A New Dawn

Well I woke up this morning to a new day and a new determination...you know us Gemini's can have our swings...my shoulder has gotten a little better and the coffee is on and I will finsih packing and then I am off to Dijon...actually with a much happier and positive attitude....must have been all those vibes from friends winging their way across the Atlantic last night. Mary tell Jeannie she is an inspiration to me !!! And thanks for the e-mails Dianne and Cindy and Pearl...Just wanted everyone to know that I will get the most out of these last days. Love you all especially you Bruce.... Ardythe

True Confessions

This is going back way in my past, but when I was young say, 10 years old maybe 12 my grandmother would babysit me at her home on Black Street in Halifax on a Saturday night. I have no idea what my parents were doing...funny how you did not care ...but I would go to the store up the street and buy a bottle of Big 8 cream soda and come back and watch Perry Como with her...she loved Perry often saying"he could put his slippers under my bed anytime". She was a widow and had been for a long time. Anyway, I disgress as I usually do, but one of the things I found at her place neatly hid in a bench at the end of her bed...the top lifted up for storage...were many magazines called True Confessions. I would take a few when she was not looking and store them in my bedroom and read them under the covers at night. Now by todays standards these magazines were pretty tame but to me at my young age they taught me a little about life and sex and male and female relationships. But it is the title that I am stealing as there is no sex on this side of the ocean...so here is my confession.. I am homesick....this 8th week is too long and this morning I woke up thinking "go to the airport and beg Air Canada to let me go home " oh well I can make it and the big thing is to start planning some things but oh I miss everything ...Bruce told me in an e-mail that the blossoms were out on all the apple trees and were brilliant....even the blackflies sound good.Everything I am doing these days is geared to the countdown...I have measured out the right amount of vitamins and I have the numbers of days left on a paper and I mark a big X thru them as I go to bed..... I have stopped buying food and am eating up what is in my fridge...and drinking the wine... I think I will get through it all. Somehow I have developed a pulled shoulder not sure what I did maybe it is sympathy with those players in the French Open I have been watching. Now I have never been one to watch tennis before but I am getting in to this...Roger Federer is playing today and I am waiting for him to come on. I read an article about him in a Sports Illustrated magazine Jamie had when he was here....the best player of the century and so unassuming....anyway that will get me through Sunday and then tomorrow I am off to Dijon.... I was going todaybut when I started reading I realized the place I wanted to see... their Marche is on Tuesdays so I will stay overnite...anyway I was glad I had changed my mind when I woke with this stupid shoulder / neck thing. I had not realized before but these matches can last 4 hours maybe more...the one yesterday did and it was absolutely great.. the French player Olivier Patience and the Serbian Djokovic...the Serb won but it was very close. I think that is it though for French players...they have all been defeated as the 4th level starts. Anyway send me some e-mails to keep my spirits up and you can even say I told you so or you should have told me so that this was too long a time...I can take it..
So yesterday was my last day for the Saturday market in Beaune....got my bread an cheese and veggies and roti chicken...the French string beans are wonderful here and even when I grow them at home I do not seem to get them picked at the right time..these are all perfect and taste so good. And I love these chickens...I will turn into one soon....it is amazing that these veggies are all ready now and ours haven't even got in the ground yet and if they have are just barely breaking ground. How come they are so far ahead..I think it is that they never get that cold here ... no real freezing temperatures like we get so they plant so much earlier. Anyway next Saturday I leave very early in the AM to get to the airport....to wait another 24 hours... I am leaving early as I want to take the train straight to the airport rather than change and use the underground system. I have a hotel room at the airport and will be able to watch more of the French Open ! Anyway I am off I think Roger is on now and is not doing well I will write again. Love to all... Ardythe

The Home Stretch

Where ever did that phrase come from.....I am feeling baseball...and the stretching they do at the 7th Inning but if you know please enlighten me. That is the phase I am in now "the home stretch". The Wildsmiths have all been and gone...we had some amazing good times in the two weeks they were here!And Bruce and I had the opportunity to get to know Jamie's very special friend Katie a little better as we all dined on French food and drank Burgundy wines....probably more than Katie cared but that is us Wildsmith's. Bruce left on Sunday May 27th heading out on the 6:46 train to Dijon and then onto the Charles deGaulle Airport. I am anxious to hear from him how it all went as I will take the same route home on June 9th. I would have loved to have been with him...it was difficult to see him go...and Mary who bought a phonecard and has been telephoning me periodically phoned me later in the day and got a few of my tears. However, I am OK now and realizing I would have spent a fortune to change my ticket...God bless Air Canada...and would have only been going home to a slew of black flies...surely they must be peaking as I speak..ugh! So instead I went to a wonderful concert of Brass Instruments put on by present students of the Conservatory of Music in Dijon and also former students....who really could do their thing! There were a dozen French horns...not often you get to see that many...and for the first time I realized they put their hand up the large opening called?? to hold onto the instrument... I will have to watch that more closely whan I see our local symphony....there were also trombones and trumpets and coronettes...the location was the St Etiennne Chapel on Place Ziem....probably built in the 1600's...a long narrow structure and the acoustics were amazing...probably too small for the amount of wind that was being blown around from that much brass. They played everything from tangos to my favorite, a piece called" Young Henry at the Hunt" I am sure you get the idea of the hunters being called on the French horns....Violette Amiot stole the show though...a 30 something young woman who played the percussion...she had about 3 kettle drums arranged around her and she exuded rhythm. So that small event kept me happy for the day while my mind crossed the Atlantic with Bruce. He e-mailed me this AM from 100 Acres just before he left for his Sommelier Course and his test on Australian wines.
Can you believe this...it is another holiday in France...some religious holiday which even the French are not too sure about....not sure what it is and who and what will be open....it does not matter as most people are glued to their TV's now as the French Open is on. We had lunch last week with a wonderful Winemaker from Volnay a woman named Josette who is at least in her mid seventies ..she stopped making wine in 1993...and she was telling us that she would be watching the tennis for the next 15 days... I believe it finishes around the time I will be leaving.
Anyway, May is certainly a month of holidays...the last one being a Thursday and then eveyone took Friday off so it was quite a long weekend. And then you have to remember that the French automatically start with 5-6 weeks vacation every year ..none of this 2-3 weeks we Canadians seem to settle for.
I want to make sure as I enter this "home stretch" that I not just fritter away the time reading etc..so I am planning finally to take the train to Dijon....do not let me backout...and tomorrow I am having an Aussie couple I have met...my age...for lunch. Not that I am cooking ...I was down this AM and ordered a lovely quiche Lorraine from my favorite spot for those..however, I probably will do veggies cold asparagus and green beans yes French green beans and put strawberries on ice cream. and of course wine...hopefully it wll be a good 3-4 hour lunch! Bruce left me with 12 bottles of wine.... he just kept buyinh wine.... 4 I am supposed to bring home and the rest I am to drink or put to cellar. So here is the story regarding the cellar...the wonderful young couple who own this apartment and two other rental places actually own a wine cellar under this apartment building. The Town of Beaune has many many cellars or caves underneath it where wine has been stored for centuries. Anyway last week Bruce and I were invited to a wine tasting of a relative of our landlords who makes excellent wine in Savigny les Beaune. It was wonderful but already having what Customs allows us to bring home plus a little extra we were sorry to be passing up these wonderful 2005 vintages when our landlords said ..well if you want to store some with us we will move them to the new cave when it is ready which should be fairly soon...So we now have wine stored here in France for our return next May! And if I cannot drink all that I have here at the apartment...which I am sure I will not... I will move that to the cellar for next year also. We have a very hard time passing up this wine we are trying at these tastings. This recent tasting was very interesting as we were tasting with the "vigneron" the person who actually made the wine...he had no store of bottle from previous vintages as all of his wine is sold to local folks. In fact several dropped in while we were tasting to pick up their supply and one discretely told me..."this is the best winemaker in Savigny les Beaune". I must say it is hard not to think so when you are in his Cave drinking his wines and also having the privilege of trying some still in the barrels...the 2006 vintage which has not yet been bottled. Now there are wine tastings everywhere here ..all up and down the Cote d'Or.."degustations" and the tour books say to stop at the winemakers tasting and try them out. But many times the winemaker is in his fields or unavailable or his English is not so great and our French as bad...so they are not too successful...however this tasting had been arranged for us and was an amazing experience! We were very privileged. So today has dawned a little cooler than the past week or so and it seems to rain in spurts..soft rain for about 20 minutes and then sun...after ordering my quiche this morning I went over to the Place de la Halle where they are holding a 3 day Antique Exposition. It was very similar to what we would hold at home...a small fee to enter and inside about 20 dealers have thier antiques all on display. Lots of old linens and Quimperware...books and furniture. The prices seemd very high to me but then I also kept translating them from Euro's into Canadian dollars which adds another 60% to the price.... the display I found most intrigueing was of old military items...a German helmut from the 2nd World War which he was asking 485 E for but was willing to sell it to me for 400E ..he said I could get 800 ? in Canada ...he also had an Americam helmut and French helmuts...I hope I told you in previous blogs that when I am here in France I become very interested in the 2nd World War....and Josette the winemaker rom Volnay was telling us about that era when she was young and Volnay was occupied by the Germans and what it was like.... Bruce and I cycled to Meursault last week and passed through Volnay...it is on a hill and has a beautiful view of all the vineyards below. As we were looking out over the area I could not help but think about Germans marching through this area and taking over the towns....once the French army gave up people in the Towns had very little weaponry and were better off keeping what weapons they had and using them as part of the Resistance Movement. When I come home I think I will make a more detailed study of this time in France. Anyway I am off now dinner is calling and I have a bit more tidying to get ready for my guests tomorrow. Hope Spring is starting to show its head in whatever part of the world you find yourself and welcome back to my Blog. Bisous from Miss A as Bruce calls me or Princess A as some friends in Baltimore call me..hi Cindy and Pearl...got your last e-mail!!

