Normandy - La Ferme Des Isles

Our next destination was the charming Ferme Des Isles located near Autheuil-Authouillet. We arrived in the late afternoon after a drive with a pit-stop for wine and calvados to be greeted by the charming Francois and Sylvia.

After a tour of the grounds and our room we met the Farm's domestic animals; two dogs (Jet and Dirty) and two cats (Gremoulin and Glowee) and both of us fell in love with them all.

After a chance to clean up and enjoy a beverage we headed off to a local restaurant for a very good dinner before returning to the Farm for a late night tipple and relaxation
in the garden.

The next day was a day of touring and rather than the normal dynamic duo this time we were a Terrific Trio!








The other guest at the farm was Ai, a young lady from Japan who was visiting France for three months but did not drive and spoke only a little English and French. Our host asked us if it would not be too much trouble to take her along should we go out touring and so we obliged.


We hopped in the car and drove off to Vascoeuil to visit the sculpture gardens and chateau.

It was well worth the visit as the sculpture gardens hold some very interesting pieces, the little museum to Michelet was quite cool, and the exhibition of the artist Roland Cat was fascinating.

On the way back we stopped for a crepe lunch (noting that the diminutive Ai has no trouble packing back the French food) and a visit to the ruins of Chateau Gaillard which was unfortunately closed for a visit but still accorded amazing views of the Seine.


Then it was back to the farm for some relaxation before enjoying a lovely dinner (salmon tartar being the star of the night) with our hosts and other guests (including Ai).

We enjoyed white wine and then calvados as the sun set on our last night in the Norman countryside.


After dinner, we all went off on a walk around the property with the dogs. It was a lovely stomp through the field of hay to the side of the little stream that runs through the property and then back to the farmhouse.

Our two nights at Ferme Des Isles were wonderful (albeit a bit hot in the non air conditioned room) and the hospitality of our hosts was exceptional.

We left Normandy having only seen a fraction of its treasures but excited to see Paris after a five year hiatus and on a night like no other!

Normandy - Juno Beach and La Pommeraye

We left La Louviere after three wonderful nights and headed to our next destination, Chateau  De La Pommeraye near Clecy, Calvados.

A detour to visit Chateau d'O (sadly not yet open for the season) and the Tiger Tank at Vimoutiers added a bit to the drive but we didn't mind as driving in the French countryside is a treat when the weather is as perfect as it was.

Before arriving at our B&B we also stopped for a lunch of moules mariniers at an odd roadside restaurant.

Being the only patrons there (there had been a few others but we arrived late) we ended up chatting with the little old lady that ran the place.

Inevitably she hit it off with Christos and ended up giving him a record of Pierre Spiers, of which she had a stack of perhaps a half dozen for sale at 2 euros each, as a parting gift.

We also popped into a small Calvados producer that had been in operation since 1769 but was just a family business. Inevitably a bottle came home with us.

We arrived at our next B&B in the late afternoon and booked dinner at the Chateau. Dinner was very good with wonderful grilled shrimp, (superb) scallops, risotto and (of course) cheese followed by an after dinner calvados for Christos.

As there were few guests and Alexander the manager (owner?) liked Canadians, he upgraded us to a suite!

The Chateau and grounds were simply lovely and idyllic with tame horses nearby, a walk along a "roman road" to a nearby ruined castle (we opted not to enter as it was undergoing excavations), a fish pond, gorgeous common rooms on the first floor filled with art and books, rooms with amazing views, nearby tame horses and the calm serenity of the country.

The next day we headed off to visit Juno Beach, the site of the Allied landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944.  Juno Beach had been stormed by (amongst others) Canadian troops and it was quite a costly landing. We visited the museum and then toured an old German fortification, part of which had only been uncovered in 2010.



After the moving experience at Juno Beach, we headed to Bayeux to see the famous tapestry as well as the lovely cathedral followed by a wander through the quaint old town.

We made it back to the B&B with enough time to rest a bit before it was time to head to nearby Pont D'Ouilly for dinner we had the best meal of our entire time in France! It was in fact one of the best meals we have ever had ....

