Lover of Wine – Travel along on our adventures – DAVID & JANEEN

July 6, 2023July 6, 2023

Livarot-Pays-d’Auge – A visit with family

On Friday, June 30^th, we made our way to the train station for our trip to the Normandy Region and a visit with our son Ryan and son-in-law Chris to stay in the Gîte on their property. The train ride was an adventure all by itself – first the train we were booked on was cancelled, then the second train we were on was overbooked. Furthermore, along the way there was a track problem and the train had to pause for about 30 minutes! Good thing we could communicate via text without any issues to keep everyone up to date on our arrival.

About 5 years ago, our son Ryan and his husband Chris decided to go to France for graduate school. Ryan worked on an International Business MBA while Chris worked on a Masters in Hospitality. Their programs lasted a couple of years and had them living first in Paris, and Bordeaux, Aix-en-Provence and finally in Lyon. During this time, needless to say, they were able to visit much of France and experience hospitality via Airbnb, Vacation Rental by Owner and staying with friends. When they returned to the US, they had a short stint (about 6 months) of actively operating a Bed & Breakfast in Morro Bay (CA). So, it wasn’t a big surprise they decided to purchase a property and create a B&B in France.

Working with Ryan’s former advisor for his Masters Program, who has subsequently has become their business partner, they settled on a property in the village of Livarot.

This is the front of the building with two storefronts (different color fronts).

Livarot-Pays-d’Auge is a village of about 6,000 residents and has a major cheese producer plus a large apple cider processing plant. The cheese producer, E. Graindorge Cheese Dairy has been making cheese in the village since 1910 with ownership being passed down from father to son.

The company specializes in the production of the four Norman Protected Designations of Origin or PDO cheeses, Livarot,

Pont-l’Eveque, Camembert de Normandie, Neufchatel. The other major producer is taking apples and making them into cider, both with and without distillation.

However, neither of these companies are why they choose this village – it was the property and general location in the Normandy Region of France that was the determination. The property, on one side, faces the main street, while on the other, it is along a small stream called Le Douet Fleury. On the property, there is an historic wash house, one of but a few remaining in the region. So, once they had the property, the river became the name of their overall property – Le Douet Fleury.

The property, consisting of several buildings along Rue Marcel Gambier, the main street of the village.

The exterior of the buildings they purchased.

The oldest part of the building dates from 1680, while newer portions date from 1810 and 1910. On the street side of the building, there are two spaces that have been used as storefronts previously and there is an existing Gîte (cottage or small apartment) on the property which has been a rental for some years and a lot of other space which reallyhaven’t been used beyond storage.

Chris, Janeen, Ryan and David relaxing in the Gīte.

The ultimate goal is to have a 4 suite Bed & Breakfast, 2 Gîtes, and 2 retail spaces. However, it will take some time to get all of this organized. Until all the modifications are completed, the existing Gîte is operating and producing some income and where we were booked for our week stay. You could also stay there, by going to www.ledouetfleury.fr!

Once they collected us at the train station, we got back to the Gîte and settled in.

The following day was a ‘Brocante’ or flea market in the village.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t as cooperative as it could have been with rain falling periodically through the day. There were treasures for sure, but nothing that followed us home.

While all of this was going on, Janeen was having a Mani-Pedi done and relaxing at the local spa. Once we were all together we wandered back to the apartment and planned for our next adventure – a visit to Vélorail-Gare de Pont Erambourg and the Musee des Automates the following day.

July 4, 2023

Paris – Good food and some Culture

On our last day in Paris, we had need of somewhere to have lunch prior to going to Musee de l’Orangerie and I remembered a friend, Randy, recommending Le Procope. This restaurant has been around since 1686 and is the oldest café in Paris.

It was the first restaurant in Europe to introduce coffee and to democratize it by serving it at tables in a china cup. They offer a traditional and bourgeois French cuisine, through different specialties such as Coq au vin and Tête de veau, braised beef cheek, homemade Mille-feuille and traditional Procopio-style Tiramisù. I made a reservation for lunch and we found our way to the place.

