Onward and Southeast-ish

The afterparty was very nice. We basically sat around the garden and pool at Annie and Jean's place (Helene's parents). I might have whooped it up a bit too much, but I had a great time. The next day, Helene, Maxim, Dad and I were supposed to leave for the Dordogne region at 11, but didn't actually get on the road until 3-ish. We had a lovely drive through the countryside, until Helene paused on the road tu turn onto a virtually abandoned side road (for a quick wee), and someone behind hit us. Thankfully there was no damage (I hope the rental company agrees, as the car is in my name). Then I drove for a bit through tremendously windy roads, until we found the place we were staying for the evening. We had a lovely dinner, complete with foie gras and trout (two specialties of the region). Then, off to bed.

The Wedding

We arrived in Rochefoucauld (where teh wedding was) later that afternoon. In the evening, we met up at a little restauraunt called Chez Steph. This region of France is especially known for their beef, so it was a steakhouse (the only one I have ever seen in France). I ordered a filet so red it was mooing, and it was probably one of the best steaks I have ever had. The next day was the wedding, which was held in the chateau. The chapel was absolutely wonderful, and had fantastic accoustics. The ceremony was very nice; the daughter of Florence's family friend performed the service, and Flo read an excerpt from the film "Wings of Desire." After the ceremony we went into the courtyard for champagne and appetizers. Later we went downstairs in the castle to begin the multi-course eating extravaganza. In between courses, the Toastmaster called on different people to give little speeches and whatnot. It was all very nice! After dessert and dancing (yes, I actually danced) we finally went back to the B&B; I ended up going to bed at 5 A.M. qnd I am too old for that sort of thing! But it was a fabulous day!

St. Emilion

GPS is not always a godsend. After we rented the car and left the airport, we drove for a few hours to get to the chateau near St. Emilion where we were staying. Unfortunately, the GPS decided the best route was to drive THROUGH some of the vineyards, which of course is not possible. So, we took a somewhat circuitous route but eventually found the place. We went in to the center of St. Emilion and found a nice restaurant. This being serious wine country, we each got a different glass of wine and shared them. They were fabulous!! After we took a short walking tour of the historical relics and story of St. Emilion. There is an enormous monolithic church there, and it's quite amazing to realize that everything was carved out of the existing stone, rather than constructed! The following morning we visited two vineyards and did a bit of wine tasting. I purchased 5 bottles of wine that I have no idea how I will get into my suitcase. It is gorgeous contryside! There are grape vines as far as the eye can see, and the owner of one of the vineyards explained that they will start to change their color in about a week or so. Too bad I won't see them when they are that nice, deep purple!

So Many Bottles, So Little Time!

We arrived safely in Bordeaux, and began the wine portion of our trip. The first evening we went out for a nice dinner that was on the river, then walked around the city. Our hotel was right in the center, so everything was in walking distance. The next day (our full day in the city) it rained. The first time it has really rained since we arrived! But it worked out well because the light drizzle kept the air cool so that we didn't die as we trekked around the city. At the Grand Théatre, there was a self-guided tour that showed the instruments, costumes, lighting and special effects for the operas and ballets they perform. St. Catherine street is the most commercial part of Bordeaux; its a pedestrian street with nothing but stores as far as the eye can see! We ended up taking a little nap before going out for dinner at a place called Fernands; very traditional bordelaise cuisine, and very tasty! The next day we met Hélène and Maxim at the airport to begin our trip through St. Emilion.

Mauzé sur le Mignon

Mauzé is the small town where Hélène's parents live; it is about 1/2 hr away from La Rochelle (on the Atlantic coast). We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and have been enjoying several days of pure rest and relaxation, not to mention faaaabulous weather. Even when the weather here is crappy, its nice! Yesterday we visited the "city" of Niort. We walked around and saw some of the shops. And where did I go? You guessed it... the book store! I have added 2 more books to my Asterix and Obelisk collection (a French comic book that takes place in medeival France, during the time of the Crusades). I also purchased the first two books in the Harry Potter series; turns out they are a bit easier for me to read than the French "lire en français" book I actually brought with me. Today I brought Dad to the farmer's market, next to the church. I couldn't help it, I had to buy rabbit. Now I love to cook, but never in my life have I prepared rabbit. So I experienced what should have become, by all rights, a near culinary disaster. The stove is quite different from mine, so there is a learning curve there. Then there was the possibly questionable cooking wine I used, nearly burnt garlic, and instead of adding olive oil when the pan was a bit dry, I accidentally grabbed nut oil (whose nuts is yet to be determined). Anyhow, despite these things, Bugs actually came out quite tasty! Chalk one up for the winning team. Monday we leave for Bordeaux, the city of wine :)

Surprising Tidbits

After having described the main portions of my journey, i can comment on the lesser known things that I found just plain interesting.

