This week, I am in Girona, Spain (more to follow), but I thought I would pass along a few more photos from our two weeks in Provence, in the lovely town of Vaison-la-Romaine.
The second week began before the first week ended when a case of my favorite champagne showed up, totally unexpectedly. We had no idea who sent it until our dear friend from Paris arrived on Saturday and confessed that she had sent it.
Even though I did not ride much at all the second week, I was able to get one final ride in on Sunday.
The riding in the area is pretty fantastic. Even excluding the Ventoux (but how could you?), the limbs are epic and the views worth the effort.
Plus, with the seemingly countless small villages, all with their own quaint town square, it is never boring riding.
Another friend brought some older gems from California (and one from Australia) for all to try. One of the few people I know who has ever brought wine to France on vacation.
One Monday, we all headed to the incredible Pont du Gard, a 1st Century Roman aqueduct. A bucket list item, for sure; it’s the second most visited spot in France outside of Paris (Mont Saint Michel is #1).
As I mentioned last week, Tuesday is market day in Vaison. Quite the spectacle…
Also on Tuesday, I headed off to Châteauneuf-du-Pape with my buddy Christophe, former export manager at Château la Nerthe (he is making his own wine now), to visit a few of his friends.
The galets (the large rounded pebbles in much of the terrain in Châteauneuf) never cease to amaze me. Who was the first to say: “Hey, you know what? Let’s plant our vines in this stuff!”?
We also met some new friends (hopefully) and tasted through some wines. Here, Thierry Usseglio of Domaine Pierre Usseglio et Fils, gives us a tour of his cellar.
On Wednesday, we all headed back to Châteauneuf to Domaine de l’Oratoire for a tasting and lunch (it took a bit of work to find it, but it was worth it).
There were 11 of us around the table, tasting through some incredible dishes…
…and tasted through 18 pretty stellar wines.
We cooked in Vaison every night, including Thursday, when I made my fig and fennel stuffed pork loin (it is actually Thomas Keller’s recipe, but no one needs to know that).
On Friday, we headed to L’Isle-sur-le-Sorgue, one of several places that claim to be “the Venice of France”.
Although not as “impressive” as the first week, we still managed to polish off quite a few bottles in week two.
Saturday was our last sunrise in the shadow of Ventoux before we scattered to different corners of the world. I don’t know when I will be back to Provence, but I hope it is soon.
