FROM 'BURGS' TO THE LOIRE

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Our last few days in Burgundy were just as good as the previous ten. We had time for one last leisurely lunch at Le relais d’Ozenay www.le-relais-dozenay.com where we sat outside on the terrace under shade cloths as the sun beat down – it was touching 34° at one point. After the summer that we have experienced it was nice to be under umbrellas for something other than rain. The service at the restaurant was superb and was made all the more remarkable by the fact that only two staff waited on and the chef sent out treat after treat. It was a good old fashioned long lunch and it needed to be as over two and a half hours we were served 6 courses with some excellent wines selected by John – there were certainly no complaints from my end of the table as I tucked into my Mackerel entrée and lamb confit main. I even pushed the boat out and after a few weeks of eating very little fromageI opted for a selection of regional cheeses; one which practically ran off my plate with gooeyness.



Just twenty minutes from the restaurant is the medieval monastic town of Tournus where we went to walk off some of our lunch. Here we visited the Abbey of Saint Philibert, which has stood in its current form since the 10^th Century. It is a church of great religious importance and has withstood and survived hundreds of years of neglect, rampages and invasions. There has been an abbey in Tournus since Roman times and today it is still central to the local community with many local groups using it as a venue. From what we could see this summer season was no exception with services, art exhibitions, classical concerts and gatherings taking place within its wall. As with all medieval sites there is a constant restoration programme and while work went on in the 1990s a 12^th Century mosaic floor was uncovered. They have since made a raised floor to walk over it while viewing it. I have said it before and I will say it again, you never tire of looking at these buildings. They dominate the towns and cities and can be viewed from all angles. Even when you visit the smaller villages there is a smaller version of these buildings that still allow locals to gather and meet.



Our last night in Burgundy coincided with the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics. With much Olympic spirit and a feeling that it was a justified excuse to do something special Narelle, David and Mark set about creating an Olympic inspired menu that would rival the games. Secrecy was paramount but as I share a bed with one of the organisers I was privy to some of the ‘goings-on’ behind the scenes. It also allowed me to share in one of the funnier moments. I was reading quietly upstairs while downstairs melted chocolate was drizzled onto an inflated balloon (I had inflated the balloon and then exited stage left), and all seemed to be going well until I heard a BANG and then after a brief delay much laughter. Leaving my scene of serenity I went to the kitchen to be faced with three ‘chefs’ covered in chocolate, and so were the walls, the benches, the lampshades, the dressers and the windows. It was like a fully laden Easter Bunny had exploded mid delivery. Clothes were removed and placed in the washer, cloths and hot water started on the walls, flies began arriving from all points north and south of Macon, and generally all production was halted. If Seb Coe had been relying on this chocolate spectacular for his opening corporate function we would have been in big trouble – we on the other hand amended Basil Fawlty’s famous one-liner and said “Chocolate’s off”.



The rest of the meal was delivered without hassle. Thankfully PAW had not found out about the earlier chocolate incident and was still with us, and in fact he was central to the timing of the opening of the magnum of Cremant de Bourgogne we had bought just for this occasion. The cork was duly popped and the Olympic dinner on the terrace got underway. It was a great precursor to the main event that kicked off at 10pm French time. What a ceremony. It was brilliant and set up what can only be a great few weeks for London and Great Britain. Whoever made the decision to get the Queen on board with James Bond made one of the greatest judgement calls in history – no one had guessed. We had been watching for QE2 to leave Buckingham Palace as all the news channels said she was about to; the Royal Standard was even lowered to signify she had left. When it was raised only moments later it had most presenters in a spin and not really able to tell the public what was going on. My only slight concern would be the musical routine for the NHS but that is what Danny Boyle is all about. He is quirky and likes to be controversial and perhaps that was his moment. For me it was just fun to watch and when Rowan Atkinson started playing the piano it was British humour at its best. Wheel out Beckham, Muhammad Ali, all the British Gold Medal winners from previous Olympics and that is a good night. And their choice of flame lighter was perfect – how apt for one of the great British Olympians Sir Steve Redgrave to light the torches of the next generation. He really is an icon of British sport and I would be disappointed to hear of anyone who would publically vilify his participation at London 2012.



Narelle is always lucky at the Olympics as she does not have to wait long before her country marches into the stadium. I am sure it is a well-known fact that most people only want to see their own country enter, check out the uniforms, salute the flag bearer and head for bed. Waiting for New Zealand does not really allow for that. However, I sat waiting for Nick Willis to march into the stadium with flag raised (with mostly British people who had an even longer wait than me) with my old All Black scarf on for good luck. By the time NZ had entered, Team India had arrived with an extra in tow, and the roar for Team GB had raised the non-existent roof of the stadium it was well after 1am in France and several bottles of red and half a bottle of Balvenie had gone amongst the group. The New Zealand team looked great and the smile on Nick Willis’ face said it all; he was either very proud or had already had a glimpse of the Team GB uniforms, which had a Liberace Tribute band feel to them. All in all it was a fantastic night for London and all involved – here’s hoping for 14 special days ahead.



