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France, part six – the château of the royal family, Cahors and the market
After leaving the kiwi plantation and winery at Domaine Chantelle in the morning, we headed for the beautiful Château de Cayx, situated on a rocky hillside in the Luzech district. Château de Cayx is a 15th-century castle and is surrounded by 2.000 years old vineyard. The castle and the vineyard have been owned by the Danish royal family since 1974. We actually also visited the…
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France, part five – truffles, foie gras, saffron, market and kiwis
After leaving the snail farm, see the previous post, our plan was to visit a truffle hunter and his dog. When we arrived at the address, the place was closed and actually seemed abandoned. We searched and searched for a “substitute”, without luck. All were closed – perhaps for the season. We even visited a truffle museum and asked for some advice, not much help…
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France, part four – Cognac, Bordeaux, PĂ©rigueux and a snail farm
After waking up to the sounds of the roosters, now seeming even fresher than yesterday, we continued our road trip to Cognac, the city as well as the area. Arriving in the Cognac area, we were amazed by HUGE, really HUGE, vineyards all over. It was extreme. And in fact, Cognac, with more than 76.000 hectares, is the largest white wine area in France. But,…
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France, part three – Le Mont-Saint-Michel, Poul’s 97 years old ex-father-in-law and Venise Verte
We left Cave Tronquay late in the morning. After doing some shopping for groceries for the next 2-3 days, and filling up diesel, we arrived at the Mont-Saint-Michel area. As this is a major tourist attraction in this part of France, road signs showing the direction started far far away. When we got closer we suddenly saw the dramatic silhouette from far away. Le Mont-Saint-Michel,…
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France – part two – Calvados and Camembert de Normandie AOP Cheese
Monday morning we left for what was just to be a transport day, in direction of the Calvados area. On the way, we passed the Oise-Aisne American war cemetery near Serenges-et-Nesles, with more than 6.000 American war dead from World War I. A beautifully maintained cemetery, but with a dark, dark history. However, it was still so beautiful and peaceful. Worth a visit for the…
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3.700 kilometers motor home roundtrip in France – filled with food, wine, and much more.
Part one – Champagne. We began our journey Friday morning, from Switzerland, heading for Champagne, priorities must be in place for good planning. Despite the fact we have a rough master plan for our tour (see the map) the idea is to finetune the details for the first 4-5 days and then continue this one or two days ahead during the trip. We will continue…
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Hiking to Seealpsee and the Seealpchäs in Alpstein, Switzerland
SEEALPSEE, LAKE ALP LAKE… is located at 1.143 m.a.s.l. in the Alpstein area in Switzerland. Upon arrival, it is clear why pictures of the lake are so popular on all social media. IT IS JUST STUNNING. Surrounded by mountains and so quiet – at least on a workday. During weekends it can be a bit crowded on the hiking paths. So, we will definitely suggest…
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Unterstammheim – home of Swiss hop growers
UNTERSTAMMHEIM is a small Swiss village with just about 900 citizens. We visited Unterstammheim to find out a bit about hop growing in Switzerland. We were in the right area for this, hops have been grown here since the 1930s. And if that isn’t enough, wine and tobacco are also grown here. We stayed at Hopfengut, they have recently opened for stays for motorhomes and…
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Hiking through the Devil’s Gorge – Teufelsschlucht, in Switzerland
Another short hike, this time through the Teufelschlucht – Gorge of the Devil! If you thought the previous gorge was beautiful, then have a look at this one. We parked in Hägendorf, just 40 minutes from Basel. We can highly recommend starting out early in the morning as we did. During the day, this particular gorge is very popular due to its vicinity to the…
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Hiking through Kaltbrunnental, the Cold Well Valley, in Switzerland
A short hike through the Kaltbrunnental – literally the Cold Well Valley, in Switzerland, just 23 kilometers from Basel. It is a very green valley, full of caves and small waterfalls. Many signposts inform about the caves and their types. A cave is not just a cave. The caves can be wet or dusty, so bringing extra clothes might be a good idea. And if,…