It is a large place with seating on two levels – the second level had at least 1 bus load of visitors while the first floor, where we sat, was singles and couples having lunch. The restaurant has many historic objects (including furnishings, treaties and written agreements) which all tell a stunning story. The most unusual item, in a glass case, is Napoleon’s bicorn hat, left by the Emperor as a pledge to cover the cost of his meal – which apparently he never claimed or paid his bill.

While this is clearly a tourist place, it did a great job of welcoming everyone and the food was well presented and delicious.

Creamy burrata with cherry tomatoes, tomato jam, Parmésan cheese,

While it won’t replace our original favorite place it will certainly be a place we can return to without hesitation.

After lunch, we took an Uber to l’Orangerie for our 3:30 scheduled entrance.

We have been to Paris a number of times, actually staying in Paris for 6 weeks two years in a row. However, we have never seen The Water Lilies by Claude Monet. We have visited Giverny and seen Monet’s home and studio and I have read Ross King’s book Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies so have some understanding of the back ground of The Water Lilies and why they ended up being given to the Government and placed in the Musée de l’Orangerie.

The Water Lilies cycle of paintings occupied Claude Monet for three decades, from the late 1890s until his death in 1926, at the age of 86. The series was inspired by the water garden he created at his Giverny estate in Normandy. Water Lilies, is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings he did over the period.

Those that eventually became the property of the French Government comprised a series of paintings and are very large and requires a large room for display. It was his intention all along that they be placed in a large building where they could be mounted on the walls so the viewer would be surrounded by all the beauty he had created.

On the lower level there were additional painters represented – mostly those that would have been contemporary to Monet. This collection included paintings by Picasso, Renoir, Cezanne and Modigliani among others: there are a total of 145 paintings in the collection covering the period from the impressionists to the 1930’s.

Roses on Black Background by **Andre Derain**

It was an interesting comparison to all the Water Lilies upstairs – all having been painted at about the same time.

After our visit to the l’Orangerie we went back to our apartment to finalize packing for our train trip to the Normandy region and our visit with Ryan and Chris.

July 2, 2023

Paris! A Return Visit

We have completed the Mystery portion of our adventure and now it is off to France. Our first stop is Paris for a few days. From Amsterdam Central Station, via high-speed train, to Gare du Nord station in Paris. It is really amazing to be on a train, relaxing and enjoying the view through the windows and be zipping along at almost 200 miles an hour!

Once in Paris, we took a very expensive gypsy cab to our VRBO near the Latin quarter of the city very close to Luxembourg Gardens. Our stay in Paris was really planned just to visit a couple of our favorite eateries and museums. Once into our apartment, a very nice ground floor 2-bedroom apartment, we strolled all of 10 yards outside the front door to a café on the corner for dinner.

The following morning, we used our Metro passes for a bus and strolled through the Luxembourg Gardens to Angelina’s café at the Museum.

This location of Angelina’s is small with both inside and outside seating. We had been here before and it was nice to re-visit this lovely spot.

Janeen had Angelina’s take on Eggs Benedict

After having a petit-déjeuner (breakfast) we went by the Apple store to get a new power source for my laptop (with an EU plug) and then off towards our lunch spot. Using a combination of bus and subways we found our way to The Musée Carnavalet.

The Carnavalet Museum reflects the history of Paris from the origins of the city to the present day. This is one of Janeen’s favorite museums and we try and visit each time we are in Paris. It doesn’t hurt that it is free and there is a lovely garden café in the middle.

We have enjoyed more than one refreshing break in this garden area of the Museum

Located in the Marais district it presents collections on various themes: memories of the French Revolution, historical paintings, sculptures, furniture and decorations from and 18th and 19th centuries as well as 20th century posters and history.

