All aboard

The river Ill flows through the centre of Strasbourg and surrounds the historic old town. It is a 217 km long tributary of the Rhine which runs along the eastern side of the city bordering with Germany. The river plays an important part in the structure of the city, and we decided to take a little boat ride to view the sights from the river, and to better understand it’s geography.

It was such a gorgeous day it made it a perfect choice for a quiet cruise around the city. We met the boat at the dock, and were soon heading down the river.

We passed a big section of the old town, and passed through a lock before turning to go toward the more modern area of the city.

The architecture changed as we headed out, and the river led us to the court of human rights.

And past the European Parliament building, with its huge forum and multitude of tiny offices, all rather spectacular.

It was such a serene journey, and just what we needed to orientate ourselves.

And after a hard mornings sight seeing what better than a tasty lunch outside in a pretty café.

René Lalique

The drive to Strasbourg from Épernay was around three hours, so we found a little café in town to enjoy a coffee and croissant before setting off. Once we’d left the town, and were following the main route to Strasbourg, I put on a little Steve Coogan; aka Alan Partridge. ‘From the Oasthouse’ is a podcast we both find very amusing, and we chuckle away together at his observational humour.

About two hours into the journey Brian spotted a tourist sign advertising the ‘Lalique Museum’. I’d read about this, but forgot completely it was in this area. We immediately agreed it would be a great detour. Not really knowing what to expect, we changed our route and headed towards it. About half an hour later we arrived, and were pleasantly surprised when we entered the foyer and were greeted by an enormous glass chandelier. It was quite incredible.

The village we had found ourselves in (Wingen-sur-Moder) seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, but we soon learned why it had been chosen to build the glassworks by René Lalique back in 1922; apparently the region’s glass making traditions date back to as early as the Middle Ages, and have persisted to this day. It is now the only place in the world to produce Lalique crystal, with some 250 people working and practicing the companies skills here. The museum opened in 2011 to celebrate Lalique’s work, and now shows off the talents of three generations, René Lalique, his son and daughter, Marc and Suzanne, and grand daughter Marie-Claude. It displays nearly 650 works of art, and in 2023 was updated with new media technology.

I was particularly interested in seeing some of the vases and perfume bottles. The organic designs and the way they use natural themes to decorate the shapes is simply beautiful. The perfume bottles in particular are so delicate.

The vases are no less intricate, but on a different scale.

At the end of the visit is a short film that depicts how the crystal is made today with the same techniques they originally used.

Such a fabulous stop off; well worth a visit. There are other glass museums in the area, which I have noted, and we will probably be visiting them on another little adventure.

A night in Épernay

After our trip to the UK, we decided to make our way to Strasbourg for a couple of days. We’ve visited the Alsace before but never Strasbourg. It was just too far for me to travel in one day so we made an easy little stop off in Épernay.

We arrived just in time for a short rest, wash and change before heading out for dinner at a delightful little restaurant ‘Table Kobus’. We have been there before, many years ago, it has been redecorated, but has fortunately kept some of its historical charm. We had a delicious dinner. It is definitely still well worth a visit if you are visiting Épernay.

Family & Friends

It has been way too long since we visited the UK, so last week we set off via the Eurotunnel to visit family and friends.

First stop was a small village in Norfolk, where we visited my brother Jon and his family, who live on a farm. Whilst there I also got to see my dad; at 94 he’s doing exceptionally well.

We had a really enjoyable few days with them; eating home cooked food, and trying local specialties, whilst sharing some wonderful memories and quality conversations.

We then headed back south into Essex, where we stayed with some friends and visited Brian’s mum and family. It was so good to catch up with our families after such a long time. WhatsApp video is good for keeping in touch, but it’s not the same as seeing someone in person, and sharing a hug.

A unique bottle

Last year some very dear friends of ours got married. Very unexpectedly, to all, they had got engaged here in Champagne, and we had all celebrated that moment with a wonderful bottle of Gremillet blanc de blancs, which the future groom had bought a few days before in preparation.

So for their wedding a few of us decided it would be nice to make a decorated Magnum of the same Champagne for their wedding present.

The decoration part fell to Brian, who started by doing a rough drawing of the proposed design.

After carefully cleaning the bottle he began applying layers of enamel paint. He didn’t stick exactly to the drawing, but I think the finished bottle looked really beautiful, an ideal wedding gift. He also painted all our signatures and the date on the reverse of the bottle.

A really unique bottle and a lovely little memory.

Cellar wall

A job we had started some time back was the cellar. We’d built the separating wall together, and Brian had fitted the ceiling, put some lights in, and made the door.

Our Workaway Chris had helped us dig out the old chaux from the back wall, and Brian and I had regrouted it. But before he’d had the chance to paint on the waterproof plaster, I’d got poorly, so things went on hold.

