May 7, 2009 - Ready to Start Packing

Grades are turned in. May 6: Recorded last session of my Vespers Service at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. My business is finally caught up for now. Our Europe trip is our long promised reward, our 30th anniversary present to ourselves, and Colman's 25th birthday present. We tried to plan a trip last year, but my mother's long deteriorating health kept us stateside. Sadly, she passed on last December, so no more excuses. I'm sure she would have approved.

So, at last we are getting out bags packed and ready to go. Alas, the cat knows something is going on. He will be looked on by my nephew for the next two weeks. Our two weeks in France and Germany to see "Castles, Cathedrals and Caves" (both the wine type and the grotto type) in Burgundy, Alsace and the Mosel.

We lucked out with our Sky Miles and were able to get our tickets for next to nothing, so the three of us (Curtis, Nancy and Colman) booked our flight for Paris. Then Colman decided to invite his girlfriend, Kyrie, but she had to book on a different flight. So we arranged to meet her at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Apart from a 2-hour wait, we found her without a hitch. From there we picked up a rental car, a 5-speed Opel hatchback, with smart space sensors that are really helpful getting in and out of tight parking spots.

May 8, 2009 - Stopping for lunch...

We arrived at Charles De Gaulle Airport outside Paris the afternoon of May 8. After picking up our rental car and navigating our way around Paris (oh what a temptation to drive right in!), we headed down the A-6 toward Burgundy. Along the way, we stopped at a little village called Milly-de-Foret and another called Perthes-au-Gatinos, hoping to find some lunch - but we had forgotten it was a French holiday, and also it was past lunchtime, so we were not invited in! We got some interesting pictures in those little villages though. Finally, we had to settle for a French hot dog on the service island on the A-6. Not a bad dog, though. Served on french bread – no squishy buns here – with gruyere cheese. But they were fresh out of "moutarde."

May 8, Country House in Bouiland

We left the Autoroute and took the back roads from the North to our first destination, a country house in the tiny hamlet of Bouilland in the hills (mountains might be more appropriate) above Savigny-lès-Beaune. On the way, mapped out for us by Google, we found roads getting narrower and narrower as we entered the country. At one point I spotted what seemed to be an ark, sitting in the middle of the hillside. It was actually a houseboat, and it was afloat in a narrow waterway that joins the intercontinental canal system that connects the Mediterranean to the North Sea. At one point the road was actually below the waterway, then above again.

Finally arriving about an hour before dark, we were greeted by our dear friends Brett and Françoise, who had arranged to share the house for the weekend. The farmhouse named "Les Buttes" is just up a gravel road from the ruins of the ancient Abbaye de Sainte-Marguerite, which is now fenced off from the road. (New owners have some big plans, it seems.) It was quite cool in the hills in early May, and Brett had already built a wood fire. They had picked nettles from the herb garden and prepared a soup for the appetizer in our first of a number of memorable meals in France. They then showed us our sleeping options, and, places picked, we all turned in for some decent shuteye to adjust to our new time zone.

May 9, Saturday market in Beaune

Next morning, we get to sleep in... a little. But not too late to make it down to Beaune, heart of Burgundy's Côte d'Or – for some oenophiles the ne plus ultra of wine, home of the pinot noir, AND the chardonnay – for the Saturday open market. Parking two cars on market day was an adventure in learning how to follow the symphony of beeps in our Opel, and what numbers to use to prefix the numbers in our cells in order to keep in touch with each other in the crowded streets.

The market was full of delectables. Cheeses of every sort, both local and from other parts of France. Fruits galore, tomatoes and berries from the Midi. Olives and more olives. The most delicious breads. In short a gourmand's dream. We ended up buying enough for our picnic lunch and for our dinner. Fresh veal scallopine, fresh morels (surprisingly reasonably priced), local ham, assorted cheeses, shallots, crème fraîche, and then set out to a wine store for, what else but a couple bottles of Bourgogne. Not just any bourgogne. I felt it only appropriate to find a bottle bearing the Hospice de Beaune label. These are the wines that are auctioned annually at the Hotel Dieu, a 15th century hospital, now a museum, that has benefitted from the wine auctions for many years. Our plan was to see this fabulous Renaissance building, only a few blocks away, after lunch.

Then home to make dinner. Tonight I would chef the entree, veal with morels in a shallot, white wine, ham and crème fraîche sauce with local white asparagus. And Brett, Françoise, Nancy and Kyrie would pull off all the other culinary tasks. Colman helped keep up and control the fire. It seemed to have a smoking problem, but all things fell into order, and we enjoyed one of those landmark sensory happenings for the mouth and nose in the most pleasant company imaginable. Isn't this what life is all about. Or certainly should be. The reds: a 2005 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits followed by a 1985 Volnay, Cuvée General Muteau, Hospice de Beaune. Then we hit the marc that Françoise's uncle makes in Alsace from plums, raspberries and (most amazing tasting) from Gewürztraminer.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we go northward for a tasting and lunch...