Beaune Toujours

Every morning when I walk around the Town of Beaune I think I must write my blog about Beaune and my impressions . Now after close to 4 weeks living here I think I am ready. Every morning when I step out of my door and proceed on my walk what strikes me first is the chorus of birds. In spite of the sounds of life in Beaune, especially cars and trucks, the birdsong is amazingly loud..unlike what I hear at even that perfect spot 100 Acres. They call to each other from tree tops everywhere I walk...I find it amazing. And even when I sit eating my breakfast with those wonderful shutters open wide I can hear their song echo through the house.
So Beaune has about 20,000 inhabitants and is actually a divided city ... the old midievil part where I live and then the more modern part ..the suburbs. The dividing factor is what is called a ring road....about 3-4 lanes in different sections all going in the same direction. There are lots of trees and city flower plots all along the ring road as well as parking areas. This is a great spot to leave your car rather than take it into the town proper and folks actually park their camping wagons here. At lunch when you walk by these vans the folks are aways inside having their lunch because having lunch at noon is very much a part of the French mentality. Even when I walk out in the vineyards as it gets close to noon the little mini trucks start leaving the vines on a rush home to get lunch.
Inside the ring road are the ramparts...these were used in the old days to defend the town and between the road and the ramparts there is a long- ago moat..no water there today..instead gardens and even in some places a parking lot. You can walk the ramparts and there are old old houses and even small turrets that once were part of the lookout system. I enjoy walking the ramparts but it also has little pebbles which are not conducive to a quick walk so when I am excercising I choose the ring road and its bicycle path to walk. Yes there is a bicycle path all around the city and it is even marked with green paint right on the pavement and very well used! We could learn from that. Today when I walked the city workers were filling the flower beds with impatience and flower pots hanging from lamp posts were also being filled.
Outside the ring road there are still some ancient buildings but it is also where there are single homes being built and a shopping area as well as the plants that service the wine industry.
But it is inside the ring road that I live and that attracts all the tourists...very very old Beaune where there is nothing modern to distract you...except the cars and wires....where everything looks very much like it did in the 1500's..the Hospice de Beaune was built in the mid 1400's before Christopher Columbus sailed to North America.
The streets dart into Beaune from the ring road somewhat like spokes on a biycle.. and then there are lots of little streets that criss cross every which where... I have been on them all. I know because I have marked them off with a pen on the map of Beaune and can say that for sure. The spoke streets converge on the Place Carnot..another circular spot..the heart of Beaune..with its gazebo structure,bits or greenery, benches where people of all ages sit and the carousel..what a pleasure to sit and watch families enjoy the carousel! to read a book and watch the fashion parade and dog life. Here is where you find lots of shops and eating places with their tables and chairs set out to enjoy the weather. The town is alive in the Place and this is where everyone walks around 5 PM before they go home to dinner. Needless to say I am a frequenter of the Place. The other morning a very large bus ended up in the small street that circles the Place....a no no for buses and the police were there moving barriers to get him out..and lots of us gawkers watching the "event" of the day. There is a map of the town which every tourist will have in their hands...this map seems to be what seperates the ' come from aways" from the residents...I no longer need my map so I am "at home " with the Town. The Ville as they call it.. I am not sure if it is a city or a Town ...20,000 is a lot of people. On Saturday morning they hold the big farmers Marche. There are a few sellers in the Place Carnot but most are around the corner in a large square called Place de la Halle...diagonal to the Hospice. The Marche spills out into the Place Fluery and right up the Avenue de la Republique...every town has one of those so called streets. The market bustles with people and sellers hawking everything from books to bras and cheese to roti lapin. This Saturday I will be there with my wagon...getting the strawberries and veggies to feed the crew of Wildsmiths due to disembark at the Charles de Gaulle at the same time that I am shopping.
In my last blog I talked about the number of hair salons..by far the industry most represented in the town. Close on its heels though are the wine stores...stores representing big and little wine producers. I have my favorite now and he seems to represent an interesting variety of producers. For some reason he has been closed for the last 4 days..but yesterday I noticed many boxes both inside and out and empty which tells me he might be in the middle of receiving inventory. There is one large church not far from the centre of town called the Collegiale Notre-Dame.. a few Saturdays ago there was a big funeral here that was attended by a great many bikers who had all parked their motorcycles in front of the church...the tourists watched this with a great fascination and lots of pictures were taken. I have taken very few pictures amazingly enough. I think it is because I never have taken pictures..at least since a teenager and just lost the desire/need to remember the trips with photos. But photo taking is certainly what tourists do. Beaune is full of tourists! Today there were buses from Checkoslovakia and Ireland at the main Tourist Centre on the Ring Road...that is two ends of the EU. I would say that the main tourist guide is the Michelin Green Book.... I see that the most anyway..and I have seen it as Burgundy, Bourgogne and Burgund...three languages. After that I think Rick Steeves...and those carrying Rick are most likely Americans.
I love to watch and I love to listen...eavesdrop really...the distressing thing is that lots of times I am listening to arguements/disagreements about where to go,how to go when and why.... I find that distressing and glad sometimes that it is only me making decisions for me....
Most of the streets are named after people'''oh the history I know nothing about..but there are two streets not far from the church whose names intrigue me Rue d'Enfer and Rue Paradis... two ends of the spectrum after death. Speaking of death..my bum is killing me from sitting so long... it is wonderful outside so I think I will head out to the suburbs to a park... Parc de la Bouzaize. Au revoir !

Bisous from Beaune

Is not that word Bisous wonderful....my landlady Laura who is young and beautiful ..and smart to boot, so her husband tells me..introduced me to that word the other day when she sent me an e-mail. I put my sleuthing abilities to work and came up with the meaning without needing to ask...kisses on the cheek...two kisses here in Beaune with nice big kissing sounds! So" bisous" to all you out there who read this blog. Today was my loneliest day for lots of reasons.. I have been away a month..and also Bruce's Aunt Trudy died...she was about 85 had developed leukemia in the last year and bravely fought it...but I guess being over here by myself you just feel the loss a little more strongly with no one to talk with. Bruce is also away and "incommunicado" All these deaths have greater significance as the Torch is being passed slowly but surely! I just came back from my before dinner walk -about where I had started stalking anyone I heard speaking English...how desperate is that.
Well, other than feeling sad today I did have a good one having gone for my first haircut in France. It was a huge challenge picking a "coiffure"..there must be 2 for every person! Oh I exaggerate but you get the idea that there are lots out there..and what wonderful factors determined which salon got to cut my white locks??? nothing more than stumbling upon a place I had not noticed before and saying this must be a sign...the gods of beautiful haircuts sent me up this alley so it must be the place for me.. So the first mistake was that I should have studied the French words associated with haircuts a little more diligently before I started out on this adventure as no one in the shop spoke much more English than I did French. The forty year old chic lady who I had initially thought would cut my hair turned me over to the lovely Jennifer who was about 20. She gave me such a beautiful wash and head massage I thought well this must be her speciality and the other dame would eventually take her place at the cutting station. But, no, Jennifer was going to see me through this ordeal..and so began the hand signals etc as to how I wanted my hair cut and what products I would want on it! Well young Jennifer could use those sissors..and away went my hair. I had always thought the French preferred razor cuts. Anyway, we understood soft on the side and back, and just a "leetle" off all round...with a medium puffiness when she blowed it dry. I have never been asked how much "puffiness" I wanted and medium sounded safe. Well I want you to know that I have the best...no the BEST haircut Ihave ever had and I should be going to Napoleon's Ball tonight. They all watched me as I left the salon...three (3) coiffurees but I was Jennifers product...actually I think it was the white hair..they were all staring in disbelief that I had not asked for the Cleopatra red dye job!!!Anyway, I have been strutting my stuff all day inspite of a few tears of lonliness here and there. In fact I went shopping afterwards and bought one of these very chic French suits that everyone is wearing...capri pants with matching jacket...this is so chic Iam not sure where I will wear it in Union Square but I love it.Mybe that little Italian restaurant just over the bridge. giggle giggle
Now shopping in French clothing stores is a very pleasurable thing...once you get over the fact that us North Americans are just much bigger than the French women and who cares...that was my attitude today anyway. French sales people do not like you to handle the clothing...they like to show it to you...they will abide just so much of you pawing through their merchandise...and will definately not let you attempt to try on anything they think will not fit you! They must size you up as soon as you walk into the store...no no no she shakes her head and shows me how if you measure across my back this definately will NOT fit. So she gives me sizes that will and since I am the only one in the store for a good hour I have a ball! And I will wear this outfit on my 60th birthday when I will know for sure that I can do ANYTHING because I will be home from this trip... Anyway I had put dinner in the oven before I started this blog and so will take it out and enjoy! I am having"roti poulet" what else, with a very nice Louis Latour Pouilly-Fuisse 2005...not that expensive here even though for some Louis latour conjures up gobs of money. I am getting in as many whites as I can before the testosterone-laden Wildsmith's arrive..the ones who drink only red/rouge!..Bisous and more bisous

Viva La Difference !

