Dinner in the Dark and Bruges in a Day

Our last destination on our trip this past spring was Paris. We stayed a few days with Sam's cousin Paul and his girlfriend Eva, including celebrating my birthday dinner at Dans le Noir, a restaurant in the city that serves its diners in complete darkness! This is what it looked like in the dining room:

And I'm not kidding! It was completely pitch black, and your eyes do NOT adjust at all! We had to leave all of our belongings, including cell phones and watches, in lockers before entering the dining room. A blind server lead us to our table and instructed us on how to pour our water into our glasses, find our wine glasses (very carefully), and eat our meal as a blind person would. We only had one mishap when Sam accidentally spilled his wine, but they quickly cleaned it up and replaced his wine. It turned out to be a very unique and delicious experience, one that I would highly recommend if you're ever in Paris (or London, Barcelona, St. Petersburg (Russia), or even Nairobi, where they have additional restaurants).

While we were in Paris, we decided to take the advice of the older British couple we had met in Portugal and do an overnight visit to Bruges in Belgium. The city in the province of West Flanders is a few hours drive from Eva and Paul's apartment, and the drive was quite pleasant, with lots of nice scenery. We arrived in late afternoon and began our whirlwind 24 hour tour of the old city center.

Bruges is often compared to Venice, because of its canals, but it is actually much more like Amsterdam. While Paul and Eva went shopping for some kind of herb or something she was interested in finding, Sam and I got in line to do a boat tour of the canals. I know, it's a touristy thing to do, but with so little time, we figured it was a good way to see more of the city, and from angles you can only see on the water. After quite a long wait, our boat finally arrived with our captain/tour guide, who was funny and full of interesting facts about various buildings and the history of the town and its inhabitants. It was very relaxing and entertaining, as well as informative. Definitely worth a few dollars.

We even saw the Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce, the hotel where Colin Farrell jumped out of a window in the movie In Bruges. Recognize it?

After the boat ride, we met up with our travel companions and did some more exploring on foot.

While wandering around the residential areas, one of the handsome residents greeted us from his window.

Twenty-four hours was certainly not enough time to truly enjoy this lovely Flemish city, but that just means we will have to return one day! 

I do have a few more photos of our Bruges visit, so if you'd like to take a look, go to my Flickr album.

Portugal!

Next stop on our spring 2015 trip was the magical town of Sintra, Portugal. 

We arrived very late at night, as our flight from Bordeaux departed over seven hours behind schedule! We flew on an airline called TAP Portugal. TAP, we were told later, stands for, "Take another plane!" I will definitely remember that the next time we go to Portugal! 

We stayed in a guest house called Chalet Saudade, a newly restored, old chalet, one of many built as vacation homes for wealthy Europeans, in a style imported from the Alps. It is built on a hillside, with two floors on the front and a total of five down the back. We got lucky, and managed to get the best room in the place! I have more photos of Chalet Saudade on my Flickr page.

(Click on photos to see them enlarged.)

We originally decided to include Sintra in our trip plans because I had seen an article featuring one of the small Portuguese town's many tourist attractions: the "Initiation Wells" at Quinta da Regaleira.

Quinta da Regaleira is an estate that has changed hands several times, but in 1892, it was purchased by a wealthy Brazilian business man, and from 1904 to 1910, he had the huge estate turned into something that reflected his interests and ideologies, including mysterious buildings that supposedly held symbols of alchemy, Masonry, and the Knights Templar. 

There are two of these "wells" on the estate, but they were never used as a source of water. Instead, these underground towers were used for ceremonial purposes that included Tarot initiation rites. The two wells are joined by underground tunnels. The smaller one, often referred to as the unfinished one, is interesting, but very primitive in its design.

The larger well is much more impressive, and if it weren't for the other tourists climbing up and down the stairs, it would have seemed pretty spooky. As we walked through the tunnels that lead to the well, we could imagine dark, hooded figures, carrying torches, slowly walking and chanting...

From the Chalet Saudade, the main town square was a good walk up a curving road, along which there were about a dozen sculptures installed. Some good, some weird, and all were interesting at the very least.

Another one of the main attractions of Sintra is the Pena National Palace, built between 1842-1854, by an amateur German architect, hired by King Ferdinand. Apparently, this designer had knowledge of the Romantic style castles built along the Rhine River, and the colorful finished palace looks like something Walt Disney might have built.

From the ramparts of the palace, we could see the countryside for miles, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean far below, including the Castle of the Moors, another popular tourist attraction, but one we didn't have time for.

We toured the inside the palace, going past living quarters and work spaces, and were surprised by how small the bedrooms were. One thing not lacking though was elaborate ornamentation of all kinds. Intricately carved wood furniture, ornate three dimensional wallcoverings, hand-blown glass chandeliers.

 After the palace tour, we wandered the acres of lush gardens and small lakes for a couple hours, until my camera battery died, which signaled it was time to head back to the chalet and dinner.

