the way it happened

Last weekend, Jean-Paul and I set of by TGV for Champagne for a weekend of absolute BLISS. It is a strenuous journey seeing that you take the fast train to Paris where you have to change stations between Gare de Lyon and Gare d’Est. It’s a fun adventure in itself, cutting across the city to make the slow train that takes you from Paris to Epernay.
We arrived in a gloomy Epernay with light drizzle and grey skies. But seeing that most of the weekend’s activities would take place indoors, the gloominess did not faze us one bit. After all, following the long journey from the south to the north we were more excited about the bubbles and seeing the FAMILY of Champagne Jean Vesselle.
The weekend was a festival of wine tasting hosted by Champagne JV and their distribution partners from all the corners of France – Alsace, Loire, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone and Chablis. So our journey was not only for pleasure, but also to give a helping hand to who-so-ever that would need some muscle to carry a box or open a bottle. And opening bottles we did. However, we got assigned to manning the beer stand. What a shocker! Who sells beer in CHAMPAGNE???? In my defence – I did NOTHING! As a matter of principle – for one: I despise beer in any form shape or size. And two: this was CHAMPAGNE!!! Hahahaha. Jean-Paul, being Dutch and smelling the money, saw the opportunity to distract visitors from the wine milieu and patronised them with “his” flavoured beers from Burgundy (who makes beer in Burgundy????) He managed to sell most of the stock while I wrapped boxes and packed orders.
But after each day, we got together around the big tables of Champagne Jean Vesselle where there NEVER seems to be a shortage of good food, good friends and the best bubbles in town! We FEASTED on the best foods of the region and we must have opened 10 or 12 Jeroboams (equivalent to 3L) plus an endless number of Magnums. Magnums are known to be the best volume to sell and consume Champagne. I don’t recall seeing or opening a “normal” size 750mL bottle the WHOLE weekend. This just epitomises the HOSPITAILTY of Champagne Jean Vesselle. Never a shortage but everything in ABUNDANCE and always putting out the best! These people have become like family and I like to call CJV my “home” in France. Not only because of the bubbles and my passion for the product, BUT MORE SO because of the PEOPLE. Their warm and open hearts makes even the biggest stranger feel at home. After every visit I leave with fond memories and an expectation for my next visit – hopefully a speedy return.
Needless to say – it was hard for Jean-Paul and me to get on the train in Epernay late Sunday afternoon after another unforgettable weekend in Bouzy. We must have looked like people with “a problem” as we were carrying three boxes of bubbly (the generosity of “mon chef” and “ ma patronnne” – David and Delphine) with us across platforms and in between Metro stations in Paris. Me clutching my CJV 1991 Magnum as if my life depended on it!

We arrived in Montpellier just before 23H00 Sunday night – just enough time for a quick “rinse” under the shower and jumping in bed. Cos our next journey kicked off at 05H00 the next morning – direction Rhone - a region that is about 350km north-east of MP. But this was a school field trip of two days….
Luckily there was time to catch up on some lost sleep on the bus. Travelling by bus is my least favourite mode of transport for the simple reason that even if I occupy three seats there are still not enough space for my legs. Also I always manage to sleep my neck into a spasm. Don’t ask me how I manage that.
We arrived in Hermitage shortly before 09h30. For the following three hours we visited the vineyards, the cellar and ended off with a tasting. The steep slopes of this region are famous around the world of wine and were majestic to see and experience. From there we went to different regions, followed by more tastings and more treacherous travelling by bus.
The highlight of the short two day stop in the Rhone was, without surprise, the heartfelt return to Chateauneuf du Pape – a small village nestled in the heart of my favourite part of France. You have the valleys of Vaucluse and the Luberon lurking around the corner and the towering Mont Ventoux (Lance Armstrong territory) as an imposing backdrop. The simplicity of the earth around this region is mystifying. I have been there four times already and every time it takes my breath away. For multiple reasons: One – the wines from Chateauneuf are world-renown; two – the wines/quality are overwhelming; three – there is a solitude that hangs in the air; four – the small round stones called “gallet” that cover the face of this coveted piece of earth stirs a “romance” between earth and vine that is impossible to explain. I will keep on returning to this place time and time again.

chateauneuf du pape

the simplicity of the earth

a vine doing well

someone has been brave enough to try and work the soil

this is the "soil" of chateauneuf

pure beauty with Mont Ventoux lurking in the background

hermitage

the great vines of Jaboulet

the village of Tain d'Hermitage

spot the chef in yellow

panoramic view form the top of Hermitage

panoramic view form the top of Hermitage

weekend in Bouzy (encore)

bruno and david struggling with another Jero 1995

my partner in crime...jp

serious business...all this bubbly

on the way home

weekend in Bouzy

en route to Bouzy

the Best of Bouzy

my family in Champagne

the BOSS lady and me

opening a Jeroboam (3L) - Vintage 1995

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...

the sites in barca

gaudi (i dont like it much)

dali - the mad man

gaudi

a view from the top

another view from the top

more pics from barca

portugese prick

tapas

all the kids together: jp, clara, nuno and madame coralie

vega "freaking" sicilia man!!!!

pretty couple in pink

pics from barca

nuno and i enjoy the fruit of the vine

a lighter moment shared between friends

VEGA SICILIA 1995

at work (always at my post!)

preparing the feast

have i come full circle?

This was the question that got stuck in my head yesterday as I made the train journey back from Barcelona to Montpellier. Have I come full circle? The last time I went to Barcelona I got robbed of everything that was precious to me. But as the train rolled on slowly there where many more thoughts that passed through my mind. I was not just the fact that I laid the ghost to rest. There was something else. Other things.

