All posts by Brad

The cellars of Champagne

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The first day we were in Beaune we went biking. There was a bike route that went through the vineyards and villages. We cycled through 32 km of country back roads and farm paths, occasionally coming across a small village. Conveniently there were corner stores in every village so we could get water because the day went up to 35C!

On the second day we walked around the town of Beaune. We went to a mustard tasting where we tried 10 different kinds of mustard, some spicy, some mild, some have berries and some unusual flavors like blackberry or red pepper, Ryan’s favorite was maple syrup!

The B&B we are staying at is the best we have visited so far, with a spacious interior and an air conditioning unit, even the pool was the best one (because it was so hot outside). For that reason we swam in the morning of our big drive from Beaune to Verzy in the Champagne region.

We went to visit some big champagne houses on our first day. We visited Moët and Chandon’s champagne cellars where we learned the process on how to make champagne. One would first make regular white wine by pressing and fermenting the grapes. You then bottle it with added yeast and sugar to ferment more, this second fermentation is what gives champagne its bubbles. Once the second fermentation is complete there is residue or sediment on the bottom of the bottle, to get it out they tilt the bottle forward so it all comes to the neck of the bottle which they freeze, open the bottle and the small ice cube pops right out.

The second champagne house we went to had closed its cellars but we saw how they promoted their company. For example, they built the world’s biggest barrel of champagne and carted it to the world expo in Paris where it won second place behind the Eiffel tower. What I found interesting is Champagne grapes must be picked by hand so that the red skin of the grape does not interfere with the white juice. We are learning a lot in the region of champagne, and I hope to learn more! See you next time!

Beaune

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We have left Annecy now and have driven north west to Beaune. We are on our way north to Belgium.To our surprise it feels far hotter now then when we were in Annecy. On our drive we stopped at a Chateau, Ryan and I were expecting antiques and castles but we were astonished to find seven different motor museums in the chateau’s grounds.

The first one was a motorcycle museum full of many strange and some typical motorcycles from the 1920’s onwards. The second museum was about the Abarth race car, an Italian manufacturer of race cars. They had at least twenty different kinds of cars, all unique and all red!

The next museum was a tractor museum, the tractors in this area are not the kind we would normally see. They are suspended far off the ground with four legs for the wheels. It is made to go over the grape vines to spray pesticides, prune them and pick them when they are ready to harvest. Because all that functionality is crammed into one machine it is quite complicated so it looks like a robot.

The most interesting museum was the fighter jet museum. With at least thirty kinds of planes from WWII to The Cold War to the present, there was a lot to see and learn from these full size retired aircraft. As we got to the end we saw a small car museum with a few custom cars and a fire truck museum with old fire trucks.

We then made our way to our B&B, we were glad to find air conditioning in the house when we arrived. We also enjoyed the pool which was warm from the sun. We are enjoying ourselves a lot and I hope to see you next time!

Annecy

Europe

The last day we were in Weggis we went to a Transport museum just outside of Lucerne. We were planning on spending only a few hours there but we soon realized that there was way too much to see so in the end we spent the whole day there. There are a few main buildings separated into categories: trains, cars, planes, etc.

My favourite was a workstation where you try to build your own train track using blocks and pieces of paper. Another cool thing was a giant pinball machine where nine people could play at the same time, it looked really cool! When we played it as a family we were able to reach the highest score of the day.

This interesting museum has lots of different activities for all ages of children and people. One of my favourite games was when you load cargo onto ships it was really fun, Mommy got the highest score.

Weggis has been really fun, I most enjoyed the pool and the restaurant in front of our hotel as well as Mount Pilatus. We left Weggis and arrived in Annecy, France. On the way we stopped off at a cheese factory and a chocolate factory. We went to the cheese factory first where before the tour we had some cheese fondue, it was really delicious!