Two of the dinners we had in Sintra were especially memorable. One was at a "traditional" restaurant called Apeadeiro, where our dinner consisted of very large portions of delicious traditional dishes, a bottle of Portuguese wine, and included free desserts and a bottle of port at the end, all for the equivalent of about $40! One of the best things about Portugal is that it is very inexpensive.

The other dinner was at a very modern, upscale restaurant across the street from the chalet. It was called Incomum, and it was one of the best meals I can ever remember eating. Including a bottle of wine, dinner ended up costing only about $70! When we were nearly finished, a older British couple (imagine imperial United Kingdom people of wealth, living in India) arrived and struck up a conversation with us. They had lived all over the world, apparently, but for the last 25 years, have resided in Mexico. They asked us where we were going next, and we told them we would be visiting Sam's cousin in Paris for a few days. They enthusiastically encouraged us to take a trip to Bruges, "If you like Venice, you will love Bruges!" So, while we were in Paris, we did just that, but I will tell you about it in another post!

On our last full day in Portugal we hired a driver to pick us up in Sintra, provide us with a short tour of Lisbon and the beach towns along the way, and then drop us off at the airport hotel, so we could catch our flight the next morning. First stop was Guincho Beach.

Guincho is a beautiful, clean beach that is very popular during the summer. Had we been there a month later, our driver said, we would not have found parking so easily. It's a great place for surfers of all kinds, and as you can see from this photo, the water is gorgeous!

From there, we stopped briefly in the coastal town of Cascais, a suburb of Lisbon and one of the richest cities in Portugal. It was nice, but we were anxious to move on to Lisbon.

In Lisbon, we stopped to see the Belém Tower, the Monumento Combatentes Ultramar memorial honoring fallen Portuguese soldiers, and the Monument to the Discoveries, celebrating the Portuguese "Age of Exploration" in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Our last stop that day, before checking into our hotel, was the Port Wine Institute's tasting room. I don't have any photos of the place, but it is a very interesting establishment. You can have a glass of any of the many different port wines produced in Portugal, making it possible to try some very expensive, aged ports, at a fairly reasonable price. They also sold snacks, and there were several rooms with multiple seating areas made up of cocktail tables with comfortable leather sofas and chairs. It seemed like a fun place to go for a "happy hour" type meal with friends. 

View of Lisbon from the Bairro Alto (Upper District) near the Port Wine Institute.

That evening, on the advice of our guide, we took a taxi to a restaurant where we were told we could have a meal and enjoy the best Fado performance in Lisbon. Well, it turned out to be an extremely crowded venue, filled with large tour groups, who didn't seem to care about the show. Although some of us in the audience tried to hush the loud, rude groups of tourists, the noise continued, and it was very difficult to hear the music! I felt embarrassed for the singers, and as we left, I apologized to one of the young female singers for the crowd's disrespect. She smiled and thanked me. Next time we're in Lisbon, we will make an effort to find a more intimate venue to enjoy the famous folk music of Portugal!


(If you'd like to see more of my photos from Portugal, check out my Flickr album.)

Bordeaux Wine Country

When we left the Loire Valley in central France, we drove along beautiful French highways, past field after field of mustard, stopping at a really nice highway rest stop,

until we reached our next destination: the city of Bordeaux. I must confess, the main reason for staying in Bordeaux was not to see the city, but rather to use it as a base for exploring the wineries in the countryside surrounding it. Still, the little bit of time we spent walking around the area in which our apartment was located made me wish we had more time to spend there. 

We stayed near the Basilique Saint-Michel (Basilica of St. Michael), a neighborhood that is probably much more quiet when there isn't so much renovation and construction going on! It was difficult to drive around there, but walking was nice. While we were out looking for a place to eat dinner, we visited the beautiful, old Gothic cathedral.

The separate tower stands about 375 feet tall, and in 1881, a cemetery and catacombs from Roman times were discovered under the tower, along with several naturally mummified bodies. 

However, like I said, our intention was not to get to know Bordeaux. My goal was a more personal one: to find the winery that bears my maiden name of Nadeau. 

Years ago, I bought several bottles of a wine I found at Costco (of all places) – a good Bordeaux from a winery called Château Haut Nadeau. According to the label, the winery is located near the small village of Targon, outside of Bordeaux. I vowed to check it out one day, and this seemed like as good a time as any.

Our GPS directed us to the small town, but could not help us locate the winery. As we pulled into the tiny town square, we noticed a tourist information office. We parked in front and went inside to ask a young woman, who spoke very little English, if she knew where the winery was. She didn't, but she looked it up on her computer, which didn't help much. I was about to give up the whole idea, when she suggested we all go next door to the baker and ask him if he knew where it was. Of course, the baker spoke even less English, and didn't know off hand where we should look, so he called out to an older gentleman across the square, who walked over to join us. The baker and the older man talked back and forth a bit, waving their hands and arms, and then a light seemed to go on in the baker's head. He quickly drew a simple map for us and pointed us in the opposite direction we had come into town. We thanked them all, and proceeded to drive down a country road, then turned left onto a dirt road where a sign pointed to Château Haut Nadeau!

