Beaune, France – Oct. 21-26, 2012

More (not terribly interesting) pictures here!

On good advice from a great friend, we spent our final days with Salt & Pepper cruising around the picturesque Bourgogne region, carefully balancing our need to taste wine with our need to make it to the next stop.  Upon arrival in Beaune, the weather was cold and rainy so we decided to start out with a few hours underground in the Marche aux Vins.

We opted for the self-guided tour through multiple wine tasting stations but didn’t find much that interested us until we sat down with Laurent in a private room and he pulled out the really good stuff.  We typically enjoy a heavier wine than is found in the Burgandy region but Laurent managed to find enough interesting Pinots and even a few whites for us to send a case back home.

The following day we had a tasting appointment at La Cave L’Ange Guardien where we were charmed by Pierre, a delightful host who introduced us to many wines from the region (and one from the Cote du Rhone) as their own had been sold out for the season.   We ended up shipping home two cases, one entirely of a Rare Brut Cremant; well, 11 of the Cremant and one bottle of Cassis in order to duplicate the delicious Kir Royale which ended our tasting.  Rushing from the tasting we barely had time to change before making our reservation at Le Cheval Noir where our fantastic meal (with wine parings) was marred by the poor service.

We took a night away from Salt and drove up through the hills leaving the Cote de Beaune area for the Cote de Nuits and spending a night at the Hotel de Vougeot in the village of, you guessed it, Vougeot.  The weather was an uncooperative low-cloud misty Seattle kind of day which almost erased the awe factor in the sightseeing department.  We were hoping a visit to the Chateau Vougeot would shed some light on the many Grand Crus we had sent home from this region, but, alas, the Chateau is now just a museum.

With our sights set on our Paris flat, and Pepper loaded with wines for the month, we headed up to Paris staying four nights at the perfectly located Camping Bois de Boulogne.  Knowing we had a month ahead of us to “do” Paris from the comfort of a warm flat, we used all our days at the campground to prep Salt & Pepper for their boat trip home—more on that in the next Musings. 

I am quite behind in my blog postings but having arrived in our flat all I can find time to do is walk and walk and walk.  Ok, and shop.  And shop.  And maybe just one more shop.

-K

Scenic Drive Movie - Col du Petit St. Bernard, Italy & France - Oct. 2012

Better late than never (yes, I am way behind in my posts but now that we are sequestered away in our charming Paris flat, I should begin to catch up!) 

A scenic drive across the Col du Petit St. Bernard from Italy into France, including a quick look at a mobile milking station!

-K

Bourg St. Maurice, French Alps, France – Oct. 14-18, 2012

More pictures here!

It was our first return stop on the Aventura and it felt like home.  What a difference it makes to an experience to be surrounded by the familiar; everything seemed so easy.  Automatically we knew where to find our favorite bread, groceries, phone recharging stores and hiking maps. 

And we knew just where to stay; our favorite campground, L’Eden de la Vanoise.  Unfortunately they had closed for the shoulder season (between summer and winter) preparing to reopen in mid-December.  So we parked Salt at the near empty Camping Le Versoyan and enjoyed the ability let the Noses run free right from the door and into the miles of hiking paths just outside the gate.  This campground also has the benefit of being right in Bourg; walking to town took only 15 minutes.

And what a treat to see our beloved French Alps changed into fall colors!  The bright green up the alpine pastures had moved into a lovely gold with the trees at lower elevations showcasing various colors from bright yellow to deep red.  It was beautiful particularly after the first snowfall which arrived on our first night and stayed for three days in the higher elevations.

Having spent so many glorious hours in the mountains last July we were anxious to get back up there.  Opting for a new valley, we headed toward Val D’Isere stopping at Bon Conceil to begin our hike to Le Monal, a protected hamlet delightfully set in the most stunning valley we have yet come across; a Must See if you are in this area.  (You might be relieved to know that our back country trips are now over so you will no longer have to read the phrase, “the most stunning valley we have yet come across”--at least until we arrive in Colorado.) 

We spent our second hiking day driving all the way to Val D’Isere, a ski town much like all the others throughout these valleys, but striking once you leave the town and head toward the Vanoise National Park.  Sadly, dogs are not allowed in the park so we failed to get much hiking done, but we did stop at the Lac du Chevril on the way home and pulled out four (yes four!) trout-looking fish (their aqua blue backs when in the water almost instantly changed to midnight blue when on land making me think they might be Artic Char.)  I simply labeled them Delicious.

With our Paris flat beaconing and the burgundy wine region still ahead we could only stay four nights.  Next stop Beaune, and the various wineries surrounding the area.

-K

Lezise, Courmayeur, & the Italian Alps – Oct. 9-13, 2012

More pictures here!

Having only 17 days left with Salt & Pepper in the European portion of the Aventura (we have a glorious month in a Paris flat to look forward to while S&P are shipping home) we have decided to focus on what we love:  Wine and mountains.