The chocolate factory is only a few minutes away and when we got there we only had to wait a bit until the tour started. On the tour it took us through the history of chocolate from when it was just a drink until a few Swiss men found out how to make it into solid milk chocolate. We also got to see how the chocolate was made and then we got to taste some.

We arrived in Annecy and went exploring. We found a restaurant with great salads so we are definitely going back to that restaurant! Another good find was a stand that rented these cool trikes so Ryan rented one and it went pretty fast, maybe it was because the trike was shaped like a horse! We also walked along the water and the lake was emerald green. I am looking forward to paddle boating on the lake today, it reminds me of the lake in Banff!

Weggis

Europe

Did you know that there is a town built for me? I’ll tell you, it’s Weggis! The whole day from start to finish was perfect. We started our drive early in the morning so we would have maximum time in Weggis. We crossed the Swiss border and entered the amazing engineering feat of the Gotthard tunnel. It is 16km from end to end!

We stopped for a rest at Swissminiatur where they have many Swiss buildings and landmarks in miniature models.
Video of our time in Swissminiatur

This stop is the only one where we have a hotel room because there were no B&B’s available. Once we were settled in the room we went for a walk along the side of the lake. Weggis is a lakeside town in Switzerland; Ryan chose and planned this leg of our trip. On our walk we found a cool little playground. In it we went on a neat spinny ride where there is a table in the middle and it makes you spin really fast!

We went to dinner at a restaurant in front of our hotel. We sat right on the water and watched the boats sail by. After dinner we got into our swimming trunks and swam in the pool, that too is on the water so we saw the sunset from the hot tub.

The next day we went to Mount Pilatus via ferry. We got off at the bottom of the mountain and took a cogwheel train up. A cogwheel train is like a very steep tram, there are gears in a third track that goes in notches so it does not slide down. It is the steepest cogwheel in the world and it is on the very edge of the mountain!

When we got to the top there were some different hikes you can do, we did the most scenic one and it was very beautiful (pictures below). We took a lift down and stopped half way to go down a 1km luge. It was very fast and exiting.

Once we had dinner we got into our swimsuits and for the second time went swimming. Weggis has been the most fun I have had on this trip, it is beautiful with lots to see and do. This is a place I definitely want to visit again!

Guest Post — Mommy!

Europe

Some notes from France…

A very quick trip to the grocery store for a few items for dinner, came home, cooked some lovely chicken legs, started to eat it.  Hmmm, this is nice but seems different somehow, in the end Richard finished the chicken off and that was that.  The next day at the market we realize, hey, that looks a lot like the chicken we bought, but it is actually lapin…. which translates to rabbit.  So, we’ve had rabbit, not half bad but apparently I didn’t cook it in the traditional way, not surprisingly!

Richard has been a wonderful driver as we go from place to place.  We are at home number 6 and head out tomorrow for our next stop.  Each journey between stops is around 3 hours.  But it has been taking 4-5 hours.  Poor Richard after 30-40 minutes is falling asleep, we pull off at one of the wonderful rest stops they have here along the toll roads, and Richard has a 20 min nap.  We continue on, another hour later, we pull over, same thing, boys and I head for a walk, Richard snores.  Anyways, I went to a pharmacy to stock up on allergy pills and after a good conversation fully in French I realize that Richard is taking the sleepy allergy medicine in the morning.  She suggests a different morning med and then take the sleepy one at night.  I think we have found our solution!

A few new words we have learned – we have discovered that pate is pasta and pave is piece (the “salmon pasta” was in fact a lovely piece of fish).  And I think we have most food words down pat now, Richard is especially happy after sorting out how to say shrimps and prawns.  An aside, we have found that every meal is good unless you order the children’s menu.  They make the most wonderful salads here, we had a choice of 12 in last night’s menu and then a choice of 48 gelatos.  YUM!