With a slightly heavier head than usual we made our final preparations for the trip across to the Loire. Brandon to Jarze is a 505km trip and according to our Satnav would take us just on five hours using the AutoRoute. We spent the first part of the morning packing the cars and then tidying the houses from top to bottom – we had a £150 bond that PAW was keen to get back. Thankfully we had cleaned all the chocolate from the second “unused” kitchen but it must be said that it will never come out of Narelle’s shorts or David’s shirt. They are destined for the bin. It all seemed a bit surreal when cars started to head away from ‘Burgs’ as for most this would be our farewell. Mark and John were heading back to Eton and Manchester; Philip and Pat were heading to Provence; David to his sister Jane’s place. The two weeks we had so looked forward to had flown by and were over. Once again we were ticking off a major moment from our itinerary and something that had seemed so far in the future when we booked was done – we are now close to the five month mark of the trip and also through 6000km on the Peugeot odometer.



Our destination was Chateau Vary www.chateauvary.com to catch up with Kate, Al, Adam, and Alex McClure and Paul and Bénédicte. If there is a favourite holiday destination of mine it is Vary as it reminds me of the feeling I get when we go to Waiheke. Arrive at either place and your body clock relaxes and time seems that little bit slower; it can only be good for you. Situated just a couple of kilometres (we know that as we walk in and out each day to balance out the food intake) from the town of Jarze the Chateau is set within park like gardens. From the road you would not know that it was here as the trees have grown up over time and given the site its privacy. There is even a magnolia tree that is over 120 years old and right at this moment is in flower. We are lucky enough to be staying within the family area of the chateau with Paul and Bénédicte, and Al and Kate have rented the ground floor level – there is a labyrinth of doors between us all but we can find our way back to them. Paul and I struggled with our first attempt at the staircase with all our suitcases and there was a touch of Hillary and Tenzing as we searched for oxygen bottles at the third landing.



The chateau has been in Bénédicte’s family for five generations and has a wonderful history. Her mother and father still live here and overtime have extended the property size by buying up extra land as it comes on the market. Her grandparents lived here during WW2 and, unbeknown to all, allowed the Resistance to hide a Jewish couple in the cellar for some months. Much to the grandmother’s horror the Germans did arrive at Vary in the hope of commandeering the chateau for their local HQ but finding it too small for their needs they took over the larger chateau on the edge of Jarze. I have walked down the steps to the dark cellar and it is not the largest of areas so to hide out there must have taken incredible fortitude and a huge amount of risk from the grandparents. All the risk was worth it though as in future years it was made apparent that the couple had managed to escape and settle in Canada. Bénédicte travelled and met them in Toronto, where she met the family and shared in the story. In Bénédicte’s words she was ‘treated like royalty”. Today the cellar is used for the purpose it was made for – I must head down there again and see the bottles of 1900 Sauternes!



On the subject of wine, Narelle and I were taken by Paul and Bénédicte to Domaine Des Saunerettes within the Anjou AOC to share in a wine tasting. The wine tasting had three objectives. Firstly, Paul would like a vineyard that will direct sell to the guests who are staying at Chateau Vary, secondly his nephew Alex was getting married and needed wine for the reception, and thirdly it kept us out of the heavy rain that had arrived from the UK. The wine maker was keen for us to try everything and anything and once again we sat with him while he discussed his wines and how he produced them. Their enthusiasm for their product is infectious and you can easily see how much pleasure they get from watching others drink and enjoy their wine. All I can say is that all of his wines were very drinkable and his sweet wine (Gouette D’Or) was stunning – I would serve cold as an aperitif. His pricing was pretty special too with his most expensive being around €7.40. By the time we left we had about 15 cases to take back to the chateau and Alex had plenty stacked up in his Mini for the wedding. Our trip home was via the city of Angers (twinned with Wigan of all places) where we had lunch at La Brasserie du Théâtre where PAG introduced me to choucroute – a plate of sauerkraut like cabbage heaped high on your plate and garnished with sausage and jambon. It was divine.