The first thing was the fear of not seeing my friends as often as I would like when I eventually return to wherever it is I am going next. Seeing Nuno and Clara in Barcelona, plus the conversation with Joe and seeing Maria, Angelique and Marco made me realise how fast things change. All the people that have played a role in one way or another in the past year. Seeing them again felt like completing a full circle. Watching the small towns go by took me back to some of my early days in France, before I meet all the people mentioned above - when I was still seeing the south with friends from the language school. People like Sanna and Nathalie. It was like returning to all the happy memories. The faces and places of people of the last year - perhaps another glimpse of a reflection.
Perhaps this is not the place to write down all that happened in the past year. The highlights of Montpellier. The endless summer. Champagne. Weekends away in London and Paris. But for a moment on the train yesterday the last 18 months flashed by and I could not help to sit and wonder about it all. It scares me to think that I have spent more time here compared to the time that is left of this incredible journey. People ask me if I don’t miss home. But I think to myself – where is home? Because the world has become my playground. From the hills of Tuscany to the plains in Champagne; the corner cafes of France and the waiting in transit on my way somewhere or returning from some place; From hotels and guest houses to the simplicity of my apartment in Montpellier.
I guess that way I love trains and the solitude of travelling on them. It feels as if time stands still for a while and you are given the opportunity to reflect on days and months gone by. All your sins and mistakes surface. You reflect on missed and fumbled chances. You ponder about broken hearts and misunderstandings. You consider the diagnosis of good fortune and lesser chance. You analyse and interrogate. You try to connect the dots and blot out the sun. Trying to make sense of it all. Smiling about weekends in Paris; smiling about that day in the sun in Collioure; the scooter and sunsets in San Torini. It all has come full circle indeed.
I feel as if I am coming closer to the end of an important chapter. And the prospects of the next chapter look peachy. Somewhere inside of me there is an echo of significance. A pushing; a pulling forward; a drive to pursue and investigate; to leave no stone unturned. I struggle to hide the excitement in me. As if the Fountain within has reached maximum pressure and the waters are about the spring forth. All I can do now is to turn back unto the Highway and follow the signs pointing North. The time of reflection has passed…and the time to write another chapter as come.
So the answer must be yes. I have come full circle. But in so many more ways than one…still loving life; still following the call that is my Heart; still answering to the Name that is mine and now reaching out towards the Desire. There is no substitute for living passionately.

mat kearney

do yourself a favour and get your hands on this album.

give barca another chance

they say the only way to overcome your fears is to do the very thing you fear most. if your are afraid of hights you have to climb or jump for somewhere high up. if you are afraid of narrow spaces spend a couple of days in a submarine. or in my case if you have been robbed in barcelona a year ago go back and faces the music. so thats what i am going to do this weekend. me and some of my best friends are having a reunion in barcelona. nuno is flying in from italy. clara is coming from madrid while jp, coralie and myself will make the journey down to barca by train. i have to say i am excited for more than the obvious reason of re-writing my barcelona history. i havent seen nuno and clara in a long time...well since the endless summer. it will be like meeting up with family. and so many things have change since and will be looking forward to hear all the news and stories. as for the barca ghost....well, we will have to wait and see. but this time i am not taking anything of value with me except myself! everybody always says how great city it is and due to my bad experience last year i really want to put the ghost to bed. bad things happen to good people and i can not blame the city for that. it would not be fair. so i have an expectation to go and see the real barca...eating crazy food, drinking good wine and dancing with friends till early morning. bring it on!

a touch a reality

after lots of serious posts i have decided to just give you a run down of what has been happening down here in the south of france. well for one the climate has changed and it has been cold and stormy for the last two weeks or so. crazy as it may seem but it was even colder here than in london seeing that i spent a couple of days there last week with my family. it was good to see my parents for the first time in a year. it took my mother about five or six second to recognise her youngest. i think she was more surprised than anything else. they did not know i was coming. nothing like the element of surprise. my parents are on the back of their european tour for this year and after spending time in portugal italy germany france and england i think they are looking forward to going back home on wednesday. none the less it was special catching up with them. many things change and the year has been long. for all of us i guess. back in france the classes are slowly squeezing the originality and spontaneity out of me. too much of the same and for too long. perhaps my brain is not use to this sort of long hours anymore. or perhaps i should blame the endless summer. i have always been someone that needs to be stimulated intellectually. perhaps the monotonous lecturing is getting the better of me. or perhaps because i see my subject and passion of wine and vineyard as more than just rigorous information. however it is still a blast down south and i am already starting to feel the sadness creeping in of having to leave this wonderful oasis in less than six months. time has gone by way to fast and i struggle to think what the future holds. so many oppotunities that await me. so many things still uncertain. tomorrow i will have a meeting with my tutor to decide on my fate for a big part of next year. i have to do research and then write a thesis. so again the options are endless and so are the destinations. america has come up as a good option but then again...then there is spain and italy. or even the southern hemisphere. but i would perfer to stay in europe. dont really know why. i guess i have become accustomed to the lifestyle here. i enjoy the european lifestyle. but i know its not to everybodys liking. perhaps being in europe does not limit your options to explore as much as it would being somewhere else. i dont know. there are a lot of things unclear and only time will tell. thats the fun of life. not knowing it all. so watch this space for further developments....all i can do is set my sails and follow my true North. It the only Way that makes sense and just look how well it has served me thus far.