Brian takes a ride

By now, we had settled in to a very pleasant routine of a leisurely buffet breakfast at 8am followed by our departure on a morning tour an hour later. We faced the reality however that this was our last full day on Le Phenician before we left the cruise and went our separate ways. The Camargue region, close to the Rhône delta is unique, quite unlike any other French region. It is flat, low-lying land, quite wild, and with large open areas rather than the neat and tidy landscape one sees in most other areas of France. Bull-fighting is practised widely in the region. Most of it is in the traditional Camargue style where multiple ribbons are tied to the horrifyingly sharp horns of the bull, and a small handheld comb-like device is then used by the competitors to pick the small ribbons off the angry bull. Whoever gets the most ribbons is the winner. Generally this takes place in an arena where there are ten men and one bull, but a variant of this is where the bulls are individually allowed to run loose in the streets and competitors try to snare the ribbons. It's a very dangerous sport with many injuries, but the good news is that the bulls do not get injured. It seems that prize bulls are as revered there as prize racehorses are in Australia. We'd loved to have seen such an event, but time did not allow. One should add that some traditional bull-fights also take place in the Camargue, and those particular bulls do get killed. That, we would not want to see.

Anyway we set off to visit an authentic bull-breeding ranch run by a prominent local family. We drove for an hour, and when we arrived, four members of the family, dressed in their traditional costumes and mounted on their traditional white horses, were there to greet us. We then climbed aboard a flat-bed cart pulled by a tractor and they took us to one of the fields, where were about 50-60 of the black bulls. Until we got to the ranch we hadn't realised that there had been a change in the weather, and it had become windy and absolutely freezing!!. What we saw was certainly interesting, but we were all shivering on the open cart. They rounded up the bulls and brought them close to the cart so that we could get a good look at them. Each bull is individually named, and they are regarded just as one would regard racehorses at an Australian breeding stud. The horns on these bulls are huge and sharp, and they point forward, where they can inflict the most damage. The animals weigh up to 800kg, not small.

Thankfully, we were then brought in out of the cold to their display area and shop, where we were able to see, on continuous loop, some absolutely scary videos of bullfights. We had some traditional snacks including terrine, anchovies and tapenade, all accompanied by wine. After that, it was back to the boat, which was getting ready to sail to our final destination of Aigues-Mortes. The previous night, we were given two choices. We could travel on the boat, enjoy one of Thierry's wonderful lunches then arrive at our destination feeling relaxed and comfortable. Then there was the crazy option where one could take a packed lunch which Thierry would prepare, and ride a bike for the 14km alongside the canal to our destination. In preparation for this eventuality, the two of us had hired bikes in Brisbane a few months earlier for a couple of hours, just to make sure that we could still handle them OK. Mary had decided that bike-riding wasn't for her, while Brian had become marginally less wobbly as he got back into practice.

Bravely/foolishly Brian decided that he would do the roughly hour-long ride to Aigues-Mortes, along with Greg and Steve, two of our fellow-passengers both of whom are experienced riders. All the others took the boat option. Of course, once one commits to riding the bike, there is literally no turning back. The boat will have sailed, so it's a matter of going the full distance on two wheels. To cut a long story short, the bike ride went very well, Brian didn't fall off and we reached our destination an hour ahead of the boat. We were fortunate that the wind had died down, it was a very smooth path and there were no hills. In fact it was a very pleasant trip and Brian was well pleased with himself.

Once the boat arrived and we were reunited the two of us set off to explore this 13th century walled town. We started by buying tickets and setting off for a walk along the top of the wall, a distance of about 1.6km. It was quite interesting, though we wouldn't describe it as compelling. We then went for a wander through the streets of the old town, quite attractive with many shops and restaurants and quite a few tourists. It was fairly interesting, though we'd decided by then that our favourite places on this trip were Avignon and Les Baux-de-Provence.

Our final dinner on board was a big affair, with champagne and with foie gras served two different ways as the starter. The main course of fillet of lamb served rare was magnificent, and Thierry's dessert of raspberry and peach gateau with sparklers as decoration was pretty special too. The staff, who had been magnificent during the trip, joined us for champagne toasts and dessert - all accompanied by many thank you speeches, hugs and handshakes. We were all sad that the trip was coming to an end.

For the record, and for happy memories, these were Thierry's wonderful lunches:

Sunday
Rosace de tomates bicolores, gelée et tartare
Médaillon de veau, sauce à la moutarde violette
Purée de patate douce et petits légumes
Cheeses: Reblochon, St Marcellin
Fraises en sabayon

Monday
Petits farcis, tuiles de parmesan
Dos de loup en croute de poivrons
Riz et poireaux, sauce vierge
Cheeses: Petit basque, Livarot
soupe d’agrumes, granité de mandarine

Tuesday
Duo de saumon en pannequet, betterave et pomme
Magret de canard, parfum de figues
Ravioles de céleri et fèves
Cheese: Croustillant de chêvre
Déclinaison de chocolat

Wednesday
Asperges blanche et vertes, velouté, panées
Coussin de daurade, sauce curcuma
Fenouil braisé et palet de pdt
Cheeses: Pont l’evêque, Tome de savoie

And here are the dinners:

Sunday
Eggplant terrine, tomato and pesto
Goat cheese, tapenade and tomato tart
Green bean, white onion and chorizo salad
Italian salad
porc « pluma », veggies
Brillat savarin
Coffee mousse «dacquoise »

Monday:
Smoked and tartare salmon roll
Grilled veggies
Snowpeas, carrots, marinated peppers, smoked duck breast
Bacon and leek tart
Grilled lamb, spicy grains
Cheese: St Nectaire
Raspberries tiramisu

Tuesday:
Avocado and grapefruit
Crabs, garlic, pepper, lime samoussa
Prawns, coconuts orange and peanuts salad
Cod fritters (accras)
Spicy chicken breast, nuddles
Fresh cheese
Rhubarb tart

Wednesday:
“Pissaladière”
Cauliflower greek style
Eggplant “caviar”
Quinoa taboulet
Monkfish, veggies
Cheese: Bûche de Valançay
Exotic fruits salad

Thursday:
Crespeou
Cod brandade and spinach “feuilleté”
Gaspacho
Feta salad
Braised beef cheek, potatoes gratin
Cheese: St Marcellin
Chestnut cakeRead more