When our friends came over late last year to help support Brian, and finish off some jobs for us, this was one of them that was on the list.

He’d already bought the product he’d wanted to use, so one morning him and Trevor set to work painting on the plaster. I think it looks great, and it’s made such a difference to the humidity.

We’ll have to see how it performs through the summer, but fingers crossed they made a difference. However, Brian would like to add a second coat, and he found another small water ingress, so it’s an ongoing job.

New Acquisition

If you are a regular reader of our blog you may have seen the wonderful painting of Dylan Thomas by our dear, departed friend Peter Moller, which hangs in our dining room. Well late last year his wife Robyn entered the second painting in that series, featuring a young Ian Hislop, into an exhibition/sale of paintings in her local area of Stonehaven.

It was an exhibition of portraits by local artists, and Peter’s certainly stood out. There were two in the show, the first one showing Hislop at his editorial desk, and the second featuring Oscar Wilde.

It was a big decision, but we felt we couldn’t let the two be split up, so we snapped it up before it went to someone else. The Oscar Wilde also sold.

Our new acquisition is now hanging in our library, where it has pride of place.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Peter Moller’s paintings take a look at the new Instagram page we have set up for his wife to celebrate his work, or visit the official website.

100% Pinot blanc - BLV

We went to visit one of our favourite producers last week to purchase a few bottles of champagne.

We hadn’t seen him for a while so it was great to catch up, and practice our French on him. He had produced a new cuvée ‘Pinot blanc vrai’ , which is 100% Pinot blanc, and has 6 grams of sugar added. The grapes were harvested in 2021. So it’s taken a little while to finally be ready.

The taste was fresh and crisp with a fruity grapefruit undertone. Rather delicious and would be a perfect aperitif.

We obviously had to come away with a few to enjoy at home.

Crostic

For a little bit of brain activity to start my day, I do Wordle, which I’ve been doing for a while, and I really enjoy the other games that come with it: ‘Strands’ and ‘Connections’. But there’s a good little game Brian’s found called ‘Crostic’, that’s turned out to be very useful.

At first glance it seemed to be a really easy game, but Brian had read that you can change the language, and use it as a language learning tool. We’d been looking for something to help us improve our French vocabulary, and what better way than with some general knowledge questions in French.

So we do it now during breakfast, after Wordle. It’s a bit of fun and we’re learning at the same time.

That’s a Dinky car

It’s been almost five years, but Brian finally got round to putting his cabinet up with the little cars he inherited from his dad inside. He wanted them upstairs, in our roof apartment, but we don’t have a lot of wall space, what with all the wardrobes and paintings, but he found a spot in the corner of the stairwell.

They’re a mixture of original, old toys, and a few newer, French models, which he bought at a vide grenier (car boot sale).

Finally they have a home. I’m thinking he needs one of a 2CV though, as that’s my favourite. We will need to keep our eye out for one.

Time for Coffee

Since we bought our La Pavoni coffee maker, which is coming up to 6 years now, we’ve had the most wonderful coffees almost every day.

Espressos, macchiatos, lattes, cappuccinos; it’s been a learning curve at times for Brian, but he’s enjoyed the journey, and I get great coffee at breakfast. Our guests also get to enjoy a good coffee when they come to visit, which goes down very well. One of the key things he’s worked out is what milk works best for frothing—it’s not as straightforward as you’d think. And recently we bought him a new jug, as the shape of the spout makes a difference when pouring out the froth, my favourite bit.

Cheese board!

At the market last Friday I bought some cheese from my favourite cheese stall man. He’s an amiable, smiling chap, who always says ‘Bonjour’ if he sees us at the café. Although Brian had kept him updated on how I was doing, as he missed seeing me, I guess he wondered how I really was. He was so glad to see me out and about again, and told me I looked well, which is always a nice thing to hear. We had a little chat while I was picking cheese.

I bought a nice chunk of Morbier, a sensible slice of Brie de Mieux, and a good piece of Tomme de Savoie. Enjoying them with fresh baguette and some dried figs is just delicious. Oh, and we also indulged in a glass of Rully, a round, and fruity white wine from Burgundy. Served not too cold.

Checkmate

During the period when I was not well, Brian often had a lot of time to himself. To keep his mind active, and to occupy his thoughts, he decided to try and improve his Chess. We had occasionally played against each other over the years, and I generally beat him, however I think more by luck than skill. I think it frustrated him that he didn’t know how to improve his game. He’d read a book or two, but they were not always the best way for him to learn, they were not very visual. A friend bought him a chess book for Christmas that really encouraged him, as it was a lot more visual and more interactive. Although his game improved a little, he still wanted more.

The breakthrough was, of all things, Duolingo. We had been using it to help us with our French, but they also introduced Chess learning on the App. He started following the simple tutorials, and quickly realised this dynamic approach was how he should be improving. Duolingo wasn’t the answer though, and after some research he found Chess.com.