So we left Levanto and headed north-east to Lezise, Italy, near the heart of the Valpolicella wine region.  We only lasted two nights at Camping du Parc on Lake Garda (why is everything still so crowded in October?  With children no less—what happened to school?) but two nights was long enough to take a delightful car tour of the wine region and a short hike to the self-proclaimed longest natural bridge, you be the judge (that is River on the path):

Unlike wine regions in France and the USA with their prolific “free tasting” signage, Italy has not learned how to attract a non-Italian speaking tourist.  The map we picked up at the very helpful tourist information site should have led us to the doors of at least three vineyards but we only found our way to one:   The perfect Fratelli Vogadori.  Run by three brothers and their father who still works in the field; all the grapes are grown completely naturally, no pesticides or chemical fertilization and their wines are produced solely from their own grapes.  SP was in heaven with their two types of Amarone and I loved their Ricioto, a dessert wine much like Port but made 100% from grapes.

Wine in hand, we headed north to Courmayeur, at the base of Mt. Blanc.  What a gorgeous spot!  And Camping Arc en Ciel was a slice of heaven; two of the three nights we were completely alone in our long row of thick green grass.  You know how I love green grass!  I hardly ever go into detail on campgrounds in the posting (remember, you can see more campground details on the Campground page) but this was a lovely spot and the hosts were as helpful and charming as they come. 

We hiked twice; a short one to Lake Arpy which was beautiful even on a cloudy and cold day and a longer one up Val Ferret.  Let me tell you, if we spoke the language we would have bought our farmhouse right there in that valley—it was stunning:  Flanked by the Alps, centered with a river and to each side slightly rolling hills highlighted with trees blazing in their fall colors.  Delightful! 

Italians have been the most profusive when it comes to appreciating Salt & Pepper often sounding a joyful honk followed by a hearty wave and thumbs up as they pass us.  So one evening, as I was leaving the grocery store, I was not surprised to see a Crusty standing outside gazing toward the Pepper, slowly shaking his head and repeating, “Bella, bella, bella.”  I prepared my knowing (and hopefully gracious) smile as I approached the car only to look just beyond Pepper to Mt. Blanc, angelic and massive, posing in the sunset.  I turned to the Crusty who again shook his head and repeated, “Bella, bella, bella.” 

Bella, indeed.  I have seen a lot of mountains, and even Mt. Blanc from France, but nothing compares to Mt. Blanc as seen from Italy.  No wonder these Italians are so happy.

-K

DITL - Cinque Terre Hike, Italy - Oct. 8, 2012

Well we did it:  We visited two other Cinque Terre towns and saw one from a boat, so that makes four out of five.  They are interesting but crowded; if you are ever in the area and miss an American accent, just hop into one of the towns and you'll be happy.

By far the highlight was the hiking from Corneglia to Manarola, up and through and down the hills.  (The coastal route remains closed due to landslides.)  For this we have a Day in the Life video - a little long, but there was so much beauty it was difficult to cut.

-K

PS:  This posting finds us in Courmayeur, Italy at the base of Mt. Blanc awaiting the first snowfall of the season!

Levanto, Italian Riviera – Sept. 30 - Oct. 5, 2012

More pictures here!

They say you find what you are looking for when you stop looking; this proved to be true for us in Italy.  Giving up on finding charming, out of the way places we headed to Cinque Terre and discovered . . . the rest of the tourists.   Luckily, sometimes the restrictions of Salt bring about unexpected joys:  Unable to drive Salt down the roads leading into the five townships that comprise Cinque Terre (contrary to Wikipedia, Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet internet reviews, you can indeed drive into these towns, albeit with a car and not a caravan) we opted to camp just north along the coast in Levanto.

As it turns out we discovered our own little heaven.  There are some tourists here, but not nearly the hordes that converge along the five Cinque Terre towns.  Indeed, our one day at the northern-most town, Monterossa, was more than enough for me:  Having to dodge tour guides hoisting their herding flags as they led their slow-moving groups from photo op to photo op and over-paying for under-flavored “Italian” food was more than I could bear.  Thankfully, this memory was displaced by our hike home to Levanto which proved to be long, but wonderful, along the edge of the sea.

What promised to provide the largest portion of the Cinque Terre charm for us, the coastal hike connecting the five towns, was closed due to landslides and continued rainfall.  One section, the Via Dell’Amore, has been closed since 2011; the other four more recently, and hopefully, temporarily.  You can still drive to all the towns as well as train or ferry but having seen the one and, more importantly, having found our own coastal dream towns (yes, there are two!) we saw no need to drive, train or boat in order to enjoy what this coast has to offer.  (Note that you can also still walk between the towns, just not on the coastal route; these other trails often involve sharing roads with automobiles not making for a very enjoyable outing.)

So Levanto . . . larger than Monterossa, filled with great little shops (local wine, cheese, bread, fish and non-local Armani), and topped off with a good dose of Crusties, we are in heaven.  Include in the list hill walks through olive groves and a gorgeous coastal walk to the even more charming town of Bonnasola, and I believe we have discovered how the Italians enjoy Cinque Terre:  From anywhere else along the Riviera.