I have received a number of e-mails wondering what I am up to..am I all right as the blog has been silent for a week. I am alright but I guess I overdosed last weekend with the wine report and then the blog on being "alone" that I took a break. I have been doing my usual walk to Pommard...this time for lunch and a visit to some wineries to try their fare. I have found a Library with nothing but books and materials on wines and have spent already a few hours there reading and trying to determine who is saying what about Burgundy wines. Then on Saturday I attended a class at the L'Ecole des Vins de Bourgogne...where I learned the classifications of wines in Burgundy and the importance of the terroir as well as how to taste wine...we then tasted 6 different wines from various appelations in Burgundy all of which were very representative of their terroir.Now alot of this I had learned in my Sommelier course last fall but I decided to do a beginner course as it was totally in French and the important part to me was to taste the wines they were providing for us and hear what the professor had to say about each od these wines which were so indicative of Burgundy.Listening to the spoken French was difficult however he had lots of overheads and handouts and that was much better. It is always amazing to me how much of our own language incorpoates French vocabulary and how much we as Canadians can read French...so that was not too bad. At the luncheon a young woman who had done her MBA at the University of Colorado sat across from me and helped me out a bit with the conversations going on around me.
And then there is just the everyday walks around the town and housekeeping etc..and where does the time go? The idea for me was not to pack this trip with loads of activity but to "live " here...going to the market, the post office, and sitting in the Place de Carnot..reading my book. The Post Office by the way always has a line-up and they seem to do all kinds of banking there...in fact there is a sign over a door announcing financial matters.. like folks go there for loans etc...and people always seem to be paying bills or sending money...mailing letters is not the #1 priority.
I feel like I have become the "voyeur de Beaune"...watching the families,watching and listening to couples as they have lunches or coffee,gazing at rooftops and yards, fashion and flowers and just everything that is going on around me...also trying out different foods...I have to watch out how much of that I indulge in.
So this morning when I emerged from the apartment I could see that France had not fallen apart after the election..the postman was right outside my door parking his bicycle...they deliver mail on bicycles...yellow ones...and trucks were delivering products and people were on their way to work just like on other days. I had rushed home Sunday evening to watch the results of the election on TV...not too hard as it got very quiet early in the Place so everyone was home and watching. But here was a difference...they just came on at 8 PM and said who had won...there was none of the reporting of polls like we would have ..polls from across the Country so you could see who was voting how in what parts of the country. I missed that suspense that comes with how we do our elections. But once again I did drop into a polling station yesterday just to see how busy it was...and it was very busy..and it looked to me like they run them very similarly to how we run ours...and they still use paper ballods.And some people were frustrated that they could not vote because they did not have the proper identification.
And then there is the toilets...straight down they go...it seems to me to be superior to our loops and turns of the pipe which probably leads to more cloggings...how come we adopted such a different model? And even today in the restaurant the toilette was both male and female and we all washed our hands together..no urinals. And also the electrical outlets...here they are round prongs with always a grounding third prong...whereas ours in North America are flat pongs and not always a grounding prong. But again why the difference?
Here is something I find interesting...I have been in this apartment now more than three weeks and although there are 7 apartments I have seen no one for all this time... is that not amazing? I am in and out frequently but have met no one in the halls...other than on the first day I arrived. Now I can hear some people...voices and footsteps in the hall..but I do not know what anyone looks like. I feel like there is a reserved nature to the French....totally my opinion.... I have been noticing how people live behind walls or high brick fences...they have courtyards behind the fences...small gardens ..gravel drives ...very little grass...at least here in Beaune.The most grass I have seen is at the Place and even there it is a pretty small patch. But anyway grass is not the issue it is the fact that the houses are organized so differently from what they are at home....they come right out to the street...so that you open the door right onto the street...and step inside to a hidden world..another world..a private world. And then there are the windows with the shutters which are open in the day but at night are shut..well some folks do leave them shut in the day to keep the heat out and cool in...but you don't get to see the lights inside...the shutters are wood and impermeable to light...so one of my favorite things to do is impossible ...that is walk around and see that people are home at night and moving around their homes.Lots of people even drive their cars right into the courtyards and shut the big arched doors to the world. Even today when I was walking in what could be described as suburbs ..the houses are surrounded by walls with gates...you can look in a little easier as I did but the message to me is still ... this is a private area...
Anyway time for a little supper...I will write some more tomorrow...maybe I haven't really felt like writing...By the way Bruce will be here in a few days...

Wine Tasting at Marche Aux Vins

To complete the wine tasting... yesterday I went to Marche aux Vins.... if you were doing Patriarche and Marche they are both in the town of Beaune and maybe, walking, less than 8 minutes apart...taste one have a nice lunch then do the other....a good days work! As stated before Marche is set up very similar to Patriarche except the wine cellar is not nearly as impressive. The tasting is pretty much at you own speed and although the Sommelier is about if you have questions it was basically '"laissez faire ". Also what I learned is that if there is special wine you would like to taste that is not on the tasting list just ask....as I did re a Chassagne-Montrachet..white.. but I did not like it as much as the Patriarche C-M. There is very little pressure to buy but like Patriarche they are all set up to sell...although they do not like Canadians as they know that alcohol is controlled by the Government and shipping there difficult if not impossible. Anyway we have learned in the past that the wine you taste for many reasons is not always the wine you get home..not that there is fraud but there is a lot of psychological stuff going on. So here is what I tasted at Marche

Marsannay 1997 13.50E..light, ordinaire
Chablis 1er CRu 1999 22.80E very fruity ,short finish
Mersault 1999 23E ..slightly mineral, oaky, little fiz in the finish


REDS

Chorey-Les -Beaune 2001 14.50E red berries, short finish, simple, strong tannins
Fixin 2001 16E cherry,little earthy, tannins good finish
Beaune 1998 35E H of Dijon a minty taste here, tannins, good finish
Monthelie 2000 13E earthy,good balance of fruit and tannins, longer finish, good price for taste
Savigney-Les-Beaune 1999 18E cherry, tannins strong ,good finish
Aloxe-Corton 1999 26E cherry berry not as much earthiness as I expected but complex
Vosne-Romanee 2004 31E spicey, berry, some mineral and tannins..good long finish , best one
Pommard 2000 27E sweeter.cherry, spicey
Gevrey- Chambertin 2004 25E very distinct but not my favorite
Chambolle-Musigny 2001 26E very nice earthy, sweetish from fruit, balanced tannins.
Beaune 1er Cru 2001 22E this is a Greves and has lots of tannin ,cherry
Corton-Perrieres Grand Cru 1998 49E, soft, balanced,lovely finish ,cherry almost sweet, great but very expensive...80$ Cad

So that is it...almost too many to taste..when you are finished you say Wow what did I taste can I remember all that and what have I figured out about Burgundy wines? I am still a novice and I am working hard. I would like to get some teaching on this and look forward to my class...and talking this over with others and doing this again with Jamie and Bruce... On my way home from this tasting I dropped into my favorite wine store la Boutique des Domaines www.laboutiquedesdomaines.com there was a bit of a tasting going on with some Dutch fellows and the owner gave me 2 wines to try...this is the store I buy my Anne Gros at...Anne by the way scored 3 1/2 out of 4 in the wine guide...

Morey Bernard 2003 22E white... Saint Aubin 1er Cru en Charmois..interesting but still young earthy
Tallot Beaut 2005 16.90E ..red.. Chorey Les Beaune very nice even though it is young... but these are interesting Domaines , not as well known .Today I am going down and check them out in the rating books.. toute finis for today The Wine Ox

Wine Tasting Supremo

Thank you to everyone who wrote re the last blog....your understanding and support and wise words brought tears to my eyes... I went back and read my blog to see what I really did say and even in the light of a new day I still mean it all ! However ,this blog is for those wine lovers out there and my visit to three commercial/professional wine tasting caves in and around Beaune. Many folks come to Burgundy in search of the exceptional Burgundy wine...the best one ever! My desires are less formidable than that. I would like to be able to pick up a glass of wine and say ahh that is from Burgundy...can you not taste the ???? in this wine all characteristics of the wine of Bourgogne. Well, I have been drinking a lot of wine these last few weeks...hope the bank does not cut me off...and predictably I still prefer the whites over the reds...but that was my preference at home also..though there I had to compromise whereas here the fridge is full of whites with not a red in sight. And when you go to a tasting the majority of the wines to taste are red...3 to 1...reds to whites.
So I have been to the Patriarche Pere et Fils, the Marche aux Vins, and the Chateau de Pommard for wine cellar tours and then tastings of their wines. Patriarche and Marche are very similar in their operation..in fact the cards listing their tasting wines are almost exactly alike and the way the tours are organized identical. You pay a set fee..in both cases 10E and as the tour progresses you get to sample 14 and 15 wines respectively... 3 white and the rest red. Naturally you progress from the softer less complex wines to the more complex and full bodied wines. You taste in a small round metal dish about 4 inches in diametre. The size of the cup limits what you can put in it and therefore what you get to drink but I found that it was possible to go back and take another sample as the guide is not always with you...however the idea here is not to get drunk but to try and identify the wines and their differences and similarities. These cups are called tastevins and I do not relly like them as it is impossible to swirl and Ifound that when I went to sniff I always ended up dunking my nose right in. It is also dark in the caves and therefore very dificult to see the colour of the wine...this is not a place for real tasters but more for show and the opportunity to encourage you to buy afterwards. Having said that both of these caves should be on your list to visit as here for 20E you can taste 29 Burgundy wines...and if you take your time and really think about what you are tasting it is a real treat...I am looking forward to going with Bruce and Jamie who are heavily into the Sommelier courses as I write this . The Patriarche cave is amazing and alone well worth the 10E visit. It is acres under there and millions of bottles of wine.. seeing it all stacked up so uniform and "plummed" they tell me was amazing. The bottles go way back and I actually saw some from my birth year..they tell me everyone should have a bottle from their birth year. So if you are in Beaune for a short time and can only do one cave I would suggest the Patriarche just for the caves...but I also feel like I preferred their wines.. although it was not on the tasting .I know I have mentioned before the Chassagne-Montrachet 2004 blanc which I am drinking now of theirs and really do love. Anyway here is a list of what I tasted that day.

