WINE TASTING Through the years, the Chief Penguin and I have visited a number of vineyards and done tastings. Some of our earliest ones were in the Finger Lakes wine region in upstate New York; others were in the Loire and Rhône Valleys in France and in Chile and New Zealand. While living in San Francisco, we …
Author Archives: JWF
France: Carcassonne to Provence
STOPPING IN NARBONNE Today we spent about five hours in the car getting from Carcassone to our latest B&B near Avignon. We made the usual gas and lunch stops, but the most interesting part of the trip was the hour we spent in Narbonne. Narbonne is the first Roman colony established outside Italy and was founded in …
France: Onward to Carcassonne
SPECIAL DINNER AT LA BELLE DEMEURE On our last night with Richard and Philippe, they served us a marvelous dinner on the terrace. We began with Philippe’s homemade walnut wine as an aperitif. First course was a delicate medallion of foie gras terrine with some homemade onion jam. This was followed by a beef daube along with …
France: Castles & Gardens
Today we explored more of Dordogne with a visit to a castle, hanging gardens, and the medieval city of Sarlat. MILANDES IN CASTELNAUD In this area of France, it seems you are never far from a castle or chateau, to use the French word. In a small radius from our B&B, there are at least four …
