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Europe 2023

Eylül - Ekim 2023
We are off to Europe to catch up with family, explore new cities and revisit some favourites. We will also be joining a walk and wine tour with Explore through Spain and Portugal. Okumaya devam et
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  • 48günler
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  • GezginEurope 2023
    12
    Gün 14

    Fabulous Fine Dining

    27 Eylül 2023, Fransa ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    When we were making our way to our hotel yesterday Ian spotted a sign to a restaurant that caught his attention. He took note and later googled the restaurant, La Table du Sommelier, and it received very good reviews so we booked a table.

    The restaurant was about a 5 minute walk from our hotel and it did not disappoint. We sat on their covered terrace and chose a fixed menu - entree, main and dessert. We chose a local Gaillac wine (Red) to accompany our meal and it was fabulous.

    For dinner Ian and Brigitte had the prawns wrapped in brick pastry with salad and I chose the steak tartare. Both entrees were excellent, in fact the steak tartare was the best I have ever had.

    For mains Ian and Brigitte chose the veal and I chose the fish. Again, the quality of the meals was excellent.

    For dessert Ian chose an Apricot concoction and Brigitte and I chose a raspberry and chocolate creation. Both desserts were sublime.

    We finished with an espresso which was very good. The quality of the coffee in France seems to have improved since last year.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • GezginEurope 2023
    Gün 15

    Delights of Albi

    28 Eylül 2023, Fransa ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We had a late start this morning as we had decided to take ourselves on a self-guided tour of the old city. On the way over we stopped at a Patisserie that Nastia had recommended. Cedric Millet creates delicious patisserie and Ian and I sampled a couple of his creations with a coffee. Mine was fig and rosemary and Ian’s was apricot and anise. Cedric likes to include different herbs and spices in his creations, and afterwards he asks you to guess which herb or spice he has used. We didn’t guess correctly.

    We then wandered over the old bridge and made our way to the old town to just explore the narrow streets and alleys. We discovered the place where Toulouse-Lautrec was born, which is now a restaurant and also the house where the French explorer Laperouse lived. There is a suburb in Sydney named after Laperouse. His ships arrived off Botany Bay in January 1788, shortly after the First Fleet, and stayed there for six weeks. This was their last known sighting on land as the ship was wrecked somewhere in the Solomon Islands and all hands lost after they departed.

    After wandering around for a couple of hours admiring the old buildings, we went to the lovely hidden Place du Cloître Saint-Salvy for lunch . Then it was back to the hotel for some relaxing, before we headed out for dinner. If it seems like we are eating and drinking a lot, I can confirm we are. We are trying to walk as much as we can to balance things out!    Okumaya devam et

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  • GezginEurope 2023
    Gün 16

    Cordes-sur-Ciel

    29 Eylül 2023, Fransa ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Today we had an early start as we wanted to visit the medieval town of Cordes-sur-Ciel (Ropes to the sky) situated 21km northwest of Albi. We caught the modern local bus, which cost only 2 euro, with school children making up most of the other passengers.

    As the weather was predicted to get to the low 30’s, we thought it best to climb to the top of the town early, and this turned out to be the right decision. Because it was early we only encountered a couple of people as we climbed and explored the narrow streets and lanes to reach the top, and it was still relatively cool.

    Cordes-sur-Ciel is a beautiful town full of artists and lovely galleries and stores. There is a delightful chocolate and sugar museum that was fun to explore. Yves Thuries, the master chef/chocolatier who created the museum, was so talented and many of his “sugar” creations were amazing. He was a real pioneer in this area and a contemporary of other famous French chefs such as Paul Bocuse.

    There is a beautiful covered marketplace in the centre of town and a lovely square with views out across the surrounding countryside. On our way up we also discovered what is left of the ramparts, which afforded us beautiful views looking south.

    There were so many stores and galleries to explore and, much to Ian’s relief, I showed some restraint, although it wasn’t total. I could have gone crazy, but carrying stuff is a real pain and our bags are already heavy enough.

    We had lunch at a lovely little restaurant located near the covered market, and again indulged in the local Gaillac wine. We then started our descent down, with the intention of catching the the 2.10pm bus back to Albi. Unfortunately, I had misread the timetable as this bus only ran on Wednesdays! This meant a 2 hour wait for the next bus. We found a lovely brasserie and settled into the warm afternoon sipping on rosé, well I did, Ian had American coffee (Pepsi) and Brigitte had a Belgian Coffee (a shandy) - this is what the waiter called our drinks, and mine was French coffee.