• Driving on the left side of the road is a given point of confusion- I can't tell you how many times I stood at a crosswalk like a complete arsehole, looking in all directions because I had no idea where the cars would be coming from (easy to do- there are lots of 1-way streets in London and I always seemed to be on the wrong side of them).
• Courtesy- Everyone in England seems to be exceptionally courteous. Even down to the Underground announcements and signs. The signs tend to be exceptionally verbose, but seem to genuinely care that you "mind the gap" between the train and platform so that you do not get squashed into people jelly.
• Beer is cheaper than water- apparently a holdover from earlier times, Londoners have apparently decided that they prefer beer be available to everyone, as opposed to water. I can't say I argue with this
• Drunken Brits are hilarious- I don't even know what to say here; you sort of need to experience it. One guy started talking to me, and when he discovered I was frm the US, he laments how difficult it is to get into our country. "I mean, I only have one conviction," he said.
• British accents are contagious-while lovely sounding, this accent is insidious and began to make its way into my speech. I hope I come home and remember to say "bathroom" instead of "loo."

I Am My Own Tom Tom

For those of you familiar with the ways of Lola, you understand that she has a bizzare and completely irrational fear of driving in Boston. She even prefers not to take the T without proper supervision, for fear of ending up in the nether parts of the world, such as Mattapan. However, this same Lola has turned a new geographical leaf and learned to navigate a large city. She managed, via train, to get herself into London, and once there navigate the streets and the Tube without getting lost once! She is a master of all things geographical and directional! Boston, and its fair inhabitants beware! Lola is coming!

London, Baby!

On July 13, Dad and I took a train into London, and a hop on/hop off tour of London, which also included a few walking tours (not possible to do all in one day, though). For you Harry Potter fans, there is indeed a "Platform 9 3/4" at King's Cross Station! A cute little brick wall with a luggage trolley stuck halfway through. And yes, I did do the touristy thing and had my picture taken with it, but I digress. We just barely arrived at the Visitor Center in time to begin the tour that goes to Buckingham Palace and sees the Changing of the Guard. Unfortunately our tour guide was a bit of a speed-demon. He walked at such a rapid pace I couldn't have kept up with him if I wanted to! And, of course, when we arrived at the castle, everyone and their brother was there, and we ended up losing the walking tour entirely. So we said screw them, and went off in search of the bus. We then travelled toe Westminster Abbey and saw Big Ben (which I always thought was the name of the tower, but turns out it is the name of the 13 ton bell inside!). After some lunch with a psychotic waitress (she was running around like a womqn on fire), we got back on the bus. It was one of the open-air buses, so we sat on the top. The tour was actually very nice, and we even got to see Fleet St. (for all you Sweeney Todd fans). We thought about taking the Jack the Ripper walking tour; but it was a bit long and we would have missed our boat cruise, which was very nice. It was similar to the one we did for Flo's Hen Do, but this one went to Greenwich. After the cruise we had dinner at the Sherlock Holmes Pub, where we both had traditional "Bangers & Mash" which was actually quite tasty; I could have done without the gravy on my Yorkshire pudding, though.

London Town

The day after the Hen Do party (yesterday), we went to the section of London called Camden, where there is an open air market with lots of little vendors and shops. It was extremely crowded, but somehow we managed to get through without losing anyone. Somehow I have managed to not yet buy a single thing! We then went to a sushi restaurant where it's all you can eat for £15. Quitterie, Boris and the baby then returned to France, while the rest of us walked around the city, visited St. Paul's cathedral, and walked along the river. We took a brief trip to the Tate Modern Museum, where I was able to see some Dali, Picasso and Warhol. We ended up in Chinatown, where we had a fabulous dinner at a restaurant called the Four Seasons. They are quite famous for their Crispy Duck and Special Fried Rice. We realized that it was 10:40, we still had to go back to the hostel to get our luggage, then take the Tube to King's Cross station to get a train back to Cambridge! Of course, not only was it a Sunday night, when trains generally stop earlier, but it was the final night of the World Cup (which Spain won), so the city was a madhouse, especially Picadilly Circus, which is very similar to Times Square. Thankfully we made it in time, and arrived back to Hélène's around 2 a.m. Needless to s ay, after our whirlwind weekend I slept until noon-thirty. Today is a nice lazy day, to be spent reading, updating this blog and doing laundry. Tomorrow Dad and I will go in to London to see all the things we haven't yet seen (which, given the amount of walking we have done, I can't imagine is much!)

The Hen Do Party

In England it is quite traditional to throw a bachelorette, or "Hen Do" party for a bride to be. It is also customary for said bride to be made to wear some sort of kitschy costume, in the case of Florence, Hélène's sister, a fake bridal gown purchased on Ebay, a princess tiara and silly lace gloves. A group of 14 of us first went to London, to a little club, where we had tapas and cocktails. Our next event was a booze-cruise on the Thames River. Unfortunately, when leaving the club we were not entirely sure where we needed to be to get the boat, so there was much running around trying to find the proper pier and not be left behind. Thankfully; we safely made it onto the boat, and the 4 hr cruise was wonderful: perfect weather, good music and even better company. We finished the evening at a club called The Borderline, which played mostly rock music. I spoke quite a bit with a lovely girl from Ireland named Ailbhe (pronounced Elva). We finally made it back to the hostel at 4:30 a.m. Meanwhile, Dad and Boris went to the park with the baby, out for dinner, then in to bed at a reasonable hour (unlike the rest of us). But I had such a nice time, I nearly forgot that I am too old to be staying up that late several nights in a row!