and a Charles Ellener 2002 – as recommended by the proprietress.

Then back to our B&B for a half bottle of Mumm in the garden with Harry using our feet to prop up the disgusting, rapidly disintegrating deer hoof as he attempted to tear it apart, followed by a delightful picnic dinner in the guest kitchen downstairs with the gorgeous Canadian couple and Harry of course. What a thrill it has been to stay in this fabulous accommodation in such a wonderful part of the world.  

Epernay on Monday

Our B&B is fabulous.  So quiet and comfortable.  We set the alarm for 8am and opened all of the curtains to see a beautiful day – blue sky and birds hopping around the garden – made a quick Skype call to Peggy and Al – and then there was barking at the door.  Harry was so excited to see us and stayed with us until we went to the dining room for breakfast at 9am and met our delightful hosts Sylvie and Dominique for the first time.  Breakfast was perfect – fresh berries, yoghurt, fresh bread, croissants, orange juice, cheese and coffee – all served on beautiful china with silver cutlery, lovely linen, fresh flowers and little candles on the table.

We then took off to a nearby town to find a business called Euromart Tyres as recommended by Dominique, to check the blister that had developed in the right front tyre as a result of the U-turn I made yesterday in a tiny cobbled street which we discovered was blocked-off for roadworks – when the tyre somehow managed to collide with the sharp corner of a stone curb!  Thank heavens I paid the extra insurance yesterday to give us total coverage!  We were ready to leave after 15 minutes with 2 new tyres just as Euromart shut down for lunch – with all of the workers calling “bon appetit” as they rushed off. 

Then a very pleasant drive into Epernay – the centre of the champagne industry. It is a gorgeous town – reasonably large but quaint – set at the bottom of a green valley and surrounded by vineyards.  We had a lovely lunch in a traditional bistro at an outside table – half bottle of grand reserve Gosset champagne, salad starter, grilled fresh whole fish (bit like bream) and some very good coffee.  All absolutely delicious.

It’s such fun being in Champagne.  Billecarte Salmon is located in the main street of our village, we passed Gosset on the way to the tyre place and we walked past Moet & Chandon in Epernay.  And there is fabulous champagne on every wine list, and it is, relatively speaking, very inexpensive.

After lunch, we walked around the town and visited the tourist bureau for some maps and brochures.  They were conducting a champagne tasting and voting for the “public choice” prize between 3 finalists in a young champagne maker competition. Brian took part in the tasting and met the contestants, but being the chauffeur, I just had to watch – and then we were interviewed and photographed by a young journalist for an Epernay publication about our current and previous visits to Champagne and France and our views on the competition!

Then a bit of shopping for bread, cold meats, some salad vegies, fruit, wine and some 50+ blockout – it really was very warm this afternoon – before heading back home to sit in the garden with Harry and to meet the 3 new guests who had arrived during the afternoon.

And this evening, while all the other guests went out to restaurants, we ate in.  Right under our bedroom is a large, fully-equipped kitchen with a dining table, where we sat with Harry at our feet and had the most perfect picnic style dinner with a half bottle of fabulous white wine.  

I can’t remember what type it was and I’m afraid I can’t ask Brian because he has fallen fast asleep on top of the bed.  This wonderful life-style is so tiring.