The restaurant was the Pomme D'Ouilly and Lisa started with foie gras (superb) while Christos had a parsnip veloute with bacon and raspberry (!?) that was amazing. Lisa had an amazing cut of beef with a wonderful spicy sauce while Christos had five lovely scallops served with a side of mashed celery as entrees. Desert was a wonderful poached pear for Lisa and a two mousse chocolate cake for Christos.

We stayed up late sitting by the Chateau's fish pond drinking wine, chatting and listening to the sounds of the countryside before retiring to bed and watching a little "Rick and Morty" on the iPad until we both drifted off.

The next day was a Sunday and we opted for a visit to a nearby lookout and hiking park called Roch D'Oetre.

The view from the rock was stellar and the hike down into the ravine, along the Rouvre river and then out into the countryside before arriving back at the start was a wonderful 6.7km, 2 hour trek.

After a brief lunch of fries and beer (water only for Lisa) we decided to do another small (1.8 km) hike down into the ravine and back out.

Finally at 5PM we attended about a 1/2 hour of a concert given by a Anglo-Rock Duo known as Potlatch. Quite fun but we had to get back to the B&B with enough time to freshen up and rest before dinner so we could not stay for the 2 hour event!

We arrived back at La Pommeraye for a bit of relaxation before our 8PM reservation at a different local restaurant called La Gavotine (as Pomme D'Ouilly was closed this evening) where we had a wonderful meal. Christos started with the home smoked salmon which he loved so much that he ordered a take away portion for lunch the next day! Lisa started with escargot, a French classic. We both had the slow roasted pork with potatoes, veg and gravy. All very rustic and excellent stuff; perfect after our day hiking in the sun!

Then it was back to La Pommeraye for another evening outside with wine before retiring to bed in preparation for the next day's drive east towards Paris.

The Norman Invasion - La Louviere

We arrived in Paris on a sunny and hot Tuesday morning after an uneventful overnight flight from Toronto. Given our ten day time frame we had decided to only take in Paris at the end of the trip so we hopped in our rental car (Madame White) and started the 3 hour drive to our B&B near Alencon in the heart of Normandy.

We arrived shortly before our expected check-in time so we had a quick drink at a local bar while waiting to enter the grounds of the lovely La Louviere.

The property is a large walled in garden/woods complete with a duck pound, an outer cottage and several romantic resting spots to wander to as well as the restored 18th Century large farmhouse.

Our charming hosts welcomed us in and showed us to the lovely suite we had booked. After a quick tour of the gardens, the amiable ancient retriever Venus (pictured) soon became our friend (she is a sucker for belly rubs) although the cat Shadow remained unseen until the second day.

After a chance to clean up and rest for a bit it was off to Alencon for dinner at the Rive Droite, a restaurant located in the same building that General LeClerc used as his HQ during the liberation of France in 1944! It was then back to La Louviere for a good night's sleep in the countryside.

Our next day was a tour of Alencon including a visit to the musee Des Baux Artes et la Dentelle.

La Dentelle is "lace", a product Alencon was famous for beginning in the 17th Century. The museum also housed a small but lovely collection of paintings as well as a section devoted to Cambodia during its domination by the French.

While we had both been skeptical of how much we would enjoy the lace exhibit, it was actually quite fascinating as neither of us had realized the level of intricacy and work required to make the pieces. An intro film whetted our appetite to see the museum's pieces of lace from the 17th and 18th centuries and they did not disappoint!

We made it back to our B&B for a little relaxation by the pond and in the room before we had dinner at La Louviere with two other couples who were staying there. It was a tasty dinner of gamecock poached in cider (a product Normandy is famous for) as well as all the usual French trimmings (salad to start, cheese plate etc). Unfortunately Lisa was still not fully acclimatized to France and could not get through much of dinner (Christos did manage to finish her fowl, mind you).

The next day we toured the area and visited a local Bicycle Museum that had a significant section dedicated to the Tour de France.

The museum had bikes and jerseys from famous Tour de France participants as well as a portrait gallery of every winner. Interestingly, the portrait of Lance Armstrong still hung on the wall but with a black X marked over it!

