Oldwineaux in Europe

Hiking can be a humbling experience. The other day I was struggling the last quarter mile or so, which was on a steep incline, to finish a six mile hike.  Part of the struggle was of my own doing.  I had made a wrong turn some three miles back and had gone down a steep half mile section of a wrong trail which I then had to come back up. .  So here I was plodding, literally putting one foot in front of the other, to make it up the last section when I heard a cheerful voice singing out just below me.   A man appeared. He was no doubt cheering on his wife and two children who were a short distance behind him. He went on by me and then the wife and two children all of 7 and 8 went on past me as I sat huffing on the side of the trail. Yesterday, my tee shirt drenched, as I grappled my way up a boulder strewn trail which began in the town of Encamp and would come out at Lake Engolasters, I stood to the side and watched a group of about 50 or 60 chaperoned ten-...

The country is mountainous.  With mountains comes skiing.  The country used to have the reputation of a laid back low cost ski holiday for the English and Europeans.  Part of the cost appeal was cheap lift tickets and budget self catering accommodations.  Then about a decade and a half go things changed. Upscale condos appeared along with 4 and 5 star hotels.  Luxury spas followed.  Andorra's smaller ski areas were merged together and massive investments made in improvements until there were only two ski areas in the whole country.  One of them,  Grandvalira, is the world's 30th largest ski resort with more than 120 miles of compacted snow trails.  Its 66 lifts, which include 20 high-speed detachable quad and six-seater chairlifts, along with three gondolas, give a combined uplift of more than 100,000 skiers per hour – a combination of speed and capacity matched by less than a dozen resorts worldwide. Here are several photos from Sold...

The Principality of Andorra is all of 181 square miles.  For comparison sake, the city of Albuquerque, Mexico takes up a little over 189 square miles.  Population wise Andorra's is about the same as that of Lynchburg Virginia. (Upper 70,000's). It is governed equally by two individuals - the President of France and the Spanish Archbishop of Urgell .  For their services Andorra sends them each a few hams and wine plus other stuff each year.  Would I make something like that up? Andorra is only about a four hour drive from the village in Corbiere where I was staying.  Web pages extolled Andorra's wonderful hiking opportunities. That was enough right there to convince me to come. So, after a four hour trip in the car, of which the last two hours were a dizzying uphill slalom, I reached the border of the Principality.  What was supposed to be another half hour drive to Piso Soldeu and my waiting apartment turned into a version of 'you can't ge...

I have enjoyed my two weeks in this area of Languedoc.  I have tasted the wine and enjoyed making new friends.  During this time I have put about 50 miles on my new hiking boots which I now consider broken in.  The Corbiere region has afforded me the simple joy of 'taking a hike'.  I hope to return here for a few days on my way back up to Paris.  But now I go south to the Principality of Andorra which is only about 4 hours away by car. Before I leave the area here are a few things: Yard Sale ala Roquefort de Corbieres Here is one item I was sorely tempted to buy. It makes no difference that I already have one folding bicycle and seven other ones.  It is amaladay I suffer from that Ralph will understand.  I finally settled for this. I have a collection of these.  This will make probably number 14 or so.  I don't bring home stray cats instead I do sensible things like buying and putting a set of antique French andiro...

Years ago I sat rather smugly in a restaurant in Epernay, France consuming a meal built around champagne.   The smugness came from knowing that I was in the coeur of the land of Dom Perignon, the French monk who discovered the ‘methode champagne’.   I began the meal with Pol Roget, Winston Churchill’s favorite, moved on to a still wine made from the grapes that are used to make champagne (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay).   After all these years  I still remember its slightly malt-like mouth feel and champagne-like flavor of that still wine.    Then it was on to a couple of other champagnes - the bubbly kind poured with each course of the meal.   And after dessert which was served with yet another wine came the bill.   I still think it was as a good reason as any for taking out a second mortgage on my dwelling to settle ‘le addition’.      BTW, in France the word ‘champagne’ may only appear on the bottle if t...

Fresh mushrooms, sliced, sauteed in a little olive oil with finely minced garlic and finished with crème fraiche was the star of my vegetarian lunch today. I have meat in my larder including the southern French version of jamon crudo plus a cured sausage that looks like it’s old enough to vote.  But, the veggies here are so fresh and have much more flavor than those on our grocery shelves in the US, so I often wind up eating a plate of them sans viand. A local told me to shred carrots and mix them with oregano and a dash of wasabi powder no less.   The finely chopped oregano and a dash of hot sauce in place of the wasabi really enhanced the flavor of the dish.    On the wine tasting front I was invited to dinner by an American couple who have owned a house in one of the small villages near here going on 8 years.  They had invited another couple.  The husband, Danielle, brought a bottle of his wine.  He produces about 450 bottle...