Aligote 2003 short finish simple wine
Pouilly-Fuisse 2001 19E grapefruit,not much oak, good finish
Savigny-Les-Beaune 2000 13.50E light, flowery..nothing outstanding
Marsannay bottled at the Domaine 1999 14E watery , short aftertaste, slight mineral

Marsannay 1999 14E, a bit of flint, slight tannin considering the age, long finish
Fleurie 2003 13E Beaujolais... I wrote yuck beside it
Ladoix Cote de Beaune 2001 13.20E no real berry taste, tannin and acid
Savigny-Les-Beaune 2002 18.50E some berry taste, tannin, not too complex
Chambolle-Musigny 2004 26E getting better, strawberries,flinty,nice soft finish, some tannin
Chevrey- Chambertin 2003 28.70E nice strawberries/tannin balance ,nice finish
Beaune 1er Cru..2001 24E did not like this one finish was bitter
Pommard 1er Cru 2001 32E lots of friut and tannins
Hautes Cotes de Nuits 2002 12E
Chassagne-Montrachet 2001 18E flint

So I went through all that and can pick out some distinguishing features...the flint or mineral taste of the wines ..it is there or not there..I like it there and the better the wine the more it is there..the berry flavour changes from red berries to dark berries and I seem to like the dark berries although the red are softer on the palate. Tasting in the cellars is also cold and I found the red wines to be too cold for my palate to pick up on all the nuances.

The second tasting ,a week later, was at the Chateau de Pommard..an absolutely beautiful spot and a well known name in the wine world. The present owner bought the Chateau and 20 Acres of vineyards in 2004 and has made it in to a show place...museum rooms,artwork by Salvadore Dali, small cellar not nearly as impressive as Patriarche and always a guide. the Tour is 15E and you taste 5 wines and a marc... I passed on the latter as the alcohol content is 45%. You taste in a tasting glass which I preferred and we were lucky enough to have a room and not need to taste in the cellar ...too busy that day to accomodate everyone. So for once you could actually see the wine. All the wines are made on that Domaine...unlike the other 2 caves whose wines are made all over Burgundy and from various vineyards and winemakers. Patriarche is a huge producer buying lots of grapes from many vineyards as well as wine from vineyards. As for Chateau de Pommard I had to ask for paper to make my notes on but here is what we tasted .

Meursault 2005 1 year in oak nice fruit , some mineral , not a long finish but a nice finish
Grand Vin 2004 a lot of red fruit, soft tannins but a slight bitter taste on the finish
Grand Vin 2001 should wait before drinking..red fruit.mushroomy nose, more tannin. soft finish
Grand Vin 2003..the hot summer! more concentrated darker colour, black fruits very deep taste with lots of tannins very nice
Grand Vin 1997..already 10 years old and ready to drink..they are offering this at a d/c price..browning along the edges, more complex,very dry and full of tannin.. need some food with this before I would buy.

They passed around a price list for these wines and then the expectation was that you would buy.. I was walking back to Beaune so 3 km of carrying wine was not in my strategy. But I was also not sure that I thought the wine worth the price which was high 40E plus a bottle anyway. Later I looked in some of the wine guides and saw that Pommard scored only 2 stars out of 4 for its wines. Glad I hesitated although if I want some you need to go back to the winery as I have not seen them about town. I am going to stop now and do the next Marche aux Vins in its own blog for no reason then I want to get up and stretch. But to reiterate I am still looking for what is a Burgundy wine and I am hoping my class this Saturday at the Vin d'Ecole will help me with that. See you in a bit

On Being Alone

Well two and a half weeks have passed since I boarded that airplane in Halifax to start this Journey and this will be the first e-mail regarding feelings. Many of you who know me well have been waiting for this one...not the tour blog but the "Ardythe" blog. But before I start with that I want to relate several things. In those good years my Dad had before he died he had an expression which Bruce and I use quite frequently these day ourselves...your past keeps rushing toward you....that is how we feel sometimes when we pick up the telephone and it is someone we have not heard from for 35 years. This happened to us about 2 years ago and it also happened this week to Bruce again. The details are not important it is the theory that is important.. you grow older and the circle seems to tighten and and become smaller and smaller. My Dad noticed that and passed that wisdom on to me and now it is happening to me. A little truism. Another such truism is that one thing really does lead to another. In a past blog I mentioned how I was going to read something by Colette the French author who wrote Gigi and then was casually glancing through the new book by Francis Mayes and she was talking about visiting Burgundy and the Colette Museum near Auxerre. I was so intrigued that Colette was from Burgundy and that was where I was going that I made very sure to find some books about and by her...which I did at that wonderful used bookstore in Halifax ...John Doull's. Where is this all leading? Well I have now finished a biography of Colette byAllan Massie..1986 and I am amazed at the life of this woman, her achievement in a society dominated by men 1873-1954, her love of nature and all things tender..flowers, animals,beautiful colours,sunsets,; she sought harmony between man and nature. She was independent and circumspect and this is my favorite her writings on the value of gifts"little by little she stows them away and as her treasures increase she is forced to stand back a little from it, like a painter from his work stands back, and returns ,and stands back again, pushing all the detail into place" When I read that I thought about "alone" and how often do we allow ourselves to examine the treasures we are collecting , to stand back, to return and examine them again until we push them all into place.How amazing to pick that author to read and then discover that she had a lot to say to me...about independence, about finding out that you can function on your own, and the importance of taking the time to examine what is beautiful in your life.
So, I am alone and I miss those I love but I would not say I am lonely. I think of this as a retreat in a lovely place where instead of doing needlework like they may have done in bygone days I am putting my efforts toward tasting Burgundy wine and learning the best Domaines with the best prices for value. etc. I take little steps each day being careful not to fill it with hurry and unwanted activity. So I can honestly say my mind is restfull, it is not filled with lists or worry of children's struggles,or dogs illnesses; The view from my kitchen window of chimneys and rooftops of Beaune is restful and never changing except when a bird or two stops by.
I have been a strong believer that our lives are divided up into milestones... I was very much aware of those and they were very much detailed for children's development. But as you age the milestones are less defined..like the sociologists/psychologists gave up trying to study them. But I can tell you some for myself...when I realized I was not going to be Prime Minister and stopped the competing, when my mother and then my father died although I think the first was the most traumatic, when my husband developed an illness..these are just a few but they were times when you stop and take stock and think about life and make adjustments hopefully. But now here I am at another milestone...the realization that this grey hair is not "attractive on a young face" anymore as the face is aging and there are body parts that do not function as well anymore like knees and hips. That I think of years in time left and what should I do while I still can but most importantly..what are the things in my lfe that are important to me...that will take me forward for the rest of my life. So for me this is like saying " good-bye and hello"...like September or January for some when we start again with renewed vigour.... I hope to emerge form this cocoon with new wings ready to soar.
It is not like your mind is constantly filled analyzing the past but instead your mind is free of everyday things and so able to float and lite upon whatever comes its way.. I might pass a window and see something in it that reminds me of something that happened in 1983...and I have time to take it out and respond to it. That is the psychological part. But there are other things.... how many times have you told the dentist you do not floss because you do not have time...well I am flossing and that is a big deal and filing a nail as soon as it breaks and reading all morning and changing my mind even as I start out to do something and doing something else with no justification but because I can.
So let me encourage you to try something on your own: to spend time in thought and contemplation watching and learning.But it is not without its burdons....there are very few women alone...men yes..but women no .. I have seen them in two's and three's but not alone. When you go to an event as I did today and you order your ticket they say " un personne" and you say yes and it feels a bit strange. And eating alone , especially in a restaurant, is just a bit odd...but better that the weather is so great and you can be out side watching everything going on around you. And then you do not speak for hours and so when you do the words stick in your mouth and your voice sounds horse. I did not want to paint a perfect picture of it .So enough for tonight..I am ruining my calm as I want to move on from this. Bon Nuit

Beaune, Actually

I stole that title from Stephen Clarke who wrote a book called Merde Actually and also the book,both recommended by Mary, called A Year in the Merde , which I am reading now and which is an hillarious account of a young fellow recruited from England to Paris to open a chain of tea shops. I think it is vaguely disguised truth. Well, as our PET would say " Life is unfolding as it should". Today is my chore day.. I finally need clean underware etc so having a "go" at the washing machine...one thing to try out a new washer but then another thing to follow directions all in French. But then there is the universal language of signs and that seems to be what I am following...it is going and has been for at least 40 minutes.. it will be exciting to iron tonite as I have not had many of those chores of running a household...my hands are so soft and not a cream on them. So a bit of things to say first...to Lynda and Bryan Bradbury...you have all the "y's" in your names like Ardythe..it must have been the rage for our parents...anyway fine that you passed on the blog to your friends who are coming. I spent last evening with your wonderful daughter and son-in-law..Laura and Franck and those two delicious granddaughters...Charlotte so cuddly and Camille such a pixie. I received lots of good-bye and goodnight kisses ..it was wonderful!! They wore their Barbie sneakers...not called sneakers but running shoes ..which you gave them..on our walk to the cave where the Resistance Fighters hid during the Second World War and where someone from a small Village denounced them and six were gunned down by the Nazi's. It was very moving and a beautiful tranquil place. There is a plaque with the names of the killed fighters and their ages ..of course they were 19-24 years ...it made me think of Afghanistan and also Iraq where young men are serving and dying. Here are also Roman Gallo ruins in the area and we visited those. They were destroyed in 259 AD...but now in the process of a slow restoration...there are so many of these historic sites throughout Europe it must be difficult to provide funds for them all. The Village where Franck and Laura live is charming and made me the most nostalgic for home since I arrived.Being alone and without a car I know I need to be close to stores etc...but I certainly miss the sunsets which those of you who have been to my home know are magnificent..and the rural quiet which is not part of city life. Here is a question?It is another wonderful day here high 28 and I have these fantastic windows open ..no screens and no flies coming in...I mean at home even with the windows shut and with screens, in the Spring the rooms can be full of houseflies and no seeums at night... and pretty soon those pesky blackflies? What is La difference? Every once and awhile a bee will explore the top area but I have yet to see one venture in.
After our walk yesterday afternoon I was served a delicious dinner of a quiche and salad..the quiche was a recipe of Franck's grandmother's..too many "s' there... we had wines from the area both from Domaines just a short distance away....a rose and a white...the white was a favorite as it had that flinty taste I am really enjoying in wine from Burgundy. I will need to win the lottery in order to continue to drink them in Nova Scotia. So just a very nice evening and I thank you Laura and Franck for inviting me to your home!!!
Going back to Monday I went over to a famous wine negocient's cave Champy et Cie to have a look at their wine selection... I was impressed and would like to go back for a degustation but they frown on singles....the life of a single...but they did have a pamphlet listing their wines and the prices per bottle...it will be intersting to collect all this info and see how much our Goverment raises the prices on these wines. Mary tell me the name of the Burgundian wine you so enjoy year etc and the price.
For my Pharmacist friends Rita and Jim.. I thought of you on Monday when I visited the Hospices de Beaune www.hospices-de-beaune.tm.fr built in the 1400's to look after the sick and the poor. You were there last year were you not Rita? It is the central tourist site in Beaune and I spent the afternoon taking a very leisurely tour. That is the positive of being single..."as you wish". Anyway it was a great spot for making up the drugs from herbs and plants and even some animals and for surgery..ugh..the instruments were pretty gross and remember they had not yet discovered how diseases spread and so still were not sterilizing instruments. My wash has finished and so I must go and look at my handiwork...but let me tell you about a small panic I had. I was getting short of money and set out for the bank machine I had used when I first arrived.... I could not find it...around and around I went ..up and down streets...there are lots of machines but I had to find one with the right logos to jive with my bank...10 minutes 20 minutes and Istill cannot find it...so I start walking home and lo and behold there it is ..just a few blocks from the apartment.. I have the place memorized now as iIwould not be surprised if it is the only one in Beaune compatible with RBC. Now for the dryer A Bientot Ardythe