    Finally, it was time to head to the bus stop and await our ride back to Albi. We were pretty tired after our early start so had a few hours to refresh before we had dinner at the hotel on the Terrace, with the best views of Albi.    Okumaya devam et

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  • GezginEurope 2023
    Gün 16

    Sugar and Chocolate Museum

    29 Eylül 2023, Fransa ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We were the first customers through the door of this quaint little museum. It tells the story of Yves Thuriés, a talented chef, pastry maker, chocolate maker and a member of the Culinary Academy of France. He was twice voted the best master craftsman of France as a pastry, chocolate, confectionery and ice-cream maker.

    The museum outlines Yves’ progress and success as an artisan chocolatier who raised the profile of chocolate in the south of France. Within a few years he became one of the biggest names of chocolate and Cordes-sur-Ciel in the Tarn became the birthplace from which he has passed on his expertise in the purest tradition of the artisan. Today his creations travel throughout the world and, as a member of the French Academy of Chocolate, Yves Thuriés is an exemplary professional dedicated to quality and innovation.

    A number of his creations were on display and took between 30 and 100 hours to complete.

    Yves Thuriés’ recognition by his peers is acknowledged by the award to the chef from Cordes of the “Grand Prix 2008 of the book of Master Craftsmen of France” for the 350,000 copies of his encyclopaedia that had been sold to date throughout the world.

    In 1991 he opened his first hand-crafted chocolate factory in Carmaux. He is at the heart and at the forefront of chocolate creation. He gave birth to marbled chocolate, followed closely by chocolate macaroons that enabled him to be awarded the Innovation Leader prize in 1991. He continues to mentor young chocolatiers to this day.    Okumaya devam et

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  • GezginEurope 2023
    2
    Gün 16

    Last Night in Albi

    29 Eylül 2023, Fransa ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    On our return from Cordes-sur-Ciel we had a bit of a siesta before having our last dinner on the Terrace of our hotel.

    Çeviriyi gör
  • GezginEurope 2023
    Gün 17

    Next stop Toulouse

    30 Eylül 2023, Fransa ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We had a very relaxed start today as we aren’t due to catch our train to Toulouse until midday. We met for breakfast around 8.30 am and Brigitte informed us that she had won a bottle of wine for tipping the closest to the NZ v Italy match. We had arranged with the hotel for a taxi to pick us up at 10.45am to take us to the station, but the taxi hadn’t arrived by 11am and so Brigitte checked with reception. They contacted the taxi company who said they didn’t have a booking (which was a lie), and the hotel told us this happens all the time. Luckily, Julian, the hotel duty manager, offered to take us.

    We were waiting on the platform at Albi-Ville when a train to Toulouse arrived. We thought it would wait 20 minutes before departing but, as we were getting on, the departure buzzer started sounding. We boarded it anyway. Actually, we boarded it, jumped off, jumped back on and nearly got caught in the doors, not knowing if it was the correct train until a local confirmed it was indeed going to Toulouse. Turns out it was the earlier train but, as our ticket wasn’t assigned seats, we could catch this one. The conductor didn’t care, and I think had been amused by our little spectacle at the station.

    The trip to Toulouse was smooth and quick. On arrival we decided to have lunch at a Brasserie at the station before jumping in a taxi to our Airbnb. We were waiting in the correct spot with an elderly couple, but noticed people waiting closer to where the taxis enter to try and jump the queue - bloody French they love to break the rules. The old couple just ahead of us in the queue told us this happens all the time but they hailed the cab as soon as it entered the area and it came up to them. When the next taxi arrived, the queue jumpers tried to hail it down but we made it clear the taxi was for us and the driver actually told them they were in the wrong spot. So, they moved up to join the official line, making out they hadn’t realised.

    Our trip to the Airbnb was fairly short but there were a number of “near misses” with scooters, bikes and motorcycles - you have to be really careful as no-one seems to follow the road rules, especially the scooters and bikes. They go the wrong way up narrow crowded streets and expect everyone to get out of their way. The taxi driver said it had been much worse after COVID.

    We finally made it to our apartment and we were met by Nathalie, our host, who explained how things worked and gave us some tips about the area. We are situated right opposite the river Garonne and very centrally located, which is ideal when you want to walk everywhere. We went out to grab supplies from the local supermarket and have a bit of a look around. Tonight we have our wine bar tour with Jessica.    Okumaya devam et

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  • GezginEurope 2023
    Gün 17

    Wine Bar Tour

    30 Eylül 2023, Fransa ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We headed off from our digs around 30 minutes before we were due to meet up for the wine bar tour so that we could take in the sights on the way. It was very warm and there were people everywhere. Toulouse is a lovely city with interesting architecture.

