"Take a little wine for your body"

Though I know that the title is a slighty out of context scripture from the book of Timothy, it was the best intro I could think of. The subject of this post is wine if the title didn't give it away. France being the most famous and largest producer of wine, it is something that has to be appreciated and sampled while visiting.

France has nine major wine regions, ten if you include Champagne. The regions encountered first along the route are: The Loire Valley, Bordeaux, and South West wines. I will also discuss the subject of Cognac, which is a wine based product.

The wines in France are able to maintain distinctive regions by a system called "Appellation d Origine Controlee", meaning "a regulated origin name". Wines that want to carry a regional classification, must follow strict guidelines. Guidelines include the strict use of certain grape varieties and being grown in a specific region of the country.

The Loire Valley - This wine region is said to be one of the most beautiful in the world. The Loire Valley, is best known for its sweet and dry white wines. The white wines from this region do not use the popular Chardonnay grape as a rule, but use the Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon varieties. I have tried Sauvignon wines before, and they are my white wine of choice, so I will probably enjoy this area (as if I won't enjoy every area).

Bordeaux - This is the most famous and largest producing wine area in France, producing over 700 million bottles a year! The Bordeaux region is best known for its red wines, but does produce some white and rose wines. The humid atmosphere of this area of France make it ideal for growing wine, the most commonly grown grapes in this area include types of Cabernet and Merlot grapes.

South West Region - The South West region though close to Bordeaux, generally produces what is considered by some to be a lower quality wine. Growing many of the same types of grapes as Bordeaux, this region does produce some nice wines. Wines grown here included full-bodied red wines, and aromatic white wines. This area is one of the more ancient wine growing areas of France, and the writer Virgil, praised the area for its wines.

Cognac - made from white wine, the process to make cognac makes it "eau de vie", and is under the category of brandies. The white wine is cooked in a copper pot, the evaporateded liquid is collected and then double distilled over a twenty hour distillation period. The distilled wine is then aged in large oak caskes, in a controlled environment. The longer cognac ages the darker it gets, and is best when over ten years of age. Melanie and I bought a bottle of cognac last year, a blend with Madagascarar vanilla, it is delicious, something to have on special occasions.

A great thing about wine in France is that it is served automatically at every meal, and is quite cheap. I know the wines that are served are probably not the best quality, but are probably as good as most bottles I buy in Canada, and would hopefully give me a notion of what the regional tastes and qualities are supposed to be. Cognac, now that is where some costs could be seen.
The most interesting parts of these pieces of the jouney would be to see the production processes in each area, and the differences that each area would have.

So Many Sights to See

It's hard to comprehend the shear number of places with historical or cultural significance there are in France, and I suppose the whole of Europe. Just taking a quick look within about 200 kilometres of Calais there are so many places that I feel would be a shame not to visit.

As it would probably be impossible to track the specific route we will travel, I have decided it would probably be easiest to write about certain waypoints that would be of interest and in a reasonable distance of the preliminary route I previously laid out. I chose to do this not just because it will be easier, but I don't want to lay down a specific route. I think it would make for a much more enjoyable trip with no specific route anyway as detours will probably be the most enjoyable part of the trip.

Anyway, if you look above, you will see a cropped section of northern France with numbers. The numbers as I am sure you have all guessed are the waypoints I have decided to write about for this section of France.

1 - Arras - I wrote about the cemetery where my great-grandfather is buried in my last post, but what I didn't know at the time is that Vimy Ridge is near by.

Vimy Ridge, for those not up on their Canadian WWI history, was the site of one of Canada's most "glorious" victories in the war. Canada was able to take a fortified German position in only a few days, as compared to France and Great Britain who had not been able to take the position in a series of attempts over a two year period. Just one of the battles in which Canadians have distinguished themselves. Vimy Ridge is also the site of France's tribute to Canada for the contribution we made to defending them in WWI, a site with a memorial that was recently commemorated on a special edition nickel, and seen to the right.


2 - Chartres - A UNESCO world heritage site, Chartres is home to the famous Chartres Cathedral. Chartres Cathedral built 800 to 1000 years ago, is said to be one of the best preserved examples of French Gothic architecture. The pictures I have seen are really amazing, the stained glass, decorations and the building itself are something I am sure would render someone speechless.

3 - Dieppe/D-day - Places of military significance, Dieppe to the right, and the bay to the left of the "3", are two WWII sites that I believe deserve to be visited, and to pay respects. Dieppe, unlike Vimy Ridge, was a place where Canadians were not successful, many were mowed down as they reached the beach, and only half of those sent were able to retreat. The bay to the right, was the sight of D-day, a battle which as we all know was a turning point in the war, and a pivotal moment in the history of the world.

4 - Rouen - a cultural area and historic area, once the capital of Normandy. There is a beautiful cathedral here, and was once home of Claude Monet. The local museum has many of Monet's works on display. The really interesting and dark part of Rouens history is that it was the place where Jean d'Arc was burnt at the stake, and imprisoned. A place that would be interesting to visit given her legendary status and heroics during the 15th century.

5 - Orleans - The site of the battle considered the turning point in the Hundred Years War, it is also the battle in which Jean d'Arc made a name for herself. In the Orleans area there are two French "Chateaus" that are incredible examples of the extravagance of the 15th century and the French aristocracy.

The Chateau de Chenonceau is just cool being built over a river, and is considered a great Renaissance building, with an impressive garden. The Chateau de Chambord, incorporates design elements by Leonardo da Vinci, one of them being a double-helix stair case, incorporating two flights of stairs in you guessed it double-helix pattern. The stairs were designed so that someone going up one flight could not see another person going down the other flight. Pretty Cool !

Well that is it for this post. I know it has been mostly about war memorials and architecture, but don't worry I will be exploring the various cultural and culinary aspects of Europe as well. One thing at a time, and as always feel free to make a comment or suggest I look into something that may be of mutual interest.

Starting Out

Though I never intended this blog to be a day-by-day planning of the trek (I have to use that word), in considering the initial London to France route it has appeared that I have found that it would probably take up the initial day in Europe.

When travelling from England to France, the first thing I thought of was the "Chunnel", curious what the price would be to take the Eurostar train under the English Channel, I found that it was about $325 for two people(all references to $ are in Canadian). Once I saw that price I thought it may be cheaper to take the rail to Dover and then a ferry to Calais in France. After some detective work I found that it would cost about half as much at $175 for two.

Anyway, I decided that the rail/ferry trip would be better anyway, and a chance to see the English countryside, along with a short boat ride to France is a lot nicer than a tunnel, and would not take much more time according to schedules. I figured Calais would be a nice place to start the trip anyway, as Calais is close to Arras. Arras is the home of Faubourg D'amiens Cemetary which is the WWI cemetary that my great-grandfather Edward Rawden is buried in, and a place I have wanted to visit for a long time.