Election Day In France

What a stretch of weather...if we ever had this much sun all in one swoop I think we Nova Scotians would think we had died and gone to heaven..another 26 degrees today ,Sunday, and more tomorrow. The French all got out to vote at least at Polling Station 007 in Beaune. I went down to have a look...it was at the Hotel de Ville about 3 blocks from my place...lots of people going in and out and I could see them carrying small cards which must have been thier identifiers. I timed them..gosh do you have nothing to do?..no says I...and they spent about 5 minutes inside. Outside where I was sitting I looked directly at a board..no actually it was 13 boards with #'s atop each board.The boards were quite large and 12 of them contained the campaign pictures of all the 12 candidates running for President. My understanding is that after todays vote the top 3 will run off in another election in a few weeks.Don't quote me on those numbers... I know for sure it is 12 candidates 2 are women...but maybe only 2 will run off not 3 and it might be next week . I have not yet turned on the TV to see if there is any coverage but judging by the quiet in the streets something is keeping the drivers busy.Just not the motor bike guy.
So, what have I been up to in this land of sun and wine. Yesterday morning was the Marche..the Grand Marche and I was down there bright and early. Everything is for sale...the big draw is the fresh farm products eggs ,cheeses..lots of cheeses, meats,some made in to pates etc,vegetables ,fruits,spice tables with dried fruits and olives of all types...flowers,there are many different producers and I imagine like anything after you have gone for awhile you pick out the producer whose product you like and you keep going back... I judged by the lineups..but for a novice it was confusing. Did I mention folks selling breads. Up another long street there were all the vendors of clothing, underwear,womens clothing which just looked terrific,sweaters,childrens clothing,stall after stall. people were selling CD's etc antiques,leather goods purses and belts and straw type purses...lots of those of all colours and sizes...then in a section where everyone needed to cross there were the rotisserie folks with their cooked chickens, rabbits,pidgeons, pork and ham and veal roasts and even some lamb and turkey legs.. I was going to buy a rabbit but I dithered too long and when I came back they were all gone. So I bought a turkey leg...dinde..and had it for supper last evening. I had it today again and will have it for 2 more days...that was one huge turkeyleg!!!. The French do not seem to serve turkey much especially in restaurants...this whole leg cost me 7E and I will get 4 meals out of it....and it was good..very good actually. I stayed at the market 2 hours leaving about 1130. Came home and had my lunch and a tiny siesta and then suddenly made up my mind to try the Patriarche Pere et Fils Cave and do their wine tasting.
This was a surprise to myself as I had not awoken in the morning thinking I would do this but I am on the search for the perfect white chardonnay and so far I am loving ones from Chassagne-Montrachet...I have tried various producers and years..so far my favorite has been a 2002 one by these Producers so visiting their cave was suddenly on my itinerary. The Cave is only a few blocks from here...you pay 10E and receive a self guided tour of the caves and then taste 13 wines...3 white and 10 red...none were the white C-M...can't be bothered to spell that out again.They also give you a "tastevin"...a small round silverish cup for tasting and you get to keep that. The caves are amazing .. 2 Acres of caves under the streets of Beaune filled with wine in bottles aging...4 million bottles more than you could ever imagine and stacked so perfectly..all plumbed ...ages 1996 to 2005..reds whites roses..seeing that was worth the price of admission and just wondering around down there...you could take all the time in the world. Then you came upon the Sommelier who was pouring a first taste of Aligote the poor sister of Chardonnay. He was not happy that I was from Canada...too difficult to send wines to Canada which is true..heavens that we would be allowed to come over here and find a wine we liked and have it shipped back home.. what would our liquor control boards do in guarding our taste and well being. I should not be so harsh as they are bringing in a lot of wines but I know that even if I find the most wonderful Chassagne-Montrachet I will never get it in Halifax. Oh well. Then on to the tasting.. I am not going to bore you with what we tasted.... it was all on a great card with a place for notes which I did...no one else did but that was b/c of my Sommelier course this year. There were actually 2 premiere cru's to taste in the reds. But here is what I thought....This little tastevin is not a great tasting tool...too shallow you cannot swirl and the cave is too dark..you cannot see the colour etc. The wines were too cold...the temperature in the cave was too cold and the only light was candles. I found the wines thin and watery..no long aftertaste and because of the tool I really was not getting any of the berry nose from the pinots. I would not have bought any even if I was from a country where I could ship back cases. Some of these bottles were 30E...so by the time we got them here they could easily be an 80$ bottle of wine...I think I need a class on Burgundy Pinot Noirs.... I know they are more elegant than Australians or Chileans but I want them to have a berry aroma and taste... this is where I missed being with someone to talk about it all...be glad when you get here guys as I will do it again... I did meet 2 youngish Americans who are working in Chalon on a Nuclear Power plant...they are from California. We had a nice chat about the French work ethic...not in a derogatory way as we decided we do not know how to have fun in North America...we judge ourselves by how late we burn the midnite oil and how long we do overtime on weekends etc. They told me that their boss was diving in the Red Sea that weekend and that this big project was not on his mind.
I had 2 people ask me directions also and both times I knew what they were saying and answered them very briefly but enough that they knew where they were headed...so I am looking French enough...by the way for you fashion hounds...what is in...linen everywhere shirts,jackets, pants skirts etc. capri pants are relly big...no shorts to be seen only on men...but these are fancy pants...all colours..skirts are really big...with lots of flounce. What I notice most is the accsessories....remember Robin Williams in Good Morning Viet Nam...long time ago..and his comment on fashion a few pearls in the jungle. Well women here know how to wear jewellery and scarves..well you knew that ..my jewellery is all so small they like big pieces anyway I am still trying to figure out the sizes and get a bit more nervy before I enter a dress store. Bonne Soiree the Sunday Ox.

Getting Back to Normal in Beaune

I have seen nothing but blue skies in Beaune so far...a whole week with this amazing weather. Yesterday I walked the 3 plus km to Pommard..a wine growing village...my journey took me all through the vineyards and it was wonderful..just a few cyclists and hikers like myself...many workers among the vines..clipping at the vines, scarifying the soil around the root and maybe just making sure the vine was growing along the first trellis...each vine seems to have approximately 6-7 smaller vines coming off of it all with leaves....it will be fun to see how much they all grow in the 8 weeks I am here. It was an unplanned walk.. I was actually just checking out a small prak and then I could see the vineyards in the distance and away I went... badly planned as I had no water, no hat but I did have the right shoes and my walking stick... I take that most times as the streets here are all cobbled and I have fallen in some towns like Arles and given myself nasty injuries. Anyway once I got close I had to go further and then I said just to that church spire which was Pommard...everyone was indoors as it was about 1 o'clock...the French lunch break.. I found a small grocery store open and bought some water and iced tea...all the iced tea seems to be peach flavored..then a seat by the Church where I was joined by 2 nuns on a journey and having their lunch...they were dressed in their habits of grey...something we do not see much on the North American side anymore....and then I walked back to Beaune spending time in the Park watching families and ducks in the small lake..they had lovely swans and even some Canada geese. A walk through town had me looking for a chapeaux to wear on my next hike...asking at a dress shop in my best French the owner pointed to a store a few doors down with some hats in the window...I squeezed throught the door and there was a very jumble store of hats...all over the place and an old man and woman...she looked after me and I could inderstand enough that she was asking me if I wanted a summer hat ...l'ete... I said oui and she took me to a pile of cotton hats ..just what I wanted...different colours.. I chose white and for 12 e the hat was mine.... I wore it today on my next walk which was up the Beaune Mountain.... the vineyards grow all the way up the side of the mountain...well not like Everest more like Citadel Hill...well a bit higher... I was the only walker around this morning but the weather is to be warmer over the weekend ...can you believe that? and I wanted to get my walk in today...did not get all my steps done so I will need to go out after.. I thought I would go and sit in the square for a bit and read....and visit the Chocolatier on my way home a little treat for Friday nite to celebrate being here a week. Elizabeth I did not hear you mention France on the radio this AM as I was out for my walk..thank you though!!! So how am I feeling much better thank you..not 100% yet but out and about as you can read. Before I sign off let me tell you about the flora this time of year...the daffodils are spent and the tulips are close. The lilacs and wisteria are wafting their aromas everywhere as they are in full bloom. The roses are climbing the houses and are full of bloom...the flower boxes are full of pansies and geraniums and decorate most houses and squares... on my walk this AM some houses were planting their vegetable gardens and I could see potatoes way up. So it is very advanced here weather-wise and I am thinking a very good alternative to Florida or Arizona or even Spain...I guess the next question would be how is my forced isolation going? I am still feeling very chipper..there is so much to do here that I plan little excursions and goals for each day keep my eyes and ears open as there is so much going on around me and enjoy myself that way. So far I am not missing talking with people..although I would like to understand the French election better...it is happening on Sunday. Laura who owns my apartment and has a blogsite has all the folks running listed on her site with a little comment about each...from her site I take it there is no overwhlming candidate and some she very much does not want to get in...racist, anti-immigration, pro family..we know what that means..le Pin... anyway Sunday I am going to mass and then to the Maire where the voting takes place just to linger about... by the way there are hardly any posters up not like we do with posters everywhere..must be some by-laws regarding that.Tomorrow is the big market and that is supposed to be great.... A bientot the Ox who is looking for chocolate... thanks for the e-mails everyone keep them coming!!!how about some comments.