Paul’s summer project has been building a “shed” on the edge of the forest, which he began with Jonny Morgan a few weeks back. It is in its final stages and has a real Vary feel to it as he has logged much of the wood from the forest. Large chestnut trees (and maybe the odd misidentified Oak) have become the corner pieces of the shed, which also has a large terrace coming out from it. It is to become the Vary entertainment area and has already hosted dining in nights and wine tastings – the terrace is large enough for 24 to sit down for dinner. Now my DIY skills are limited at best, and are certainly inferior to Jonny’s, but I have managed to be a help on the building site passing drills and hammers, opening beers, and generally adding another set of hands so Paul is not found pinned under a large offcut of a chestnut log. I guess you could say we have been doing the cosmetic side of the development using split logs to cover the frame and also provide seating for the terrace. We have made two ‘mobile benches’, which loosely allow for the use of the word mobile as they are incredibly heavy and need two people to lift. As with other drinking and dining sheds it is going to be decked out with memorabilia from around the world – at this stage we have some old skis, two African spears and a leopard skin. The old wooden skis complete with large bamboo poles are fantastic and I did say to Paul that it would be worth the laughs to drive across to the Alps one day and queue up at the lifts with them over his shoulder. They do not make skis like these anymore. Anyway, the shed has already provided some great events. DWR, his sister Jane, her son Tom, and Tom’s friend Will joined us for lunch and a bit more wine tasting – thankfully it was not one of DWR’s self-chosen non-alcoholic days so he could enjoy some of the local wines. It was a nice afternoon with plenty of sun, laughs, Facebook lessons for Paul, and swimming. This summer season Paul and Bénédicte have instigated dining in nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays and so far we have enjoyed a paella night and also a gourmet barbeque. They are the consummate hosts and watching Paul cooking in front of a crowd provides some laughs, although he was not laughing when two of his steaks were pilfered by the slowest moving burglar in history, a Bassett Hound called Minette. It is adults only too as Sam Clewlow is here working and he runs a “Kids Club” while we all sit down to eat.



Being at Vary this year allows us to spend some more time with Al, Kate and the boys. We have got very close to Alex (Narelle’s Godson) and Adam since we arrived in the UK and really enjoy their company. Over the last few months Adam has tried hard to say Narelle’s name but I think ‘Arelle is a pretty good attempt and it may stick. The boys loved the chateau and were in and out of doors, wandering in the forest, checking out the bread delivery van, having tractor rides with ‘Hunter Paul’, and playing in the sandpit. Alex even made the trek to our room, which he may have regretted when he saw all the steps but he got there. We did lots of swimming in the pool and it was pleasing to see Alex’s confidence in the water grow and he was off on his own by the end of the week; even Al looked comfortable away from the edge. It is amazing to think that our time with them is at an end and all the things we looked forward to doing with them are now behind us. They looked after us at Bromsgrove, made their house our house and allowed us free access to their place at the Chateau. I feel we all travel well together and it has all been so nice and relaxed. We hope that a ‘downunder’ visit beckons but Al says that may have to wait until Adam can sit still – he has just found his running legs and is off at the drop of a hat. Al and I are also considering a training campaign to attempt qualification for the synchronised diving at Rio in 2016. We feel it is a sport that needs an injection of fun so it will be boardshorts and bombs off the 10 metre board coupled with long relaxing soaks in that funny hot tub they all head to after their dives. We may even ask the IOC about the chances for a swim-up bar. Watch this space.



With the McClures heading back to the UK it was time for the next group to arrive. Narelle’s brother and family arrived late in the afternoon after an eventful trip from Paris via Tours. They took the fast TGV train direct to Tours and then picked up a rental car to drive to us. Unfortunately on the train someone felt their recently bought suitcase was in need of new owners and absconded with their souvenirs of Disneyland Paris. It may just have been a case of misjudgement by another person as an identical suitcase was left in its place. However, David did remove the details of the other bags owners and Bénédicte rang them – all to no avail. Both bags were now missing and nothing was on the train. As David said, a Spencer family holiday needs some drama and that was it. It has been great to see the girls and in a brilliant coincidence it was Scarlett’s birthday on the day they arrived so we had a little party. It was all fairly tame and as we did not find a birthday cake we made do with a pear tart, which for a two year old was all OK as it still had a big 2 candle in the middle. Everyone seemed to get a present too with Narelle buying them all dolls clothes from Chicago and Maxine having sent dresses from Macey’s in New York. It certainly cleared out our suitcases and filled David and Peta’s!



So week number two at the Chateau is underway. We do not have much planned so we will continue to do what we do best – relax and enjoy. The TV seems to be on in the background for the day as we watch the Olympics. It has been exciting watching the NZ rowers win gold and also to share in Super Saturday with the Brit supporters. The 10,000 metre race won by Mo Farrah was unbelievable and I hope he becomes an inspiration to many more British Muslims – surely his story is far more important to the younger generations than some heard from the radical clerics. And then there is Usain Bolt; has there ever been a more complete sprinter. WOW! Blink and you miss him. What a race and surely the most widely anticipated since that infamous day in Seoul ’88 when a juiced up Ben Johnson beat a widely juiced up field in WR time. As I write this the great Valerie Adams is on the TV trying to qualify for the shot put final – should be fairly simple, especially as she makes that large shot look like a tennis ball in her hand.



Lily, Piper and Scarlett love having free reign of the place and seem to split their time between the large sandpit, the chess set and the pool. Auntie Narelle is doing her best to teach Lily the strategies of chess and at the same time not lose. We have introduced David to the shed and due to the fact he said publically that he loved doing DUI (yes he actually did say DUI) and playing with power tools I have volunteered him to take my place on the worksite. Paul the Foreman has already told him how he likes his coffee! We will watch with interest.

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