Arrival in Bordeaux

There was a time when I once said something along the lines of, "I don't like French wine." I believe that I said it was too earthy for me, too dusty. I even remember saying that I don't like Bordeaux.

Now, hold onto your hats, because I'm about to say something I don't often say: I WAS WRONG! Clearly, I formed this opinion when I was underage and accustomed to drinking Boon's Farm or Natural Light. :) Bordeaux - the city, the food, and of course, the wine - are fabulous!

On our first day and night in town, we did a little wandering. We enjoyed a Lonely Planet recommendation for a light lunch. And since we were in Bordeaux, we killed a bottle of delicious, inexpensive, Vins de Pays. That's the table wine, more or less. But it would cost a lot in the USA. After lunch, it was time to park ourselves in front of a television to watch Shleck and Contador duke it out on Le Col du Tourmalet. Happy that Andy won the stage, but sad that Contador remained in the yellow jersey, we decided to drown our sorrows in a walk around town and more French food.

In the center of town, most of Bordeaux's streets are pedestrian only. It was fun to people watch, window shop, and in the end, settle down for dinner at a wine bar off the beaten path. I'm not sure how Jeremy found this place, but it was amazing! I had a Croque Monseur that will go down in history as one of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten. Jeremy had a vegetable cassolet that was delicious. We shared a bottle of white wine from Bordeaux, that had a sweet but tart but grassy taste unlike anything else we've ever drunk.

We are geared up for another delightful day in Bordeaux tomorrow.  A santé!

Sunflower Fields Forever

It was hard to leave Narbonne and the Mediterranean Sea behind, but Pau, the Gateway to the Pyrenees was calling our name. Time to rejoin Le Tour for the final stages! So we packed up our things and drove a few hours west. Through the small castle tourist town of Carcassone (we did a drive by photo shooting) along miles and miles of sunflower fields along the highway.

Just in time for a late lunch, we parked in Pau, which was bustling with activity. It was a rest day for the riders, and so it was also a rest day for the spectators. The Lonely Planet doesn't say much about Pau, so we are rather certain we dined in a tourist trap, but since the food was good and the price was right, we will not complain.

Too tired to even wander around town much, we headed out of Pau and into the mountains where we would spend the night at La Ferme Dague,  a cute little inn we found in one of our Michelin travel books. Located in the sleeper town of Lasseube outside of Pau, there really isn't anything to do in Lasseube except sleep. Had it not rained, we probably could have taken a cool bike ride or hike, but instead, it POURED. In all honesty, it was a welcome respite from the heat of Nice, Mougins, and Narbonne, especially because we got to wear jeans! Hooray for pants!

Unfortunately, though, the rain was pretty bad. So bad that in conjunction with Le Tour passing through the area, roads into the mountains were closed. If we wanted to see the riders climb Le Col du Tourmalet, we were out of luck. Jeremy and I tried to drive around a little to find an alternate route to the top, but it wasn't possible. Sadly, we admitted defeat, and vowed to make the best of things watching Le Tour at our next destination, Bordeaux. I'm sure a bottle of wine will dull the pain, right?

2010.07.21 - Pau

Languedoc - One Last Hurrah for the Med (and Lance)

It was amazing to spend a full week in The South of France with minimal amounts of driving. However, this being a Jeremy and Nicole vacation, it was time to get, “On the Road Again.” So after our incredible bike ride, we ate a baguette and started driving – to Southwest France and the A.O.C. Languedoc!

After a couple hours driving, we soon noticed that grape vines covered every stretch of the land, in contrast to Provence, where the vines tend to grow on hillsides amidst beautiful homes and towns. Driving into Languedoc, which boasts the largest volume of wine production in all of France, is like walking into Costco, only a million times better – wine everywhere!

We had been warned that the wine of Languedoc isn’t “as good” as the wines of Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, etc. Maybe not, but the wines we tasted, from A.O.C. La Clape cannot be scorned as merely “passable” French wines. In fact, they were delicious! Bolder in taste and perhaps a little more like what we have come to know in California.