When we got there, there didn't seem to be anyone around. The tasting room was locked and there was a phone number on the door, but we figured calling wouldn't be of much help, since neither of us speaks more than a few words of French. We walked around the property, shooting pictures, so we could at least say we had been there.

As we were about to leave, a man drove up in a pickup truck and asked (in French, of course!) if we needed help. Sam tried to explain that my family name is Nadeau, and the man asked, "Taste?" Well, we understood that and said, "Yes!" 

He unlocked the tasting room, welcomed us in, and motioned to wait while he cleaned some glasses and brought out three bottles of wine. Long story short, we weren't really able to learn anything about the winery, or our host, except for his name: Patrick Audouit. We asked if we could have a case shipped home to the US, but he told us that was not possible, so we bought one bottle to carry home in one of our checked bags. Some day, I would really like to return with Sam's cousin Paul, who lives in Paris and is fluent in French. With his help, perhaps we can learn more about the winery that bears my family's name!

Patrick Audouit – Vintner at Château Haut Nadeau

I have a few more photos from this part of our trip, and if you would like to see them, go to my Flickr page.

Lovely Loire Valley

This past April, after Sam and I visited a friend on the southern coast of England, we flew to Paris, rented a car, and drove through the French countryside to the town of Amboise, in the Loire Valley. 

(Click on pictures to view them enlarged.)

This shot was taken from a hilltop in Amboise, overlooking the Loire River.

Months earlier, I had read about a young couple, who purchased what is called a troglodyte (cave dwelling) from the local government for €1! Then after investing their savings, and lots of blood, sweat and tears, they turned it into a very comfortable bed and breakfast which they advertise on Airbnb. (Some of my readers may think the use of the word troglodyte is incorrect, since it is a term used to describe a cave dweller, but in the Loire Valley, troglodyte is what they actually call these dwellings.)

Alexis is a native of this part of France, and his beautiful partner, Lotte, is from Holland. They welcomed us warmly the evening we arrived, gave us lots of good advice about what to do and see in the area, and we ended up spending our last two evenings sharing wine and food with them, chatting until late. Probably my favorite part of traveling is making new friends in faraway places!

The Amboise Troglodyte – Chez Hélène, is built into a cave in the small town of Nazelles-Négron, just across the Loire River from Amboise. It has a cozy and charming double room for guests, with bathtub and sink, and a private water closet just a few steps down the hall.

The B&B is somewhat difficult to find, as there are no signs, but Alexis met us up the street where we had parked our car, and helped us carry our bags up the steep walkway that leads to the front door.

The troglodyte sits atop a couple of other occupied dwellings and some buildings, so it has a view over the rooftops.

The government had put this troglodyte up for auction, but apparently, the caves were in danger of collapsing and destroying the dwellings below, so the purchaser would be responsible for reinforcing the whole hillside, which turned out to be quite expensive, and consequently, they received no bids other than the €1 Alexis had offered. Here is an article with photos of the before and after. 

And here are pictures of Alexis and Lotte's living space. They also showed us their private bedroom/bathroom/laundry and a huge storage room (which I didn't shoot). They have plans to finish another guest room, and eventually, a separate apartment.

The door on the right opens to their bedroom/bathroom/laundry, and the white door with window above, is the entrance to a storage space that is bigger than this room.

This window looks out onto their patio and garden, where they grow vegetables and hang laundry.

Alexis carrying both of our bags down the walkway to our car when we reluctantly departed.

While we stayed at the troglodyte, we spent a good bit of time exploring the pretty town of Amboise. There were so many flowers everywhere, it almost looked like Disneyland!

Sam shooting close-up video of the flowers.

Just to the left of those two people walking, is the restaurant where we ate dinner, Le Patio, which I can recommend highly!

Loire River Bridge

In Amboise, we found delicious gelato, fashioned into ice cream roses!

Much of our exploration of Amboise was done on a Segway tour! If you've never tried it, believe me, it is so much fun and really easy! We signed up for a two hour tour, along with a French couple, that took us up and down the hilly streets, and even on some very narrow pathways, ending with a wine tasting at a winery built into another cave. The wine was delicious, and it made the ride back to our starting point just a little more interesting! If you'd like to see a short video Sam made of our Segway adventure, click here.

Near Amboise there are several castles worth visiting, but we only had time for one: the Château de Chenonceau on the River Cher.

It is a beautiful castle, filled with amazing floral arrangements. Apparently, there is a competition every couple of weeks where contestants create these gorgeous arrangements.

The grounds are also quite beautiful, and I especially liked the coach house covered in wisteria.

Any visit to the Loire River Valley should include a day spent exploring Château de Chenonceau and it's lovely gardens. But one thing I do regret not doing while we were in Amboise, was to visit the Château du Clos Lucé, where Leonardo DaVinci spent the last three years of his life. It now houses a museum and park displaying models of DaVinci's machine designs. Aahh, maybe next time!

If you would like to see more of the photos I took in the Loire Valley, check out my Flickr page.