There is one downside to this lovely spot; the bell tower goes off 24-hours a day on the quarter hour; with chimes for the hour as well as the quarter hour it is quite the bell-fest.  So, even at say, 3:30 in the morning, you get three chimes in one note (Ding, Ding, Ding) indicating the hour and then two chimes in another note (Dong, Dong) indicating 2x15 minutes.  Nothing keeps me awake more than laying there listening to my life chime away 15 minutes at a time.  No pressure.  The worst is 12:45—it barely finishes before the singular chime of 1:00; it is difficult, however, not to enjoy the classic Ding, Dong chime of 1:15—although I much prefer hearing the PM rendition.  They make up for this annoyance by having the most inviting Cocktail Chime promptly at 5:00 p.m. (coming soon to a DITL Video.)  Now The Noses and I all begin to salivate at 5:01.

Other than that, this is the location we thought all Aventura locations would be like.  It is an easy walk from Camping Aqua Dolce into the town for groceries and each afternoon one of us will make the journey, finding something to make for dinner.  As previously mentioned, hiking is in abundance as is swimming in the sea and two lovely tennis courts.  SP has rented a bike on two occasions and I’m not sure who is more happy, he or River.  River’s new joy is to run along beside the bike—something we started her on in Slovenia; unfortunately not as convenient here due to the increase in bicycle and pedestrian traffic.  But when she can she does and when she can’t she cries as he peddles away.  (He, and I for that matter, can walk away all day long and she won’t bother to lift her head [as long as Rosco is with her], but get SP on the bicycle without her and you’d think she was about to die.)

SP would like to visit one more Cinque town because he just can’t believe the amount of hype surrounding what seem to be five not un-common towns along this coast and I would like to see them from the sea, so perhaps we’ll get on that ferry after all.  Until then,

Ciao!

-K

PS:  You may notice in the campground pictures the abundance of trees and the lack of space; we had quite a time parking Salt and may not have succeeded without the help of our neighbors.  We will need their help again to get out as we cannot leave unless the camper next to us vacates his spot.  Even at this “low season” time of year, the campground is filled to capacity each night—often with a great amount of daily turnover.   Timing will be essential.  

Scenic Drive - Slovenia

Despite sitting outside Cinque Terre (in the lovely town of Levanto), thought I'd throw-back to August and post a short scenic drive video filmed as we entered Slovenia.  

-K

Florence, Italy – Sept. 27-28, 2012

A couple of more pictures here.

The trouble with staying in a five-star hotel is that you never want to leave.  Your room.  Ever.  Even for a minute.  Add a balcony overlooking one of the most visited sites in Florence, Ponte Vecchio, and you can see why we rarely got out of the Lungarno Hotel's thick terry robes and slippers.

But we did get out:  We bumped our way along the crowded, narrow and often smelly streets (so many dogs and very rarely any grass or trees!) to visit Il Davide (not The David), the jewelry shops on Ponte Vecchio, the Boboli Gardens (“No Dogs!”) from the outside and discovered an out of the way vegetarian restaurant that was divine, 5 e Cinque.  (Black cabbage sautéed in olive oil and garlic is now often on our Salt menu.)

Thursday afternoon, while enjoying hors d’oeuvres in a small, family run café next to the hotel, the owner approached the table displaying cuts of cheese on his palm.  He wanted to share the cheeses with The Noses.  We politely declined, trying to communicate that they are not allowed to be fed from the table (this is why everyone thinks they are so wonderful in restaurants; all The Noses know about being there is that they have a temporary dog house under the table for an hour or so); he returned to the kitchen heart-broken and maybe even a little disgusted. 

On our way out, I mentioned that they could have some cheese now, near the street.  He fed and fed them until, fearing a night filled with intestinal reprisals, I called it to an end.  To show our appreciation, I “shot” Rosco and he immediately fell over and played dead.  Love that trick!  The owner was delighted.

Upon leaving the hotel, the owner of the café saw us piling into Pepper (don’t get me started on driving Pepper through Florence!); running over he aimed his hand through the back window and tried to shoot Rosco.  With no cheese at hand, Rosco declined a repeat performance.

And so we put Florence in the package with Venice:  Return without Noses and when we might have more patience for standing shoulder to shoulder, back to front, trying to ignore a stranger’s breath on our necks, in order to gaze at wonderful art.

This posting finds us sitting in Campeggio Acqua Dolce in Levanto, Italy, just outside of Cinque Terre.  A torrential rain is upon us and we aren’t sure if we will be able to maneuver our way out of our pitch unless everyone else in the row leaves.  (I would not be surprised if there is a YouTube video floating around of us getting into the pitch—our repeat performances continued for quite some time after which we needed something much stronger than cheese.) 

Thankfully, Salt’s roof is leak-free, the rain is due to stop in a day or so and we are surrounded by breath-taking seaside and mountain hiking opportunities.  We can hardly wait to get out there, although many of the main paths between the towns are closed due to a landslide.  Yes, Mobom, we'll be careful.

-K