We stayed at the guest house of Winery Mas du Soleilla, a boutique winery which produces less than 100,000 bottles of wine each year. Their wine was so delicious that we bought seven bottles during our two day stay! Nearly all of the bottles Mas du Soleiolla produces include blends of multiple varietals. After a few weeks in regions that tend to produce single varietal wines (Burgundy = Pinot Noir, Provence = Grenache Rose) It was fun to taste another style of wine making. We were particularly happy to taste some varietals we also don’t often see in California except perhaps at Cline Cellars! Roussanne, Carignane, Mourvedre… Our favorite from Mas du Soleilla was a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. We bought two of those bottles!

In between sips of delicious wines at Mas du Soleilla, we spent time on the beach in Narbonne Plage. Another very hot day, we just couldn’t be too far from the Mediterranean Sea! And although Narbonne Plage was nothing like the beaches of the French Riviera, we couldn’t help but love it’s Jersey-shore-ness. How can you not like a beach with a  store from which you can purchase a jug of wine that you pump yourself for 2 Euros a liter! That’s almost cheaper than gasoline!

By 5PM, we had endured sufficient sun exposure. And we likely were reaching our limit of International iPhone mega bytes trying to follow the progress of Stage 16 in Le Tour. So we packed up our bags and headed to a bar just off the beach to watch some cycling action. It was a very exciting day, with Lance Armstrong in a breakaway that was 9’00 ahead of the peloton. Lance was trying to salvage a final stage win in this year’s tour, which as we all know, has not been going incredibly well for him. With a rose in hand, I stood in front of a television, cheering my heart out for Team Radio Shack. I definitely amused (or maybe, annoyed?) the locals. I like to think I’m the first American girl they have ever seen be so excited about cycling.

After much unrest, Lance wasn’t able to pull it out in the end. But he came so close! And watching that stage of Le Tour is definitely our favorite one to date, regardless of the results. Tomorrow is a rest day for the riders and for us, but we’ll be back on Thursday in the Pyrenees at Le Col du Tourmalet! Maybe Lance will but out a win then? Or maybe Andy Schleck will use the anger in his stomach to triumph over Alberto Contador? Either way, we will be there, drinking our jug of rose and cheering everyone up the HC climb and most exciting stage of Le Tour 2010. A santé!

2010-07-20 - Narbonne Plage

The Mediterranean Promenade a Velo – The Perfect Ride

Before saying au revoir to The South of France, we had to get in one last bike ride, especially one along the stunning cliffs and beaches of the Mediterranean.  With the help from The Lonely Planet’s Cycling France guide, we were able to find the perfect route: Mediterranean Promenade. This sixty kilometer out and back stretch of curling road promised to delight our eyes while being easy on our bodies.

Not so sure we can agree with the Lonely Planet’s description of the route being an “easy jaunt”, but it was GORGEOUS. We drove from Mougins to the town of La Napoulle, to get started. Fun fact, La Napoulle is the home of the Mimosa. I never would have guessed that a town not in Champagne would have invented the Mimosa, but I’ll take it!

Our ride began with a climb out of La Napoulle, which is directly west of Cannes. We passed beautiful homes perched on the sides of steep mountains jutting out into the sea. We passed stunning cliffs that created inlets of turquoise water. We noticed the really beautiful homes that were built on the cliffs with steps leading directly to the water.

This route along the Corniche d’Or as it is called offered views of the Mediterranean's silvery waters, but also of the lands red rocks. Yes, red rocks! Blue sea, yellow sand, green trees, and red rocks. The most picturesque, beautiful bike ride ever. Onto Narbonne, as we are clearly hungry after a 35 mile ride. A santé!

2010-07-19 - Mediterannean Promenade

Sunday: Spa Day in Mougins

Typically, Sunday is a manly day. Football. Baseball. Beer. Tooling around in the garage. Well, Mougins doesn’t have football or baseball. And Mougins only has French beer, which isn’t worth drinking. And our five star hotel did not have a garage in which Jeremy could tool around. So Sunday in Mougins became spa day. Yes, in the South of France, Sunday is Spa Day!