In Beaune with A Cold

Well here I am again... am I doing anything but write on the blog ??? well yes I am but I did get sick and I am working at getting better. Not sure what happened but picked up a sore throat and stuffed nose and just feeling blah so yesterday I babied myself all day....read and even watched a movie. My body is still not adjusting as it should I feel and I am awake at night very late. I am not nervous as the apt is very secure so I am feeling that it is body adjustment...takes a little longer as you age. However, today Wednesday I was up and out early to go to the petit marche the little market....the big market being Saturday...and yes it was little and I was there before some had set up...but I did buy lettuce ..wonderful ..and will have it for supper tonite and cheese....I believe it is called Montballiard...but oh it is not on the label.....it is soft with a blue streak of bacteria through the middle and it is divine... I am having it with a glass of 2004 Chardonnay from a Nuits Saint Georges and it is also wonderful... I cannot tell you about the aromas as my cold is distorting them totally but the mouth taste is lovely and balanced, some fruit and violets no oaking discernible to me... clean and crisp..it was 10e for the bottle... whites I can buy by the bottle as they will last better..the reds I am more leary of but it is hard to find a half bottle...after the market I found this wonderful "chacuterie" and I am sorry to say I did not get the name of it...bit I will the next time as I am now eating their "campagne de pate" country pate and it is subtle and chewey and one of the best I have eaten so I will definately go back....obviously the cold has not effected my appetite. We also have a neighbourhood Patisserie and that is where my bread is from. The owner noticed my CBC knapsack today Elizabeth and her daughter went to Montreal U as an exchange student in Journalism. She speaks only French to me as I have asked her to do that. She seemd a little hesitant re Nouvelle Ecosse but I bet she will find out she seems pretty with it. After all my shopping for food for the next few days and getting money which worked beautifully... I went to the Pharmacy to get something for my cold.Now these Pharmacies are everywhere and although I have seen them I have not really gone in as I have not felt sick here before. So you know how many cold medications we would have in a Shoppers.....Tylenol, Robitussin, Contac C.etc etc.... there was none of that and the gentleman asked me what my problem was...asked a few questions and then proceeded to recommend a totally natural product called Propolis Vitamin C...made in Germany I believe... a loszenge for my throat and a spray for I am not sure .. I am now wondering if I should have sprayed it in my nostrils... I better read that as I sprayed it in my throat... anyway it has helped tremendously and I felt good enough after my late breakfast/lunch to walk the Ramparts and find the cave that the Drouhin's own.....there are according to my sources a number of very good negocients for wine....and I have found most of their places except for Drouhin...however here is the funny thing...last night I was reading the book Wine and War which I told you about..and they were talking about Joseph Drouhin and how he escaped the Nazis by leaving his house from his underground caves in 1942...he lived at #7 Rue L'Enfer and escaped through the cave tunnels to Rue Paradis...well I knew where Rue Paradis was as I ate at a restaurant on Saturday night there...off I went and there it was ..the street and there was the name Joseph Drouhin...to visit their caves go round the corner...so I could see where they must have lived during the 2nd World War and where the Nazi's came to the door and where his wife called down from their bedroom window that he was not there...gone to Paris she said.... anyway I know where they all are now Jadot, Bouchard Pere, Drouhin, Champy et Cie....well I have lied as I have yet to find the giant Louis Latour but I will and I am sure he is close. The main point here is that life has little coincidences clues out there for you. Because I was reading that book then I saw where the Nazi's came as the book gave the address...hope this is not boring you..... before I left we bought a book by Remington Norman...the Great Domaines of Burgundy and these are the ones he talks about so I am trying to find them all before Bruce arrives... negocients... like these guys do everything...they have their own vineyards and bottle under their own name but they also buy other folks grapes and bottle under their name...you can tell which is which by checking out the label closely...then they buy other folks wine and sell it for them under their great umbrella...they are like the exporter... some have only gotten better in the last few years like Bouchard Pere...they were selling garbage wine for very expensive prices...however.with the advent of California and Australian wines the new world and all their "hype" as well as the Parker phenomena some of these great producers realized thay had to 'up" the quality of their wine and get back to good stuff...we are doing a tour of Bouchard Pere on May 15th. Anyway in all those meanderings about the town I found also a little wine bar that gives short courses on tasting wine which I really liked the look of...that is what I need...18e ..6 wines they seem to limit the class to 2 so hope someone will come along.... anyay it was a lovely afternoon and I am home now and enjoying the wine and cheese and pate.... www.sensation-vin.com in case you want to check it out...enough for tonight sweet dreams... I hope I have some The stuffed up Ox

Up to date in Beaune

I was not going to write another message but it was early and I did the dishes etc and decided that I would bring you up to date...from the sounds of things Canada is getting tons of weather and lots of you are without power or probably soon will be...so I will catch up on what has happened and then each day or so can add a bit rather than keep falling behind.

So, I entered the Apartment with trepidation...pictures on the website can be made to look super but this place is just great!!! lots of light and those big long perfect windows with the several layers of shutters which I am learning to open and close....no screens also.. I like to keep mine open at night ..just gives me a sense of the outdoors. The colours in the apartment are very restful pale mauves and periwinkle blues, lovely old hardwood floors,beautifully decorated tasteful, and great appliances and just perfect for a lady staying for 8 weeks...and very central to the town of Beaune and all the wine negocients...anyone into wine..well Bouchard Pere is just up the street, next door is Champy et Cie and around the corner is Louis Jadot..these are big guys in the making buying and selling of the Burgundy wines.. Off I went to find the grocery store with my wheel basket... I love the French b/c they have banned plastic bags at the Supermarkets and you know we could do that so write people.. I already wrote Mayor Kelly and you know what he actually replied to me a very nice letter. I also wrote Len Goucher our Minister of Tourism about the cover of the 2007 Doers and Dreamers which shows a young woman sprawled on the deck of the ?Bluenose with a grey haired sugar daddy. The young woman was in a backless dress and most inappropriately positioned. I rec'd back a terrible standard reply...that warm days sailing in NS was what they were trying to sell..well how many of those do we have? but more importantly we have lost some very good women this year Doris Anderson and now June Caldwell who would have agreed with me with regards to that photo. No one I know young included would have gone on the Bluenose dressed like that! And I diverse

So off to the Casino they are called and here I did get lost! But a mid aged couple helped me out found out I was from Canada wanted to know if I would like to come for dinner and taste some wine. Laura tells me the French are crazy for Canada...the wilderness and animals and they all want to come..so is the Tourist Department advertising over here? I have not seen a thing.
So I love these grocery stores and I must be very careful not to over buy...there is so much cheese and beautiful foods even for a grocery store. So I bought my favorite chicken.. free range and still with the feet on, wonderful strawberries.. I will take pictures at the market on Wednesday... and not to bore you with more food..but then marched right home and went out for dinner with a couple Ed and Karren McCabe from Boston who were in the area and had made plans before I came over to "hook up" as the young would say...so from Versaille to Beaune all in a day and then out for dinner to a wonderful little restaurant called le P'tite Paradis...the food was great but we had a wonderful bottle of 2004 Chassagne-Montrachet, Premiere Crus Les Macherelles...a chardonnay with lots of sous bois ..probably the best Chardonnay I have ever drunk. I walked home alone without fear... lots of folks out on the streets and fell asleep after talking with Bruce... a great first day...but I know they cannot all be like that. Ed and Karren invited me to do the wine route with them Sunday in thier new car they bought in Germany...guess which make? MB...but I declined...you know ,besides being tired I was eager to start my journey here and being with safe folkswas prolonging the dependence. So I puttered in the apartment getting myself all set up and cooked a chicken which will last a few more day at least and reading. Laura, the owner, has a ton of books and videos and along with the computer I can listen to CBC, check in on the Raptors TV alas for only scores and be very well aware of what is going on in the world...ie massacres, kidnappings etc. Before supper I walked around the town to get my barings abit and just enjoy the sunny clime...what a brilliant day it was and Monday was to be the same.
Up early todayMonday and super weather again.... went for an early walk then Laura and Franck arrived to hook me up to the Internet wireless... I will never be able to go back to the farm...I have seen Paris. Laura and Franck are just delightful...everything you would want and more in folks you are renting a place from. Laura is from Victoria and Franck from Dijon..they met when they were young and Laura on an exchage program in Beaune...now they call both places home..Franck and their 2 girls have dual citizenship..and Laura I forgot to ask if you had French citizenship...Laura will be reading my blog....thye love both their families and countries so they move back and forth very easily...both are perfectly bilingual...is that not wonderful!!They took me out to lunch and I hate to admit it but they spoke English to me the whole time and I will probably come home without learning any French... I am lazy!!!. The restaurant Rita is just a few doors from the mustard factory you were telling me about so I will get there at some point. It was one of these places we are all searching for...great food,not in the Michelin guide and all the everyday guys are there for lunch...called Le Cafe de France...what else...Laura and Franck go there often and knew to go right thru the restaurant to the back outside under a pergola where we had a wonderful salad with lardons and then beef Bourgignonge...yikes I had better learn to spell that..it gets worst every time I try it.....but you get what I mean. Then I came home had a bit of a snooze and up and out on errands for 3 hours. I wanted to find theL'Ecole des vins de Bourgogne and see what classes they have and sign up for some..the best ones are in French and Annabelle who spoke great English to me the French linguist failure will take a full day course in French ..it is a 6 wine tasting morning then a 4 wine tasting lunch and then we head to Chateau du Close de Vougeot...I think you were there Rita ....to study the terroir...no wines there It is in the Cotes de Nuits and they have a small bus that takes you there. Annabelle assured me there was NO test...all for fun and a certificate!...the school is only about 10 minutes walking from the Apatment..as are most things...so then I walked all through town.. I am getting very familaiar now and home about 7 PM and blogging after a very small supper...and now you are very caught up and I am going to bed. Laura has given me a book to read which is looking very interesting...Wine and War...The French,The Nazi's and France's Greatest Treasure by Don and Petie Kladstrup, a Coronet Book if you are interestd in finding it . A Bientot... The Ox