That night we had dinner in nearby Saint Ceneri Le Gerei, one of the 200 prettiest villages of France.

Dinner was yummy, we shared terrine to start followed by magret for Lisa and beef for Christos. After dinner we enjoyed a walk through the lovely village before heading back to La Lauviere for our final night before heading to the Calvados region within Normandy.

Off we go!

A week on the Left Coast

It was time to visit Family and Friends out West so off we went to Victoria and Vancouver.

We flew to Victoria late (but non-stop) on Wednesday night, arrived at our B&B (the lovely Fairholme Manor) around 11:30PM and quickly settled into the wonderful King size bed.

The next morning we enjoyed an amazing breakfast of ricotta and lemon pancakes before heading out for the short walk to Christos' Mom's place in Oak Bay.

We were greeted at the door first by the effervescent Zoe the Pug and then by Mom (Barbara) and Gary who showered us with Kisses, Hugs and Heys!!

After a bit of chatting, it was off for a wander with Mom through downtown Oak Bay with the goal of securing the ingredients required for Christos to prepare a Bolognese for the next day's dinner.

We visited a few shops, window shopping mostly, before provisioning at the new Red Barn at the base of Redfern avenue.

A couple of hours invested in the kitchen and the Bolognese was ready to simmer the day away so off we went for the 4km walk into downtown Victoria. We took Fort Street to the waterfront and thought about how it had been Alex's main drag as a youth in Victoria.

We wandered about for a couple hours, visiting the Roger's Chocolate store, some tourist shops and finally the super delicious Red Fish Blue Fish on the waterfront where we split Fish & Chips, Fried Oysters and a Fried Pickle!

We then walked back to Barbara and Gary's where the night was spent in chit chat, drinks, pizza and the movie "Passengers" before another round of chit chat when we realized it was quarter after 11PM and it was time for the walk back to the B&B!

The next day, after an amazing breakfast of Eggs Benedict for Lisa and Eggs Neptune for Christos, we discovered that our B&B was next door to Government House and from then on enjoyed a daily stroll through the grounds.

Lisa and Barbara indulged in a mani-peddy during the afternoon while Christos rummaged at a junk shop finding five calypso (two good ones) records for a mere $20. After the sojourn into town, we then took Zoe out for a good long walk.

That night was Barbara's birthday so we splurged on a  lovely Barolo to pair with the Bucatini Bolognese.

While Barbara's taste buds are a bid wonky due to medication, Gary and Christos devoured their delicious portions while Lisa ate most of hers but opined that it was not Christos' best work!

After some post dinner lounging it was time for us to head back to Fairholme Manor.

Our final full day in Victoria started with French Toast baked in a ramikin, our least favored of our four breakfasts, followed by a walk to downtown Victoria and then a walk back to Barbara and Gary's in the afternoon where Mom made roast chicken for dinner and we watched "Dr. Strange" after dinner.

Sunday morning it was a yummy breakfast of Veggie Fritatta with maple glazed bacon and then Mom picked us up to drive us to the Seaport for the float plane flight over to Vancouver.

The flight was a bit bumpy as the weather was stormy but we arrived on time in Vancouver and were met by wide smiling Jen, Neil's wife, who had lunch with us at a local spot before driving us in to Vancouver where we spent the night at the Georgia Hotel downtown and enjoyed Ramen noodle before an early night in bed.

Unlike Victoria where we had only occasional bouts of rain, it rained from the moment we arrived in Vancouver with only intermittent breaks. Ah well, it is the left Coast!

Monday we awoke to heavy rain but fortunately we were meeting JP only blocks away at noon. We had a good lunch with JP, catching up on many things, before James picked us up at the hotel in the mid afternoon and took us to his and Ria's place nearby.

Here we hung out till early evening, meeting the wonderful Lola the Chocolate Lab and having some beer while enjoying a cheese and salami plate.

James started to give us a quick tour of his place with Lola in tow until she gamed us!  She played it very well, practically ignoring the food while our eyes were on it but acting with amazing speed for an old dog when our backs were turned!