Upon making our hotel and gastronomic experience reservation at La Mas Candille, Jeremy also made an appointment for me to enjoy a massage at the hotel’s spa. And as soon as I found out that he had only made a reservation for me, I made one for him, too. If only everyone could have seen the look on Jeremy’s face when I delivered this news. You would have thought I had told him he was going to give a speech in front of his entire high school while wearing only a pair of tighty whities. Immediately, Jeremy began to whistle, which is the first sign that Jeremy is nervous. Oh, the fear of a massage!

Our spa appointment was scheduled for 2:30 PM, which meant we had a few hours to kill on Sunday morning. So we hopped on our bicycles and took a ride around Mougins and towards the small town of Antibes, which holds an international Jazz Festival every year. Unfortunately, we missed this year’s festival by a few days. And even more unfortunately, we didn’t even make it to Antibes, as we got a little lost navigating the roads on our bikes and nearly ended up on an eight-lane highway. But since it was hot as hell, we didn’t mind turning around and heading back to our hotel for a little bit of time at the pool before our massages.

So at 2:25PM, we walked over to the spa. Jeremy held my hand, he was definitely nervous. And it got worse before it got better… Upon entering the changing rooms, we were handed a fluffy white bathrobe, as well as a small triangle shaped piece of cloth folded and stored in shrink wrap packaging. This small cloth is also known as disposable underwear! Poor Jeremy, he was so nervous! To be honest, so was I! The incredibly small piece of triangle cloth was not comfortable, not supportive, and not pretty. Thank goodness for the bathrobe!

However once we entered our suites for our massages and facials, nothing else mattered. For two blissful hours, Jeremy and I enjoyed time relaxing, napping, and drooling. Much to Jeremy’s surprise, it was a great experience. Nothing of which to be afraid! And upon sipping water in the relaxation room after the massage, Jeremy commented, “I might get another one of those back in San Francisco.”

Relaxed and feeling good, we still had one more thing to do in Mougins that night… eat an eight course meal with wine pairings. Yum! The 13 waiters at La Candille Restaurant again took excellent care of us. And our sommelier from the day before, presented us  with a new glass of wine for each course of the meal. He hid the bottle from us so that we could guess the wine varietals each time. And although he was very tricky in pouring us three different French chardonnays all in a row, we aced the test!

Merci, Mougins! We hope to come back and enjoy more time in South of France very soon. But for now, it  is time to continue our adventures in the Languedoc. A santé!

2010-07-18 - Eight Course Gastronomique Dinner in Mougins

Mougins - Gourmet On Tour

Incredibly eager to begin our cooking lesson with a Michelin Star Chef,  Jeremy and I arrived at the front desk of La Mas Candille promptly at 9:15 AM on Saturday morning. After what felt like a very long (and really was, even for Jeremy & Nicole Time, which is 15-20 minutes late) we were greeted by a little French man named Frederic, and a taller French man, Fabian. “I am chef,” said Fredereic. “And You’re your driver today, blah blah blah...” That was Fabian. He spoke pretty good English. Poor Frederic, his English “did not make” so good. But no worries! Part 1 of our gastronomic day in the kitchen and cellars was underway!

To begin, we took a trip into Cannes to Le Marchet, where we learned / confirmed that France has better vegetables than the USA. Especially eggplant. The French actually call their bad eggplants American eggplants. Very sad. NOTE: Jeremy and I don’t think that those American eggplants are a good representation of what you can find in, per se, San Francisco. And we vow to remind the French whenever possible that without USA grape vines, all the A.O.Cs would be making Beaujolais.

We basically spent an hour or so following Frederic around the market, pointing at things that looked good. In turn, Frederic would talk to the merchants, get us a free sample, and if we liked it, he would buy it. By the end of our shopping trip, we purchased peaches, melon (a French kind that looked nothing like any melon we have in the USA), eggplant, tomato, zucchini flowers (very typical, but something we had never seen), various olive tapenade, tomato and garlic confit, goat cheese, comte cheese, and finally, a small little red rouget (fish), straight from le mer. Since we don’t cook much fish for ourselves, we thought it would be a good topic for the cooking lesson.