And Beaune It Is

Well here I am in my new 'home" for the next 2 months and is not the weather beautiful still. It must have been 30 degrees celsius today at noon and everyone is out and eating in the sidwalk cafe's..way warmer, my sons, than when we were in Provence a few years ago...I think this is exceptional though and my landlords are warning me that wonderful weather like this brings horrendous thunderstorms and how to unplug everything etc So let me tell you this.. I am sitting at my computer drinking from a demi bottle of 2000 Savigny-les Beaune Les
Lavieres.. a premiere cru of the Bouchard Pere & Fils negocients of Beaune. It has this wonderful 'sous bois' or muskiness that I love in a pinot noir and is the mark for me now of my favorite wine...I just read that and please be clear I am not drinking from the bottle but a wine glass...that was sort of what it sounded like.

But before I get you to Beaune let me go back to Versaille and tell a bit of the experience there... this is a bit of a memory blog for me so bear with me. Versaille is incredible...so much opulence and art and grounds that are jewels to be in....although I had been there before with you Bruce at the time we had not been able to go to Marie Antionette's little Trianon and her little village so that was important for me to see. I spent the morning in the Grand Palace and then the afternoon after a nice lunch on the grounds over at Petit Trianon and the Farm and Village. Considering all the rumours re Marie's opulence..her Petit Trianon was very bare and ordinary..she was definately getting away from it all...but her theatre where she put herself in plays was just wonderful and is still used ...it seats about 300 people..I was the only person there having a look at it that afternoon at least at that time....let me stop to say that my church bells are ringing out the 8 in the evening time... I love hearing them. Anyway the Village surrounds a very nice little lake...a mill and about 6-7 other little houses...none of which you can tour as they are crumbling and in need of restoration. I am sure though that to keep up the Palace takes enough money that you cannot fault the French. However, this is a wonderful National historic site and people flock there from all over the world .
So, in the last e-mail I told you I was all prepared for my trip on Saturday to Beaune except when I arrived at the train station it was closed for that day for repairs a point my clerk had failed to tell me...what was I to do? This kind of situation puts stress on the aging heart...however, France has put me in the care of a number of aging supermen who have rescued me and my white hair. So I was directed to the bus stop...then when the bus driver could not speak English a dashing 75 year old took me under his wing to Paris. However, once on the subway I could settle down and see where I was going and left him at a stop with a better transfer to la Gare du Lyon where I was going to connect to the high speed train..he is still probably wondering if I made it but I did. Thank heavens I am always several hours early and had lots of time to flounder. I had taken the liberty of travelling first class to Beaune...not much more than 2nd class but well worth it... the trip was a little more than 2 hours but I needed to change trains in Dijon...well, there was no elevator in Dijon and I was needing to drag that suitcase up and down stairs...but always there was a male to rescue me... the gallant French..and they never complained of the heaviness...even when I arrived in Beaune I was once again faced with stairs and there was my male.... now don't worry folks I know it is my age and not my beauty...
And on to my new home on Rousseau Deslandes the oldest street in Beaune I was met by a wonderful young man named Julian who lives above me and is the head of the Council of people who own the apartments...that was serendipitous he just happened to be coming in when I was and once again helped me with my suitcase and even invited me for tea...he was a cutey and married with a 1 month old baby...but loves to meet the folks in the rental apartment so my landlord Laura tells me.. I refused b/c I was heading for the supermarket to stock up for a few days. So this is the end for now.. I will write again but you only have so much time to read and I have been writing for ages. Best wishes to you all... Lizziebugs received your comment and Sandra also... it makes me feel very good to hear from you and yes give Bruce a call now and then...Au revoir... the Burgundy Ox...who is now in Burgundy

Arrived In Versaille

Well here I am doing what I have planned for so many months. Let me say that there was little emotion in the planning..all in the event as I said good-bye to everyone and especially Bruce..a few tears there.But let me say that as hard as it is to start now that I am here it is "not so bad''''., I have so much time to work on this as I just bought 1 hour and I wasted time trying to find the blog...so I will start. The cattle trip over courtesy of Air Canada....7 hours of misery..jammed in, terrible food and a crying baby in the seat in front of me...however having read the Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor..my trip across the Atlantic was not as bad as hers. The weather has been fantastic...even for France this time of year high 20's and I have eaten all my meals outside except for tonite when I bought a beer and cheese etc and ate in my room...Bruce you will be happy. I could no longer resist the beautiful fromagerie just up the street. Thursday...remember I lost about 5 hours and a sleepless nite...I spent getting ready for today at Versaille..finding my way out of the Charles de gaulle airport onto the TGV and to Versaille...folks were kind and helped with my luggage as I still cannoy travel lite. Jamie that widescreened computer was heavy on my back..I saw men with baby ones which would have been way lighter. Once in Versaille I found my way to my hotel a little boutique place called le RESIDENCE DU BARRY..one of the mistresses of one of the Louis..even though I spent the day visiting their home I cannot straighten them out.As I write the sounds are drifting up from the restaurant across the street as I have the window open Bruce and all nite too. Got all my tickets for the Palace today yesterday also got organized for my trip to Beaune..Saturday. The highspeed train is fast but not cheap.But nothing is really as the Euro is like a dollar yet costs us more. No trouble getting my money Elaine or using my Visa...for those who do not know Elaine she is my banker and organized it so I would have no trouble money-wise while here. I slept wonderfully lasy nite and up this AM and at the Palace by 9 AM. I love Versaille..it is huge and requires at least a day. I will talk more about it the next time as I am going to stop now and e-mail some. Love to you all and thank you for all the support...and thank you for calling before I left and e-mailing. Let me end by saying this... Bruce those were NOT grape vines with blossoms ..too big must have been apple trees or soemthing the vines have hardly any leaves yet let alone blossoms. The weather tonite is gorgeous and the birds are singing and the flowers are in bloom like lilacs and cherry blossoms. Til Beaune

Three Weeks To Go

Not sure why I am obsessed with the weather but yesterday was beautiful...cold but again one of those perfect blue sky days. I drove in to Bridgewater to work on my wireless skills.... I am accomplishing the most rudimentary....am sending and receiving thru Gmail and can access this blog all quite easily. Tried to listen to CBC. Could easily do CBC2 but was unable to get onto CBC1 so I will keep trying with that. On the drive in from home to Bridgewater a large red -tailed hawk flew out from a tree stand in front of me...wings spread..all the colour patterns evident. Got me thinking about what I would be missing this year ...Spring in Nova Scotia.... I will miss the Loons and their call in the Spring as they mate.I might even miss seeing the ice come out of the lake...something we make bets on every year for fun.I will miss seeing my daffodils spring forth and certainly my tulips...however, my landlord in France tells me the roses will be out there soon.I will be very late planting my garden...vegetable and annuals but actually I am sometimes late doing that anyway and I am not sure how significant a lead one gets by planting in May anyway. I will also miss seeing the sun setting further and further toward the west as we get closer to the summer. It's fun to see it break free of a block of trees and start setting over the lake in complete view. I will also miss the start of the blackflies and if it is warm maybe the bulk of the season for those little pesks...am I sad about that? NO...just that I will miss a fair portion of it.
However, by missing all that I will gain some things..like the small strawberries that start in mid April in France. I will send a picture as I love the way they pack them...so orderly compared to how we do berries... but then they are a completely different shape. I am not going to start on a list of my anticipations....but it will be warmer and flowers will be blooming far earlier than here.
I had a major set back in my preperation this week. We returned home on Sunday evening from a basketball weekend in Halifax to a basement full of water ..about 3 inches...and it was 9 o'clock at night. If you go back to a past website you will see that I talked about cleaning out the basement! How serendipitous...most of what was sitting in water was stuff I was getting rid of...except for boxes of pictures I was going to sort and they were pretty wet...well, and years of Income tax data...who can be sad about that...oh yes and sheets I had packed in cardboard boxes and had stored on the floor in the cedar closet...wow does all that stuff wick. So I have been busy washing sheets, drying out picturs and there were lots, and literally mopping up the basement. What happened? Well our plumber diagnosed the problem right away that night...a blocked drain pipe from the perimeter drain around the foundation...blocked with ice and silt There had been a huge rain on Saturday and the blocked pipe would not let the water drain away so it backed up into the basement drain..The next morning a fellow arrived with this fantastic home made ,basically, piece of equipment that sprayed hot water and moved up the pipe breaking up the ice and cleaning out the silt. As soon as it was unplugged the water in the basement started to flow and within an hour was basically gone except for a few bucketsfull caught in basement vallies. This is where my mopping came in.
Anyway beautiful days let me put the sheets on the line and except for drying pictures and income tax stuff we are on our way to recovery and a,better knowledge of things that can go wrong in the country and who is there to fix it.
One last note before I sign off for this post...an author by the name of Colette has been on my radar for a number of years as someone I would like to know more about and read....just have not got around to it. However, last week in taking a look at the latest Frances Mayes book on travel...she had a chapter on visiting Burgundy and the birthplace of Colette....Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye. So off to John Doulls second hand bookstore I went and found a somewhat biography of Colette by Allan Massie plus the Claudine books by Colette herself about her childhood. Mayes told me there is a museum in Saint-Sauveur...a Colette Museum...s0 I have another destination. Those of you not sure of who Colette was will have heard of GiGi, that wonderful American movie with Maurice Chevalier. Well Colette wrote the book that the movie was based on. She wrote many many books lots about her childhood and with very little education dominated the writing circle in France in the early 1920's plus. So I have more books to take...must leave room for clothes etc.
That is the end except to say that the first night in Beaune I am being treated to dinner by friends now, former guests of the B&B, who will be in the area having just picked up their new Mercedes in Stutgaart..not sure of the spelling there but I know you know what I mean. Enjoy the DAY!