Dinner at a nearby Tapas restaurant was wonderful with excellent food and an evening of good conversation and generous libations!

The next day was full of rain but still quite fun. James and Ria stayed home while we went out for breakfast at the local "Fable Diner" which was good, although not cheap, and the service was excellent.

After breakfast we wandered about for a bit, ducking into thrift stores to get away from the rain, until we finally found ourselves at Dude Chilling Park! We made it back to James and Ria's place in the early afternoon whereupon James put down his tools and informed us it was time for the "Mural Brewery Tour". There were indeed murals but given the inclement weather, the meat of the afternoon was spent touring five different craft breweries in the neighbourhood!


At the penultimate brewery, we met up with Lisa's brother, Neil and shared some tales with James as the beer was flowing liberally by that point.

We floated back to the condo where Ria and James made an amazing Ramen noodle dinner from scrap! Thanks again guys!

Then it was an evening of conversation and drinks before bed and our flight back to Toronto the next day.

The Italian Adventure - One Night in Milan

Although we were not ready to leave the lovely Langhe, our tickets home indicated otherwise and so off we went to Milan on late Wednesday morning. We arrived in the late afternoon and after dropping off the car settled in at the Square Hotel Milano. Much to our disappointment there was no sign of Alex or Sally (scheduled to arrive that morning to start two weeks of holidays in Italy) so we left word at the front desk that they should contact us and then it was time for a quick stroll through Milan.

We visited the famed cathedral but not go inside due to the line and cost (we had been here 15 years earlier when such things did not exist) and then wandered the shopping area  for an hour before returning back and discovering that Alex and Sally had finally arrived after a delay connecting. Christos had made a reservation at a seafood specialty restaurant for 7:30 and as we still had time, we had a drink at a local bar and caught up.

Dinner was good; the appetizers were excellent (Lisa particularly liked her scallops while Christos and Baba both enjoyed Cantabrian anchovies and Sally had tuna tartar) but the mains were a little bit of a let down (except for Sally's) with the pasta not being fresh. After dinner we had a leisurely stroll (and Alex had a cigar) through the Galleria back to our hotel. The next morning we all shared an excellent breakfast in the hotel (Christos made some mini ham sandwiches for the flight) before it was off for our flight to Toronto and time to say Ciao Italia! (For Now)

The Italian Adventure - Four Days in Heaven

After the six days of biking, we were looking forward to a little relaxing in the hills of Piedmont. We picked up a rental car in Alessandria and headed out for the Langhe region.

It was a Saturday and our first stop was the village of La Morra as Christos discovered that the Cantina Comunale of La Morra hosts a wine tasting day every Saturday in October! We arrived in La Morra at 12:15pm, too late for the first session of wine tasting, but with more than enough time for lunch before the second session began at 2:30pm. Lunch was at a nearby Osteria that served excellent soups but only decent Lasagna.

Lunch doesn't take us two hours so we were early at the Cantina Comunale and among those first through the doors. For 10 euros each we tasted more than a dozen Barolo as well as some Nebbiolo wines. The differences between the various Barolo wines was quite noticeable even though some were from grapes that grew within a few kilometres of each other!  Poor Lisa had to spit out most of the vino as she is the perpetual driver.

We stayed at the tasting until about 3:45pm, bought seven Barolo wines and then headed out to find the B&B we would be staying at, Tenuta Bricchi. Tenuta Bricchi is a new B&B (opened in March 2016) built in a huge renovated farmhouse looking out over the sublime hills of the Langhe on the outskirts of the village of Sinio.

The owners, Sara and Danilo, have devoted themselves to creating a wonderful place to relax and unwind with magnificent attention to detail. Breakfasts were prepared freshly every morning by both Sara and Danilo and were the best we had all trip. Good, strong coffee to start, pastries with homemade jams, cheeses and meats, fresh fruit, soft-boiled eggs and frittatas and organic juices to wash it down. After breakfast they would leave out a covered dish with homemade focaccia and homemade cake of some sort for guests to nibble on during the day.