The museum is made up of the former Hôtel Carnavalet and the Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, linked by a gallery on the first floor. Over 3,800 works and objects are exhibited in the permanent collection, among the hundred rooms that make up museum, 34 are decorative rooms, mainly from and 18th centuries. These rooms, sometimes called “period rooms”, are one of the particularities of the museum as they are exact recreations of actual rooms from various locations in Paris.

In 1941, the jeweller Georges Fouquet donated the remarkable decors from his boutique to the Musée Carnavalet. Designed by the artist Mucha in 1901, this decor had been conceived as a total work of art. Inspired by jewels, the floor, ceiling, furniture and lights reflect the natural curves of flowers and plants.

After our visit to the Museum, we headed towards where we were planning on having dinner- Le Réminet. We have been to this restaurant a number of times and have always been pleased with the service and food. However, as we walked up to the entrance (our reservation was for 7 pm), there was a pile of construction equipment being loaded into a truck. Seems they were having some work done and it hadn’t been completed yet and said to come back in 20 minutes. With time on our hands, we walked over to Avanti la Musica – a very special place with lots (well hundreds really) of different music boxes and nifty stuff.

Siloihie, the owner, greeted us warmly and when I mentioned we had been there a number of times and showed her a picture of Ryan, our son, she immediately remembered him and us! From her, we learned that the owner of Le Réminet had sold the restaurant and it was no longer ‘as we remembered it’. So, for all of you who I have recommend this to in the past, you can delete this recommendation.

Instead of going to Le Réminet, we went to Bistro 65 instead.

This is still owned by the same person who had owned Le Réminet and Chef Eric was in the kitchen! We have learned to follow chefs so it was an easy decision to change our dinner plans accordingly. Siloihie called ahead for us and told Fabien, the manager on duty, who we were and our appreciation of both Chef Eric and Norbert (the primary manager) and arranged our table. When we arrived, Fabien and Suzon (both of whom had previously worked with Norbert at Le Réminet) greeted us warmly and took excellent care of us during our dinner..

After dinner we went back to our apartment and relaxed for the rest of the day.

June 28, 2023June 28, 2023

Amsterdam and the Final Day of the Mystery Cruise 6-26

Back to Amsterdam and docked at the same place we started. However, there were still mysteries to discover and this morning was no different. After breakfast, we boarded the bus and headed out to the old gas factory of Amsterdam.

Westergas, as it is called, has become a meeting place for culture in all shapes and sizes. The historical site, built in 1880 as a gas factory, has been made into a lively cultural village and a haven for artistic endeavors. During the year, there are music and theater events along with film and photography exhibits.

The place is made of a number of large brick buildings with restaurants, coffee shops, art shops intersperced with exhibit spaces.

Once we were parked, our destination was to see the Fabrique des Lumières, the largest digital art center in the Netherlands.

Fabrique des Lumières, is an immersive digital art center located in the Westergas park. We were the first group to enter the exipbit area which is a large industrial space with walls up to 55 feet high with wide open space between the walls.

They have taken the works of Salvador Dali and digitized them for projection on the wall. The works come to life as they move across all the surfaces – floor, walls and the ceiling.

Barbara and Marta standing on the upper platform enjoying the show.

As they come to life, the music of Pink Floyd is played doing a good job of melding together. The displays moved, morphed and drifted around as we watched. As you moved through the building, the presentations were different and the experience changed with time.

After about 45 minutes of Dali, it changes to images from the Catalan (Spanish) architect Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi, who is most famous for designing the a number of buildings in the area of Barcelona Spain, however, the one that might be the best know is the Sagrada Familia Cathedral.

The presentation of Gaudi was wonderfully filled with colors and shapes.

After the presentation was completed, we were back on the bus and back to the boat for to board a Canal Boat for a trip through the various canals of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam has more than 62 miles of canals, resulting in about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals (Gentlemen’s, Prince’s and Emperor’s), all dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Canal District. Alongside the canals are more then 1500 monumental buildings with many of them listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The city was founded around 1250 with the building of the dam on the Amstel River, thus becoming Amsterdam – “The Dam on the River Amstel”. The first canals were dug for water management and defense. As the city expanded, in the Middle Ages, successive defense moats ended up inside the walls and lost their function but they acquired an important new one: local transport of merchandise.

