champagne and rhone

i have pasted the last couple of days in Champagne (the weekend) and the Rhone valley (study trip). what a blast.

Champagne was as always pure pleasure in the highest form. there was a big event the whole weekend in Bouzy and we got the call up to go and support the locals. something which is never hard to do. especially if they continue to open some of their best nectar...in all forms shapes and sizes. i have to say that champagne from a magnum (i.5liter) is simply the best. and the hospitality of the champenoise never seem to amaze me. they always bring out the best. i always gain some kilo's there. even in two or three days. i did not think it possible. but it is when you eat like that. and washing it down with the bubbly nectars....sweet heaven on earth.

then the magic of the Rhone valley. pure mystery. the rolling hills. the steep slopes on the river bank. the mystifying round gallet (stones) of the plateau of Chateauneuf du Pape. the sun beating down in the summer and the chilly Mistral (a wind) that blows down the valley to the south and into the sea. you get a sense of destiny when you stand on those funny round stones in Chateauneuf with the winds blowing through your hair and on your face. you think of man and woman who have toiled in this hard part of the earth with its simplicity and beauty. with the Vaucluse and the Luberon just around the corner, Mont Ventoux to the east and the Med futher south - it must be one of my favourite places in the world...