When I left you in my previous blog , https://wordpress.com/post/suddenly70.ca/11463, I promised to tell you about our trip home with the parcel. As you know, you can’t take liquids on the plane, so we had to figure out how to take the olive oil that Olivier brought us. Charles is always very clever at these things, and went to the restaurant of the hotel and asked for a wine carton. He decided to fill it with the large tin of oil, and two other tins of olive oil that we had purchased as well as some champagne. Brilliant. When we got to the airport to check in to Lufthansa which was the connector airline to take us to our Air Canada flight in Frankfurt, we were told to take it to oversized parcels. The attendant put a sticker on it with our details, and it was also marked Priority as we were travelling in Business class. We were told we would have to go to the parcel desk to check it in. The woman at the parcel desk after measuring the box told us that it was too small and too heavy to check with her, and we had to take it back to the original counter and do it there. So we went back and lo and behold she accepted it this time. Fine. The olive oil is fabulous by the way.

waiting for Olivier and his surprise gift of olive oil

We then went to find the lounge while we waited for our boarding time. We went through pass control and headed to the lounge. Turns out that that lounge was for International flights, and we were going from France to Germany, not considered International, go figure. So we tried to find our way back through pass control and the customs agent saw us, and offered to help us. Amazing! He escorted us to the correct lounge. Very very thoughtful. We then boarded our flight and were told it would be late as there was weather in the Alps. Our connection would be very short. We arrived in Frankfurt and booted it to the Air Canada boarding area, not very close, and up four flights of stairs. And many others followed us including an Air Canada pilot who told me he liked following me through the airport as I made everyone on the moving sidewalk step aside for us. We made it. Whew! At which point an agent came on the plane and told Charles his luggage tag was missing, and they would issue another. They gave us the numbers by email. Great. The flight was just fine and we were first off in Toronto. The box arrived as did Charles’ bag, but no sign of mine. We went to report that ( I had all the baggage numbers from their email) and the agent there told us it had indeed arrived in the airport, and perhaps someone else picked it up. Lovely. Then he said it had been delivered to another carousel, and he got out of his chair, and escorted me to find it. Which we did. That was service. Nice to have my bag and to get home. And also wonderful to have kind people helping us. Nothing is easy when you are traveling, but lovely to be assisted when you have a problem.

Outside Michelin Star restaurant in the rainy Paris

Now back to the highlights and lowlight of our trip. As part of our adventure we had an opportunity to book a Michelin Star restaurant at an exorbitant price in Paris. This seemed like an excellent idea because where else would you expect a super fine meal but in Paris. We have over the years eaten in starred restaurants, even the three star incredible, Michel Bras in Laguiole in The Aveyron region. Our expectations ran high as we headed to Benoit. I should have been suspect when the menu read April 31. It was May 31. Okay a small sloppy error, The wines including a glass of champagne were very good, but the food was disappointing to say the least. Although the table settings were lovely the meal was ordinary; smoked salmon lying on a plate with no presentation and a deboned chunk of chicken which would have been acceptable at a convention meal. I firmly believe that the restaurant assumed we were unsophisticated North Americans, and they could throw whatever they wanted at us. I am embarrassed to say what it cost, but it was absurdly high. I was not alone in my judgement, and others on our trip felt the same. The good news is that all our meals after that were excellent, and one in particular on the boat was exceptional.

We spent three days in rainy Paris. The city was preparing for the upcoming Olympics so many roads were closed. The traffic from the airport was appalling. However, the forums on the ship and some of our excursions more than made up for that inconvenience. Our trip by train to Lyon was comfortable and relaxing.

We have been to Lyon before and wanted to eat at the same restaurant that focused on traditional Lyonnais food, Daniel et Denise again. This type of restaurant is called a Bouchon, a restaurant that serves traditional Lyonnais food; particularly quenelles, very finely ground fish formed into balls or little oval loaves. If you have ever tasted Gefilte fish it is the same texture, almost like a mousse, and the sauce Nantua usually is made from little crayfish with a hint of tomato. Delicious. We ordered a taxi with plenty of time to get to our destination in the old city, but the taxi was extremely late and so were we for our reservation. It was a Saturday night, and very busy in the restaurant. The hostess actually reprimanded us for being late, but sat us and told us we wouldn’t have time for a starter as the table was promised etc. etc. We saw a Pouilly Fussé on the menu, a favourite white wine, and ordered a bottle. All of a sudden we were treated like royalty, and we were served starters and the fabulous fish dish and dessert, a tarte tatin, one of Charles weaknesses. Guess the ordering of the fine wine surprised them. Maybe they thought we would order a glass of house wine or a beer. It turned out to be a fun evening and we joined some folks back on the boat for a drink before we retired to our very spacious cabin.

We went to a cooking class aboard and that was definitely a highlight as we made steak tartare and I love that dish. Another time we spent lunch with Alexandra Posadzski, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/alexandra-posadzki/who was simply delightful, and we discussed her terrific book, Rogers vs. Rogers. https://www.amazon.ca/Rogers-v-Control-Canadas-Telecom/dp/0771003633. Her charming partner, Roland, joined us and they were very excited about a trip they were about to take. It is always refreshing being with young, fascinating people.

Our very comfortable cabin aboard the Scenic Riverboat, The Sapphire

the delightful Alexandra and Roland, and yes they are that different in size

One special excursion was to an Olive Oil farm where we not only learned about the oil, and its peppery taste if it is a good one, but also how to make tapenade. The host and owner of the farm was delightful and funny. A nice way to celebrate our 37th anniversary. When we arrived back to our cabin with tins of the lovely product in hand, we discovered flowers, champagne and many cards to wish us well. Dinner for six of us was simply marvellous that evening, a tasting menu of delights.

Our olive oil experience with egg plant and tapenade to enjoy

The speakers on board who made the trip exceptional

Alexandra Pozatski , journalist, and David Walmsley, Editor of the Globe, in one of the interview style presentations

One other dinner that I forgot to mention earlier was in Paris. We walked from our hotel to a very traditional bistro, called Bistro Volnay.https://www.bistro-volnay.fr/en/ It was small and charming and I believe we were the only non- Parisians there. Our meal was delicious and it was fun to watch the other guests. We enjoyed veal and prawn tartare and then duck.

Note beside the plate a silver porte couteaux, or knife holder. I loved this, and found some in an outdoor market antique stall. You can find the best things at a terrific price at these open air markets all over France. I love entertaining at a dinner party and using these little cuties to hold the knives.

I started this blog by telling you of our departure and all its vagaries. We arrived home to Toronto feeling great despite the jet lag. After unpacking, we continued planning for the rest of our summer that included a wonderful visit with our kids in British Columbia, and a delightful trip to Quebec to enjoy our grand children there. More to come.

Cheers!

Riki