The structured learning, and ability to play against other people around the world, was exactly what he needed. He started with an ELO (which is a Chess rating system) of 400, but quickly dropped down. After some effort, he worked his way up to 1200, which is apparently considered okay for club Chess. But his latest game cheered him the most. Although his overall rating was still only 1276, the computer rated his play at 1850, which is considered strong club level.

I confess I don’t know why he calls himself Jack Burton, I think it has something to do with a film, but I don’t ask. I haven’t played him since he’s improved, so it will be interesting when I’m up to it again.

If anyone would like to give him a game you can find him on chess.com under the name ‘JackBurtonAlwaysSays’.

Flooding

When we nipped out yesterday we were both quite surprised to see the volume of water that was laying across the fields.

The small river outside of our house is probably twice as deep as it usually is, and all the local rivers are bursting their banks at some point along their course.

As we drove over the bridge in Bar-sur-Seine we could hear the roar of the water gushing over the top of the weir.

We know there are flood warnings in Paris which will not be helped by all the water heading its way from the surrounding areas near us in the Aube. The Seine has a long way to go to reach Paris, but there will be lots more tributaries feeding into it.

Fingers crossed not too many more flooded forests, like this one not far from us.

Pampered

Yesterday I took myself off for a little bit of pampering. There is a really pleasant little beauty salon in Bar-sur-Seine where I went to have a manicure, pedicure and gels on my toes. Sarah, the lady who owns it, not only does nails but also offers facials, massage, and waxing.

It’s a great moment for me to just relax, practice my French, and enjoy some me time.

I just love the red colour I chose.

Soup-erlicious

We do both love a homemade soup, and when I make them Brian often says, “I loved that one.” But they are never really repeatable, as I’m often just using up what’s in the fridge. This one was no different.

The base was mainly celeriac and tomato, with a bit of leftover cauliflower, broccoli, and pepper. I added half a jar of sunblushed tomatoes in oil, which I had in the fridge, and they gave it a really good tomato flavour, and a fantastic red colour.

I served it with a little coriander, and olive oil drizzled on the top. It was very delicious, and we have enough for another bowl in the week to enjoy with some crusty french baguette. Yum.

Slow cooked red peppers & tomatoes

Brian spotted this recipe in one of my cookbooks he’d bought me a while back, and happened to mention it sounded very tasty, and quite versatile. I was keen to give it a try.

We were having some friends over for lunch on Sunday, and I wanted to cook something light. So, as red peppers are lovely and sweet at the moment, I thought I’d make it. I could also get ahead and make it the day before, which is really helpful.

It’s super simple, just sweat off a couple of onions and two cloves of garlic, then add two red peppers—sliced or chopped, depends how big you want them to be. Then add about four large plum tomatoes, deseeded and chopped up, with a few stalks of thyme, and a bay leaf. Cook these uncovered on the stove for about an hour in about one tablespoon of olive oil.

Add your seasoning at the end of the cooking time before you serve, and dish up at room temperature.

I served it with fresh bread, cold meats, and freshly made coleslaw. You can also use it as a pizza topping, or serve as a bruschetta, or with roast meats.

It really was very tasty. I think some of our visitors will get to try this one during the summer.

I’ve got the key

I’ve had a little wooden cupboard for a number of years, that we bought in an antique shop in Holt, Norfolk. I’d had it in the kitchen in Kent, to keep my spices in. It’s such a pretty little cabinet; I’m not sure what sort of wood it is, but it’s a lovely warm golden colour, it could be a satinwood. I hadn’t asked Brian to put it up for me as I thought I’d lost the key when we moved, but when I happened to mention it to him the other day, and asked if he could maybe change the lock, he said ‘Why? I’ve got the key.’ And miraculously he found it straight away.

You can imagine my joy when I realised we could once again use it. I knew exactly where I wanted it to go, so it wasn’t long before he had fetched his tools and we were putting it up on the wall.

I’ve had my little collection of Italian and Greek statues for over 30 years, and I still love them.

Run out

We had our large pellet boiler serviced recently, and during the work the fill level of the silo got reset. It hasn’t happened before, and it caught Brian a little by surprise, as he hadn’t checked where we were at prior to the service. So he had to make an educated guess.

He did pretty well, but yesterday evening we finally ran out of wood pellets, and the hot water and heating tank went cold.

It could have been a bit of a disaster, except we had booked a pellet delivery for this morning. Phew!

Finding a thermal

I love seeing the cranes flying overhead. We normally hear them first, chattering away to each other. And today was not any different, as we walked along the path in the forest, Brian said he could hear them, but just couldn’t see them.

We looked up and there they were, trying to find a thermal to help them gain some height. Such beautiful creatures.

As we wandered back down along the road, we stopped to say hello to the horses. They do like to be noticed, and always look up to see us when we walk by.