Our canal boat motored through a good portion of the canal system where were able to see not only the various buildings along the canal but a number of houseboats along the way. We did motor by the house Anne Frank House – always with a line to get in and see the place (alas, not included in our trip this time…).

Always a crowd outside Anne’s house hoping to get in.

Once the boat ride was completed, back to the Ship for lunch, packing and our next adventure. There was another adventure in the afternoon, but we did a pass – so it won’t be reported.

As tonight was our last night of the Mystery Cruise, there was a lovely dinner and entertainment and goodbyes said all around. It has been a wonderful adventure and has shown us new and different spots around the Netherlands. The Mystery Cruise was a huge success which seemed to be the general opinion of those we spoke to with many wanting to know when the next adventure was going to happen!

Over the course of the Mystery Cruise, you may have noticed I’ve taken a selfie with Barbara from time to time. Barbara is the UniWorld person directly responsible for the Mysteries we have experienced both this year and last. It was her job to find new and exciting things to do that were NOT on the normal river cruise itinerary and I believe she has succeeded wonderfully. So, once I new who she was, I got started taking selfies with here during the Mystery Cruise we took last year where I took something like 60 selfies with her – so naturally I had to do it all over again. Here’s just a sampling of some of those pictures from this cruise.

Needless to say, we had a lot of fun taking these pictures and they bring back very fond memories. Thank you Barbara for all the good adventures on this years Mystery Cruise!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, after getting off the ship and saying our final good byes to the crew we will be boarding a train to Paris! And begin the next part of our journey – time with family and wonderful places to visit.

June 26, 2023June 27, 2023

Windmill and a Monastery – 6-25

We left Maastricht and motored all evening until we reached Cuijk. This is a town in the northeastern part of the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. It resulted from a Roman settlement on the west bank of the river Meuse and has a population of just under 20,000. As this was Sunday, there really wasn’t a lot to do anywhere and the Mystery Cruise found a small windmill, a brewer to taste some beers and monastery to visit in this town.

Proof we are together – here on the bus.

The original windmill was constructed in 1860 and was operated for generations of the same family grinding grain for the local farmers.

Over the years things hadn’t been maintained and in early 2000 it was fully restored using parts from dismantled windmills around the country. In 2012, the municipality of Cuijk took over the mill and it is now operated, under a lease arrangement, by the grandson of the last full time miller.

The stairs where a bit steep and worn for sure – but Janeen was able to peek at the top of the stairs.

While visiting the windmill, we also samples 4 or 5 beers produced in the local Monastery. Apparently, these brewers are one of the last brewers making beer in an operating Monastery. Beer has been brewed in Brabant since time immemorial by monks and in the area around Land operated by the Monks of St. Agatha. The current brew masters are all volunteers and are trying to take the new beer, Toebes, in such a way to the revive the historic craft, and give a new dimension to the experience of a cozy special beer. The brewery combines nostalgic flavors with current trends. They have designed and built a 300-liter brew kettle ourselves. They brew many different beers and take the season into account. A good beer starts with a good one raw materials, and Toebes opts for biological malts and hops for the beer.

After visiting at the Windmill, onto the bus and off to the Monastery for a quick walk around.

Our group looking over the model of the area and listening to our guide.

The Monastery of Saint Agatha was founded around 1371 with many missionaries being trained in this monastery. It is the oldest inhabited monastery in the Netherlands, although there are fewer than a dozen residents.

In June 2006, after a renovation of the monastery, some rooms were taken into use by the Center for Dutch Monastic Life, which houses the heritage collections of many monastic communities. The Center chiefly houses monastic archive documents, but also preserves and provides access to related books and artifacts. The Order of the Holy Cross themselves also house their heritage collections in Saint Agatha. There was a small chapel and library. One of their significant areas is a collection of books – many written by the Monks during the early years and are available for scholars to review and research.