Our room had the largest bed we have ever seen. It literally was the size of some hotel rooms. The room also had a double shower, a tub and a private deck overlooking the valley and town of Sinio! It was a small piece of Heaven.

As we arrived somewhat late (4:30pm) and didn't want to go far, the first night we ate at the Agriturismo Arcate  just up the street from Tenuta Bricchi. The Agriturismo concept is a new one to us; basically a bed and breakfast type place but some provide full and/or half board. No menus or choices mind you, they just bring food around and fill your plate! The first night we had excellent carpaccio, a spinach flan, plin pasta, a beef main dish and tiramisu dessert! We also had two bottles of wine over the plus two hour dinner ... all told the bill was 65 euros.

The next day was a Sunday and Christos had discovered that many places had their museums or sites open only on weekends. So after an amazing breakfast, we headed out late (noon) for the drive to the next village over, Serralunga D'Alba with its medieval Castle. Once more our timing was poor as the Castle was closed from 12:30pm to 2:30pm (lunch) and the local restaurant was filled up. Having just ate breakfast, we settled for a walk through the town, a glass of Barolo at an Enoteca and a little shopping for Produtti Tipici to pass the time.

The Castle provided a guided tour as well as an info sheet in English. The visit lasted about half an hour and was worth the 4 euros each just for the stunning views it provided of the Langhe. After the tour, we opted to take the fifteen minute drive back to Tenuta Bricchi as the primary agenda was relaxation with a little sight seeing.

We once more opted for dinner at the Agriturismo just a short walk away and this time enjoyed a different menu which included pasta with white truffle (extra 10 euros each). To be honest, we both felt that the white truffle had more olfactory powers than gustatory ones. This may have been due to the cold remnants impacting our sense of taste though. We took it easier on this night with only one bottle of wine. On the way out, Christos bought some Hazelnut Spread (produtti tipici) as the region is famous for its Hazelnuts. We strolled back to the B&B, stopping to look up at the stars every once and a while, and then relaxed in our room until the wee hours.

Monday was spent relaxing at the B&B. We spent the day relaxing on lounge chairs, looking out over the valley at Serralung D'Alba, reading and chatting. There was also some soaking in the tub!

We made a lunch of focaccia and mini cakes! We did not leave until the sun had set on Serralunga D'Alba and it was time for dinner at Ca' Del Lupo a short drive away.

Dinner was good (pasta good but veal stew a bit of a let down) with an excellent Barolo wine. They gave us a bottle of olive oil from Sicily on the way out after we had a discussion regarding our trip to Sicily in 2014 with our waiter.

Four our final full day (Tuesday), we opted to start late and then drive to the village of Castiglione Falletto, where another Cantina Comunale was located (these offered better prices than the Enotecas). Unfortunately when we got there, the guy running the place seemed disinterested and the prices were quite above what we were expecting (minimum 40 euros) so we decided to leave.

We headed back to Tenuta Bricchi but Christos suggested we stop at one of the local wineries; he choose one at random and we pulled into the yard, much to the surprise of the proprietor! He spoke no English and we spoke no Italian but an hour later we knew all sorts of things about each other (such as they only bottle 5000 bottles per year; very small run)!

We tasted his Nebbiolo (8 euros a bottle) and Barolo (27 euros a bottle) along with some excellent salami, and bought one bottle of each on the way out. It had been a lovely experience so we tried for another, visiting a larger winery and instead being told that we could wait and then pay 15 euros for a tasting in half an hour. After our informal (and free) experience just a short distance away we decided why bother and went back to our first winery, buying another two bottles! The proprietor showed us his tiny bottling facility, gave us a box for six bottles of wine (for transport) and presented us with a bag of hazelnuts (produtti tipici!) on the way out!

For our final night in Sinio, we visited another restaurant recommended by Sara and Danilo and dinner was amazing. Christos had the degustation menu (five course with four different glasses of wine) while Lisa had a yummy pasta and a beef main. We got back to Tenuta Bricchi late and enjoyed a glass of grappa each before hitting the sack.

The next morning was glorious but it was also time for us to go.