The open doors of Spring

 

It was an "open-door" weekend in our neck of the woods, between Bazens, in the Lot et Garonne, and Nerac, just inside Gers.

Farms and wineries welcomed visitors. Many establishments put on special events and some had catering.

With our Galapian friends Richard and David ... and Shelley from Port Saint Marie, we took off in her roomy station wagon to do a bit of a winery crawl ... and have a picnic lunch.

We were hoping to book a restaurant, but that turned out to be impossible due to the fact it was French Mothers' Day.

Our first winery visit was not far from Bazens, at Domaine de Courege Longue, a small establishment on the fertile Garonne flood plain near the village of Feugarolles.

The owners were very friendly and received us with genuine warmth. Shelley and the men bought a case each but Cliona and I restricted ourselves to just one bottle, their top of the range red. At 25 euros a bottle, that was enough!

We drove to the nearby village of Lavardac, on the Canal de Garonne, and found a shaded table overlooking the water.

We each contributed to the lunch. Richard and David brought a Quiche Lorraine and potato salad, and cheeses. Shelley brought a mussel and samphire dish and a strawberry cake. We brought a baked Camembert and a dish called Coronation Chicken. 

After lunch we went to another winery, Chateau Pierron. 

It was situated at the end of a beautiful, tree-lined drive.

There was a food stall of Reunion delicacies. Two women, dressed in traditional Reunion costume, danced with gay abandon outside the cellar door. The rosé was flowing freely!

Our host showed us around the winery ... and into the cool, aromatic dungeon that housed barrels of wine and Armagnac.

Had we not been satiated by our picnic treats we may have been tempted by the Reunion delicacies on offer.

Our next stop was Chateau de la Grangerie, near the village of Lannes, a winery well-known in a region of Armagnac producers.

A lovely painting of the Chateau and a bottle of "clear" Armagnac 

The good drop on offer

We had a thoroughly enjoyable day, with beautiful weather, great food and wine, and typical French hospitality.

We look forward to doing this again next year.

VW ... times change

 

My parents brought me home, a new-born baby, in the well of our 1955 VW Beetle.

The well is the space between the back seat and the sloping back window ...

a narrow, oval-shaped back window.

Viv

In 1957 the car went to my aunt, and forty-five years later, it came back to me via her will.

My 1955 oval-window Beetle, which I named Viv after my dear aunt, was as basic as you could get.

It didn't have indicators. It had semaphores that popped out when you wanted to turn.  It didn't even have a petrol guage.

But now I own another VW.

How times have changed.

The all-electric ID3 is the most sophisticated car I've ever owned. It practically drives itself.

I should call it Viv Mark 2.