Oh, and was it a good cooking lesson! We got back to the hotel restaurant kitchen, where we were presented aprons and a bottle of rose. In all honesty, we didn’t really cook much in this cooking lesson. In addition, we also unfortunately didn’t learn that much during this cooking lesson. However, we did eat a lot, and that was pretty amazing. Here’s the list of things that we chopped and gave to Frederic to cook…

1. Tempura Fried Zucchini Blossoms (We prepped the blossoms, Frederic deep fried them.)
2. Pan Seared Foie Gras with Carmelized Peaches (We cut the peaches…)
3. Rouget w/ Comte Cheese Served over Tomato and Zucchini (We cut the tomato and zucchini…)
4. Langoustine over Beet Root with a side of Melon Soup (We cut the melon…)
5. Fried Goat Cheese over Eggplant with Veal Reduction and Basil (We didn’t do anything…

All of this food, we ate as soon as it was “done” at the Chef’s Table in the kitchen. Here is where we can tell you about the few things we actually learned during our cooking lesson.

1. First, always cook with an open bottle of wine. (Or watch someone else cook with an open bottle of wine.)
2. When cooking over the stove, use a lot of olive oil. This is easy for me, but it will require some effort on Jeremy’s part. He tends to skimp on the oil. Note to Jeremy: TRIPLE THE QUANTITY.
3. When cooking over the stove, use very high heat, and don’t cook it for very long.
4. Use your finger to tell if it is done. Which means, don’t pick your nose while you’re cooking.
5. Once you take the food off of the stove, put it in the salamander. Most important tip of the day, finish EVERYTHING in the salamander. Note to Jeremy: Although Frederic said we can substitute the broiler for the salamander, I would like a salamander in our kitchen. No more diamonds, salamander.
6. When plating food, always add rock salt. Preferably from the Mediterranean. Even if you don’t think you need to add salt, add salt. Then add some more.
7. After salting your plated food, add pepper. Crushed red pepper that kind of looks like paprika.
8. Then, drizzle lemon olive oil and/or balsamic vinaigrette on top.
9. Add a little more rock salt.
10. When eating at the Chef’s Table, don’t stand in front of the salamander. Hot as hell.

With our tummies full, we killed some time before our wine tasting class by lounging at the pool. Another hot as hell day in Provence, we spent much of the time actually IN the pool. But we hopped out around 5:00 PM to take a quick shower to make us presentable at the very swanky upcoming wine tasting in the La Candille…

The Michelin Starred Sommelier greeted us with a pail of icey cold whites and roses, as well as a bottle of red wine. Before we were allowed to taste, he presented to us several PowerPoint slides. To be honest, we didn’t learn much. Jeremy and I are apparently advanced wine tasting students! We know the basics in aroma, color, legs, varietals, etc. But it is always fun to taste new wines. And it is fun to be able to drink entire bottles during a tasting. Provence, you make many a good wine! A sante!

2010-07-17 - Gourmet on Tour in Mougins

Mougins – Paradis Gastronomique

It doesn’t really get much better than South of France. We adored Nice, however, it is a city. Which means it is loud and crowded. Eager to spend some time truly relaxing on our honeymoon, not to mention eating amazing French food, Jeremy did some research. Lucky for me, Jeremy found La Mas Candille, a Five Star Resort in Mougins, a small town just a bit north of Cannes (and only a half hour from Nice). Definitely the splurge of our honeymoon vacation, our time at La Mas Candille was not just a few days at a very nice hotel. The on-site restaurant, La Candille, is a Michelin-starred restaurant. We enjoyed multi-course meals and wine pairings, as well as cooking and wine tasting classes. AMAZING!

We arrived on a Friday night after an afternoon driving around the Corniches of Nice. Upon arrival, we quickly heard the Infinity Pool was calling us to come swim. We hung out by the pool for a couple of hours before heading to La Candille for our first night of gastronomique pleasure. We were handed a menu with various options for selecting a starter, main dish, and dessert.; and our team of 13 waiters, including the restaurant manager and head sommelier, managed to surprise us with additional courses and treats throughout the night.

We finished it all with olives and ice cream. Yes, olives stuffed with ice cream. AMAZING! Our words cannot do the food justice, so check out the pics!

2010-07-16 - French Riviera Coast to Mougins