    Toulouse is the fourth-largest city in France and is often referred to as the “Pink City”. It derives its name from the pink terracotta bricks used in the construction of many of its most prominent buildings. Stone is rare around this area, whereas clay with a high concentration of iron oxide, which gives it a pink colour during firing, is plentiful.

    We met Jessica and the rest of our group at the allotted time. There were six of us taking the tour, Amy and Betsy from the US and Celia from Ireland. Jessica our tour guide is originally from the US but moved to Toulouse in 2017 and now calls it home.

    We headed off and our first stop was L’Alimentation, Le Bar a Vin, where we tried Crémant from Limoux. Crémant is a type of sparkling wine, like champagne but cheaper. It was a lovely sparkling wine (even for this champagne snob!). Crémant de Limoux is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc.

    Our next stop was Maison Sarment. Our sommelier, Nico, had spent some time in Melbourne and worked at Milk The Cow Licensed Fromagerie in St Kilda. Nico gave us two very nice wines to taste; Secret de Pierre 2022, dry white (IGP Côtes Catalanes, 100% Muscat d’Alexandrie) was the first. The second was Château Adélaide - Cuvée Tradition 2016 rouge (AOC Gaillac red wine; 80% Duras, 20% Braucol). We also had a delicious charcuterie board to accompany the wine to ensure we didn’t get too drunk too early!

    Our last stop was Le 5 Wine Bar, voted World Best Wine Bar for 3 years in a row, from 2017 to 2019. They have forty wines on tap with helpful tasting notes. You get a card that you swipe to select your wine and you can have a splash, a half serve or a full glass. You pay for what you drink. It was a really fun place with a nice vibe and friendly and helpful staff. As part of the tour you get a couple of half glasses of your choice.

    The tour concluded at 8.30 pm and Jessica left us, as did Amy and Betsy (they had a dinner reservation). Celia stayed on with us and we got our own swipe card so that we could try some more wines. We also had a couple of share plates ,which were delicious, and finished with a fig dessert.

    Side note - during the evening I was speaking to Amy and Betsy and we got onto our heritages. It turns out they have some Hungarian ancestry and all they know about it is the name which is Szecsodi - which is the same surname as my uncle - so I will need to check with him about any of his family who may have migrated to the US.

    It was a really fun tour, Jessica is passionate about local wines and we had a fun group. It is a nice way to get a first look at the city.    Okumaya devam et

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  • GezginEurope 2023
    Gün 18

    Les Halles Victor Hugo

    1 Ekim 2023, Fransa ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Before heading to the meeting point to catch the bus to Carcassonne, we decided to visit one of Toulouse’s markets. The Marché Victor Hugo is one of three covered markets in Toulouse and is the largest. We spent an hour here wandering up and down the aisles, checking out all the wonderful fresh produce.

    We then selected some pastries for breakfast and ordered an espresso with a little milk (here in Toulouse they call it a Noisette or Cortado). It was lovely breakfast before our bus trip.    Okumaya devam et

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  • GezginEurope 2023
    Gün 18

    Captivating Carcassonne

    1 Ekim 2023, Fransa ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We met the bus that was transporting us to Carcassonne at the allotted time. There was a big line of people boarding so we joined the queue. We set off just after 9.30am and we were advised it would take approximately 1 hour 15 minutes to arrive at our destination.

    Carcassonne is a hilltop town in southern France’s Languedoc region and it is famous for its medieval citadel, La Cité. The citadel has numerous watchtowers and double-walled fortifications. The first walls were built in Gallo-Roman times, with major additions made in the 13th and 14th centuries. Château Comtal, a 12th century castle, sits within the Cité and we explored it and the ramparts.

    Carcassonne was the first fortress to use hoardings in times of siege. Temporary wooden platforms and walls would be fitted to the upper walls of the fortress through square holes in the face of the wall. This provided protection to defenders on the wall and allowed them to go out past the wall to drop projectiles on attackers at the wall beneath, acting as a permanent machicolation. This is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones, boiling water, hot sand or boiling cooking oil could be dropped on attackers.

    The Cité de Carcassonne was restored by the theorist and architect Eugène Violet-Le-Duc in 1853. It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997 because of the exceptional preservation and restoration of the medieval citadel.

    We explored the chateau, which had many artefacts on display. We also walked around about two-thirds of the ramparts. We took in wonderful views of the surrounding countryside including vineyards and olive trees. We could also see much of the Cité of Carcassonne from various vantage points on the ramparts. We got great views of the Basilique Saint-Nazareth, the Théâtre Jean Deschamps and the Port Narbonnaise, which is the city entrance. We climbed and descended more than 750 stairs as we explored this wonderful medieval city.    Okumaya devam et

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