Monday 25 September 2017

We saw the sunrise on our early drive to the airport

Today we are heading home. An early start to take Laura and Dan to Lyon airport for their BA flight. Then we'll go straight home via Geneva. It's been a very nice break and good to get to know Dan.

We skipped breakfast and left the Hotel Michel Chabran at about 6.55am. The drive to Lyon was fairly easy until we reached Lyon South when the traffic got busier. However we managed to drop Laura and Dan off, with a heavy suitcase of wines, at around 8.15. Laura sent a message that her case had just made it below the weight limit!

Some of the wines for sale at Cave de Tain winery

Richard and I continued on the autoroutes towards Geneva, Bern and Zurich. We stopped twice, first for coffee and a pastry, and later in Bern for petrol. We arrived home at about 14.30, feeling relieved.

Lots of emails and post to catch up with, plus some food shopping. The sun has been shining all day and for most of our stay in the French wine region of Northern Rhone. We brought home eight wines, two red and the rest whites. They are now in our cellar.

Sunday 24 September 2017

Today after a leisurely breakfast we plan to drive to Cave de Tain, about 30 minutes away. We made a rather late start after a substantial breakfast of orange juice, prunes and apple, fresh fruit salad, poached egg and croissants. Plus coffee. Laura and Dan joined us for the feast.

The Valrhona Chocolate Museum was fun, with free samples!

We drove up the national road to Tain L'Hermitage and saw a chocolate museum, Valrhona. A very interesting place with interactive displays and free samples! But we weren't tempted to buy any.

We checked out the winery Cave de Tain, and booked a wine tour for later in the afternoon.

The Isere River at Romans

Then we drove to the nearby town of Romans, where we visited a collegiate church and saw the market and the river d'Isere. We had a beer in a cafe and saw a historic clock tower. It was very sunny.



Then back to the Cave de Tain for a tour of the cellars, founded in 1933, where they now store wine in concrete vats as well as in different sized barrels. We also saw their wine library containing examples of past vintages.

We tasted three wines and bought two bottles each. They had Crozes Hermitage white and red, plus St. Joseph and Cornas reds.


Back to the hotel for a bath and a short rest. We hope to have dinner in Valence.

Some of the many barrels used at Cave de Tain

We got a taxi to Valence with a lady taxi driver. She took us into the old city to Chez Grandmere, a typical French place with lots of choice on the menu. We sat outside. I had veloute of cep mushrooms and lamb stew with roast potatoes and ratatouille. Very nice meal.


We had a bit of trouble getting a taxi back but Laura contacted the hotel and the same lady came to collect us. I slept badly waiting for our 6am start.

Saturday 23 September 2017

Near the winery Monteillet

We had a lovely breakfast in the conservatory. But hard to choose without a  menu! I had orange juice, croissants, prunes, boiled egg and coffee. Tomorrow I'll go for a poached egg instead.

Then we set off to drive to Condrieu up the scenic road. We turned off to visit a wine estate high up over the Rhone, called Domaine de Monteillet. We tasted five white wines including some delicious Viognier. We chose 3 types and bought 6 bottles to share. The prices were quite reasonable.

The temple in Viennes, a surprising town

The village of Condrieu was disappointing so we went on to Viennes, an old Roman town. There we saw the ancient temple, the amphitheatre and the cathedral. We had a late lunch of lasagne.


It was a long drive back to our hotel on the Peage and national roads. Now resting in our room until dinner here later.

My dinner dessert was yummy

In the evening we had an apero and dinner at our hotel, Michel Chabran. The chef of that name introduced himself to us. We had very slow service. Lobster and fois gras were prominent on the menu. I also had a delicious chocolate dessert. The others had cheese. It was rather a rich meal.




We all had a disturbed night caused by the over-active air conditioning.

Friday 22 September 2017

The iconic Palais de l'Ile in Annecy

We had an ok breakfast at the Ibis, and checked out. Then we had time to stroll round Annecy again. It was market day and we enjoyed browsing the many stalls.

After a coffee, we set off to drive to Lyon S. Exupery airport. Parking was tricky, and we had to find Terminal T1B, which wasn't quite finished. We met Laura and Dan off their Easyjet flight.

Dan and Laura at the pizzeria in Pont de l'Isere

We drove first to Gervans and found the winery, Fayolle Fils et Fille. We tasted some wines from St. Peray and Crozes Hermitage, with grape types Marsanne and Syrah. The St. Peray white was my favourite. We bought six wines between us.

Then we continued on to our hotel and restaurant, Michel Chabran in the small village of Pont de l'Isere on the east side of the Rhone near Valance. Our room was very spacious and interesting, but Laura's had a damp smell, so they asked to change. The hotel staff were very charming.

We settled into our lovely large room in the quirky hotel before exploring the village. Later we all went across the road for a pizza at a Sicilian place. Service was slow but the food was good. It was also very nice to get to know Dan. I felt very tired after a long day and slept well.

Thursday 21 September 2017

Today I'm starting my new blog for our trip to the Rhone Valley in France. There we will be staying at Pont de l'Isere and hope to taste wines at some of the many vineyards in the Northern Rhone region. We are also meeting Laura there, who initiated the trip, and her new boyfriend Dan.

Near our hotel in Annecy

Today after my appointment with the dental hygienist (she's brutal), we set off to drive to Annecy, a beautiful lakeside town in France. We have booked a room at the Ibis Vieille Ville. Hope we can find it.

As usual I'm worrying about what to pack, what shoes to take, what the weather will be like etc. And I need to record my favourite TV programs while I'm away.

The lake looked beautiful in the evening

Now we've arrived in Annecy and found our Ibis hotel in the old town. We strolled round the old streets and went down to the lake - a beautiful setting. But we didn't have a brilliant dinner at Ramoneur Savoyard, although Richard enjoyed his sausages. Thinking of going to the bar for coffee.