In Provence, they have many narrow roads with deep ditches of water running everywhere.  It is actually quite unbelievable how much moving water there is all around this whole area.  All has gone well except for the VERY narrow entrance over the ditch into our driveway in Saint Remy.  YUP, we went over the side with one of our tires the other day, a scratched bumper and a cracked light but all fine other than that.  Good news, we are 100% covered under our lease agreement for all damage.  So, as long as the car keeps running we are good to go!  Note:  In France Gasoil actually means diesel, which is what our car takes, pretty confusing the first time we were filling up!

Everyone is very kind and wonderful and has been very patient with our French.  The places we are usually staying are small towns with only French speakers but we are managing quite well.  They seem to see our efforts and we have gotten an assortment of freebies as kindnesses towards us.  A bar of soap, an extra smoothie, charging kids rates for adult bikes/meals for Brandon, even a free glass of wine.  And you all know how much we like a little something for free!

On vacation, you should try different things: new foods, new routes, new snacks (BBQ rib chips are Richard’s fav; Chevre, goat cheese, chips are Brandon’s fav)  new experiences too.  As a family we went and got a fishy spa pedicure.  Where little Turkish fish eat the dead skin off your feet.  It was crazy great and even ticklish Brandon loved it.  We all have lovely feet now!!!

There are Roman ruins everywhere,  in the center and outskirts of most towns, on most hilltops,  I’m talking… everywhere.  And it is so amazing that some of these very well built structures are over 2000 years old.  The last little town we were in you would literally walk down the street and see these huge old church remnants soaring into the sky as you headed to buy some milk….or cross by a roman wall to get to the bakery for your morning croissants.  Everywhere!

In Provence, fruit trees are everywhere too.  Our last bike ride was 30 km, not our longest but we were going in a roughly rectangular route, with a strong headwind the WHOLE time.  How is that possible?  I don’t know but it is true!   We went through a couple of super cute towns, picturesque at every turn.  At any rate, we were getting quite hot and thirsty and  there were wonderful cherry trees and plum trees to pick and eat as we went and boy, were they ever delicious!   Along the bike path were vineyards (of course) but also massive fig trees,  apple orchards, peaches, plums, pears, berries, almond, walnut, chestnut trees, olive trees and many others I’m sure that I don’t even know…but that is just from our little ride the other day!

I bought two beautiful shirts made in Italy at a French market, and found L’Occitane on sale … but not in France .. in Italy. L’Occitane has come out with a new sunscreen in Lemon Verbena and it says when you use it, you will feel cool. Certainly had a very hot, way over 30 C day on the double-decker bus and as I put it on I did feel cool so I recommend it as a buy!

A favorite find in France is a café Gourmand.  A regular café  is between two and three euros whereas a Café Gourmand is between six and seven euros.  For that extra few euros you get between three and five yummy little treats. Maybe crème brûlée may be a chocolate mouse …and maybe a profiterole, maybe  a chocolate or raspberry cream.  As a girl who likes a bite of little tastes, this  is perfect for me!

On our way to Italy we decided to stop at a specific beach. When we got there we couldn’t figure out why the beach was so empty and as I looked around and started to wilt, I soon figured out why.  It was blazingly hot but just to confirm we ran back to the car and checked the temperature.  Yep it was 40° C – too hot for beach time!  So we left the Med and headed North to Turin.

Italy is wonderful, we are doing a gelato walking tour self-made! How exactly  we should rate each gelato place  will be the topic of our breakfast meeting.
Food is yummy and much less expensive than France!  We have moved on from pain-au-chocolat to croissants filled with yummy creams.
We are all drinking coffee, Coffee Granitas (ices), breakfast coffees, afternoon coffee, coffee with a little hot chocolate and milk is the specialty of Turin, it is called Bicerin.
Ciao!
Brandon taking pics for his blog… on top of Mt Pilatus
Ryan in one of the many fields.
One of our favourite chateaus – Chenonceau
At the top of a tower in Sancerre.
Hill top town – Domme
Carcassonne – a must see…
Ryan walking on Roman aqueducts (Barbegal Mill).
Les Baux de Provence
Café Gourmand
On our anniversary

Segways in Turin

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We have arrived in Italy. Surprisingly there were no check points as we drove in, just a sign that said “Welcome to Italy “! It was incredibly hot, the car’s thermometer read 40C. We were going to stop at a beach on the way but it was too hot.

The B&B we were heading to was in Turin which is quite a bit larger than the towns we usually stay in. We went exploring to see all this city had to offer. A highlight of the first day would have been the double-decker Hop on Hop off bus tour. Another one would be the dinner, it was Mommy and Daddy’s anniversary so we went to a fancy restaurant. We had four different pastas and I tried all of them, they were all delicious!

The most memorable activity was the Segway tour of Turin. The hardest part was learning how to drive the Segway, but after that we flew along quite quickly. Ryan could come along too! We saw a lot of Turin and it was great fun riding around.

The next day we left Turin and headed for Milan. My favourite part about Turin was the bus tour, but walking around was fun too. On the way to Milan, we stopped off at an amazing water park! It was huge with at least 20 different slides. We are having a lot of fun in Italy; the Segways were my favourite part thus far. See you next time!

From a view point on top of a museum!
A cool building in Turin….
More of Turin.
The most refreshing frozen yogurt ever!!
Me on a Segway…..
Daddy on a Segway….
Mommy on a Segway!
Little Ryan on a Segway.
A hilarious sign I saw!
yummy dessert!

Driving in France

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We have been on the road for one month now so I wanted to write a blog about things I have seen while driving. The first thing anyone would notice when driving on French highways is the massive amounts of car parts swept under the barriers. There are things like broken glass, car bumpers, headlights and scrap metal all stuffed under the barriers. Thankfully it was just in Paris and not everywhere.

When you use the highway you will definitely use a toll booth. We go through one approximately every hour we drive, and each time you will be charged at least 2€. They are very nice roads in impeccable condition, so it is worth it.

While we drive we see plenty of impressive scenery; things like groves of olive trees, rows of grape vines and fields of wheat. It is amazing how much farmland the French have; when we were at one of the B&B’s, it was all we could see in all directions.

Before we left we had put a number of interesting audio books onto Mommy’s iPad so in the car we listened to them. The main issue with the audio books is that Daddy gets very sleepy so we have to stop every hour to nap! The problem, in part, was because Daddy’s allergy medicine was not non-drowsy.

Cars have the right of way in the city so they will whizz through intersections, it was crazy. The license plates are all different colours because they are from different regions of France and Europe. There are different speed limit depending on the weather. When it is dry the limit is 130 km/h but when wet it is 110 km/h, it is very clever. Before each village there are signs beautifully decorated with designs of attractions that city is known for.

Perhaps the most convenient thing I saw were these small orange boxes, we found out that they are emergency telephones, very considerate. The phones are spaced 1.5 km apart and there is a maximum response time of 30 minutes! It has been a fascinating driving experience and I’m sure I will see more differences! See you soon…

One of the City signs.
One of the S.O.S. telephones
Sign says how long the tunnel will be.
Driving through a tunnel!

Le Tour de France

Europe

We went to see the Tour de France. The stage we saw was amazing from start to finish. The most surprising part was the parade beforehand.

The parade was crazy, there were many very creative floats with more than banners and stickers. These were fully customized trucks and vans, so much so that you could not see the vehicles underneath!

It was surprising how much candy they threw to the crowds, we ended up with A LOT of stuff. We got pouches of candy, bags of chips, cookies, key chains, hats and little inflatable pillows! Way more than any Canadian parade I’ve ever attended.

The highlight had to be the few seconds before the riders went by that were completely silent followed by the roar of the crowd in the distance and then the riders all zooming by. Within 5 minutes everyone had left – it was quite a funny sight. It was the 100th anniversary of the Tour de France so it was extra extravagant.

We are going to see another leg of the Tour de France in a few weeks but until then, see you in my next post!

Parade
Parade
Parade
Riders going by
They’re coming!
Team car
Mommy and Ryan
More riders… so close!

Biking in Saint Remy

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My family and I have had a fantastic time in Alet-Les-Bains, a small and picturesque town. Our next stop is Saint Remy de Provence and on the way we stopped by some Roman ruins in Arles. The shame is that the townspeople took apart a lot of the Roman buildings so that they could use the stones to build their own houses! Luckily there are a few buildings remaining that were not torn down. One of which was a colosseum and another was an amphitheatre!

When we got to our house in Saint Remy, the caretaker was there and he gave us a dinner of lasagna and a special cake – like angel food cake, two layers with thick whip cream and crystalized sugar on top.

The caretaker then came and we drove with him to some Roman aqueducts! It was amazing because there is so much history connected with the aqueducts. A fact that interested me was that the aqueducts carry two water channels, one to the city and a second flowed into a massive lake that turned multiple water wheels that ground flour!

Every Wednesday there is a market in the village so we took a trolly (I pulled it) and we walked through it. We bought many things like: a table cloth, placemats and Mommy bought some clothes. I also bought a watch, it is black and silver and it was only 5€! It was a lot of fun to pull the trolley through the market and it carried quite a bit of stuff.

On Thursday we went to another market in a small city close by but it was not as big or diverse. On Friday morning we rented bikes and biked all around the nearby cities and countryside. It was beautiful and now that Ryan and Daddy have the right medication, allergies did not get in the way!

On our bike ride we got really hot so we stopped by an ice cream place that was recommended and it was delicious! There were actual bits of mint leaf in the ice cream to give you an idea of how good it was! We are having fun in Saint Remy, it is quite a bit warmer here so we can do more outside activities! See you in my next blog!

Ryan on the aqueducts
the amphetheatre
Daddy gets ice cream !!!!
The aqueducts
at the roman ruins
MEEEEEEE
Ryan is funny
Mummy holding up the aqueducts
sunset
the ice cream
COOKIES!!!!!
My new watch!

Carcassonne and the Wind Farm

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After a great week in Sarlat with Grandma, it was time to go to our next stop, Alet-les-bains (30 mins south of Carcassonne). We dropped Grandma off at the train station, and drove four hours to a small bed and breakfast.

We arrived and found a large trampoline in their backyard so we spent the afternoon playing on it or relaxing in the garden. As you know Ryan and I love trampolining and bouncing around and making up games. We went on the trampoline at least 5 times a day!

The following day we explored the area. We went to a massive market in the morning that was made up of mostly food vendors, but there was also a few other products too. One of the more fascinating ones was a booth that sold all kinds of musical instruments. After we finished the market we drove about 20 minutes to a small village to eat lunch and explore.

Unfortunately when we went a lot of the places were closed because it was Monday but it was still fun to walk around. For dinner we ate at the B&B, we had chicken in mushroom sauce, with pavlova and strawberries for dessert! Needless to say that Daddy loved it!

We drove into Carcassonne to attend a walking tour of the old walled city. It was first established by the Visigoths in the fifth century, then was conquered by the Roman’s who fortified it and made it a busy place for merchants and soldiers. It was restored in 1853 into great condition before being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We then went to a wind farm on a ridge just above Alet-Les-Bains. Now, what made it so special is the fact that we went right under the wind turbines and we could hear the swoosh of the blades and the whir of the machinery inside each wind turbine! There were at least 8 that we could see. It was very interesting but very scary!

Again we had dinner at the B&B because it was so good the first night. We ate duck in a blackberry sauce and a chocolate cake for dessert!

This has definitely been the best place so far. Our rooms were great, the location was scenic and wonderful and the food was awesome! See you next time!

Church in Carcassonne
Ruins of a chapel in Alet-Les-Bains
Daddy
Cat at our B&B
More ruins
Wind turbines!
Carcassonne from a distance
Carcassonne