The Final Month

What a beautiful day here in Nova Scotia..temperature about 6 degrees C and the sky a clear clear blue, not a cloud.... I am down to the last 30 days before the plane takes off for France.... Last week I sent in my final payment and have already heard that it has arrived. Friends have been asking how I am doing and if I am getting excited. I sat down on Sunday and checked out the Michelin guide ...started to look at restaurants in Lyon and Dijon...Paul Bocuse's famous restaurant named after himself outside Lyon...and then the famous "Pyramide" ( once a 3 star but now only a 2 star)that he trained at in Vienne in the Cote do Rhone....we might drive there and I could see the roads and the markets and actually started to get excited! I am too practical to keep that up as I have my days planned and things I must get done before I leave. Every winter I promise myself that I will get rid of everything in the basement... well as much as I can part with , so I have been doing that...and doing very well I must say. I have boxes ready to take places. I begin by thinking I will sell some of the things and then that task seems too much and I start putting it all at the end of the driveway...someone else can make use of it.
I am also now thinking what books I will take..... My friend Mary on her visit in the Fall brought all the books that were on the Giller Prize list as a present..... The Perfect Circle, The Sea,De Niro's Game and Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures. I think I will take those plus Stephen Clarke's ...A Year in the Merde and Merde Actually.... but then I have a book about the pinot noir grape called The Heartbreak Grape by Marq de Villiers... the major grape of Burgundy is the pinot noir so it might be useful. All suggestions would be appreciated.
I do intend to read as I also intend to cook but I can get recipes from the internet or send home for them. Then there is what CD's to take... that I have not worked on at all. That will be next after I have organized my wardrobe. I still need to learn to put pictures on the blog with the digital camera.... Last weekend we were in to Halifax to a basketball game and sat with a retired lawyer who spends 3 weeks , twice a year in Paris. He loves going back year after year as he feels like he is not a tourist and this justifies not running around during the time there visiting touristy things. To quote him "it has been 10 years since I have been down near the Champs- Elysees.That is actually how I am feeling. Without a car I will need to stay within walking distance most of the time...maybe taking a bus here and there sometimes.....sitting in outdoor cafe's reading and watching..working on the blog. Other times I will visit the market and cook in my apartment. I plan to take long walks and /or rent a bike to get out in to the wine area. But I know there are numerous walking trails outside my village/town. I want to go to church. I have visited so many churches on my travels but I always feel they are empty...this way I can be there when they are being used as they should be...to hear the acoustics and smell the incense.... and then there is the history of the place... this village is ancient has not always been part of France... I should be well versed when I return in June. Last but not least there is the wine..... this is where my sommelier course will keep me in good stead as I go to tastings and try out the various wine cellars... I need to be well versed when Bruce arrives for his visit. And the beat goes on...each day I am doing a new thing toward getting ready.... I have lots of things to photocopy to take with me...walking trails,vineyard routes,the great Burgundy estates and where to find them, Burgundian food specailties, etc etc... so keep in touch!

Winter Planning Continues

We are in the throes of winter with temperatures 20C below 0C. Today though is crisp and clear with lots of sun...a perfect day for a trip into Mahone Bay to use the wireless network at the Biscuit Eater Cafe and continue my blog The Burgundy Ox...which by the way I can never find when I go in to the Search part on the Blogspot website.... I am sure I am doing something wrong. Anyway, as luck would have it, the Biscuit Eater was closed today due to electrical problems so no blogging there . Home now and on to the dial up server...slow service.. to carry on. I did go through my books this past week and made up a list for those of you who are interested. These are the books written by folks who pack it up and move to France or Tuscany to live! They are in no particular order just how I found them on the shelf... I will comment on those I particularly liked or not. Before I get into that though Iwanted to let you know that I have bought my plane tickets...in spite of the guilt that was rushing about this week for those of us going to fly somewhere and all the pollution it is causing ..flying that is... I purchased a ticket to Paris ,France for early April. I gave myself several days to visit Versaille before heading to my village in France. This might be a good time to tell you how I arrived at what village I would stay in. I actually used the Michelin Red Book Guide...2006 edition.... I wanted a village with the range of restaurants...starred, bib gourmands, the knife and fork ratings. To have this variety the village now a town would need to be of a certain size...approximately 20,000 population. The guide tells you this. I wanted to be near a wine region and somewhere conducive to walking..no car. A market town was a must! I was looking for cultural events..so the size was once again a factor. I would like to be able to walk to concerts, museums ... that something would be happening. And finally there had to be an apartment for rent. I was lucky in finding that apartment in a wonderful town... I had visited this town several years ago and can remember somethings about it....my apartment looks on the internet wonderfully comfortable and is very central in the town.
I do have some apprehension being there alone and how I will feel day in and day out. I was visiting my son last week in Ottawa and he was instructing me on the need to make daily goals. I do that in life but I can understand where he is coming from with his advice.... I will need to have a daily goal...remember I know no one and do not speak the language enough to have a conversation. Somedays this scares me and on others I look forward to the challenge. Today is a day of fear....oh well.
So I have started to think about several things I will do to make myself more comfortable.....this blog is one of them keeping in touch with friends and family. Secondly, I will attempt to listen to CBC radio which I love... I was going to try this today at the BE but will do so in the next while. And finally I will miss NBA Basketball...so I must see if there is some way that I can watch this on the computer.... I will miss the playoffs....I remember hearing of folks watching football on the computer so I am sure the NBA is similar.. I just need to figure this out and I will!! So this is it for today and now on to the list of books...happy reading.


Susan Loomis On Rue Tatin(2001) and Tarte Tatin(2003) Susan and her husband..both American...move to France....buy a house in a village called Louviers...they remodel the house and Susan does cooking classes and special dinners there...she has cookbooks now and all this can be found on her website. This was a good read ! Harper Collins

Ann Barry At Home In France(1996)....another American. from New York City actually, buys a small house on a hilltop area . She never stays there for longer than a month at a time as she is still working but she does go there often. In the book she mentioned a restaurant in NYC called the Luncheonette.....the chef had relatives in the village near her French home..... we have gone to the Luncheonette twice now and love it as it has a real French rustic menue and Cahors wines. On our last visit we met the chef's wife who told us that Miss Barry had died.So you can leave a legacy...that small book provided us with joy twice over...in the reading and the introduction to the Luncheonette. Ballentyne Books.


Paul Deggan All Our Summers are French(1992) this fellow is Canadian and an artist. He falls in love with France and the light...his wife is French...this book tells of their buying a house and restoreing it and running art classes there all summer. In the winter months he returns to British Columbia and teaches at a Community College. His life was a little easier as he had family there etc but interesting . Estival Press Vancouver


Patricia Atkinson La Belle Saison(2005) and The Ripening Sun. This English woman leaves behind a husband , moves to France, buys property,opens a B&B and starts a small vineyard. The books are little stories of how she did it all, who helped her out etc. She has a website and it looks like she is making a living at this...living her dream. Which is why it does not matter how well they are written..although it does help .These are real human stories where the authors grab hold of life and make it happen. Century Books, London


Isabelle Dusi Vanilla Beans and Brodo...a story of real life in the Tuscan hills. I bought this book in Tuscany as it was for sale everywhere we went...the author now lives in Montapulciano and the book is how she decided to stay on in this village and develop a travel company bringing tourists in and touring them about to the various vineyards and eateries. Lots of things happen to this author as she makes her way in the village life...another good read.

Isabelle Huggan Belonging(2004) Vintage, CA. Living in Cevenne, France. I cannot remember the story here .

Gordon Cope A Paris Moment(2005) This mans wife is sent to work in Paris and he decides to come with her and use the opportunity to write about living in Paris.Hard cover so look for it 2nd hand Fifth House, Calgary, Alberta

Richard Goodman French Dirt(2002) This was a terrible book..worst I had read in a long time. An American who goes to a small town to live for a year and decides to be like the French in the village and have a garden. I learned nothing from this book and I do not think the author did either . Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill