November 2021 – A Traveling Fool

On the way back down from the Viviers Cathdral, we picked up the local guide for the “Black Diamond” Truffle Experience (Jane) and another person from our group who had apparently done enough walking for the day. It was also raining. Cobblestones can be quite treacherous in the rain.

Since I was the only person who had signed up for the “Black Diamond” Truffle Experience, I was given enough time to take a short break before we headed out. It was just me, Jean Loup, Jane, and the driver.

We had quite a drive around in the countryside of Grignan before reaching the truffle farm. At one point we went by a castle. Jane said that she usually stops at the castle but, as it was raining, we would not be doing so. She had no clue as to how much that hurt my heart as a castle lover. Since it was raining and we were too close to the castle, it wasn’t practical for me to even get a photo of it at that point.

At the truffle farm, the house was large and made of stone (small pieces rather than large blocks). The owner (Gilles) was tall, slender, with unruly, longish, grey hair and the beginnings of a scraggly beard. He was dressed in pink shorts, pink slip-on shoes, and a blue shirt. He also had a fairly thick French accent and was concerned about his command of the English language, but I assured him that I could understand him just fine. He was rather quiet and unassuming. Essentially he was just exactly what I would have pictured.

His great grandfather had begun the truffle business (Aymes Truffe) back in 1850 when a large part of the vineyard was destroyed by an invasion of insects. Gilles explained all about truffles. They are essentially a type of mushroom. They need three conditions in order to develop: 1) a special tree that serves as a host; 2) a particular kind of soil; 3) and a special climate. At his farm, they were constantly planting new trees. The main varieties were oaks and hazelnuts.

Two female yellow labs came out with Gilles’ wife to demonstrate how they find the truffles. Back in the day, pigs were used to find truffles. The problem was that the pigs also loved to eat the truffles. So they had to have the truffles wrestled away from them.

Dogs can be trained to sniff out the truffles without having to fight them for them. These dogs sniffed around and then pawed at the ground when they found something. Giles then dug up what they found and the dogs were rewarded with their favorite treats. The first photo included here shows a couple of truffles fresh out of the ground.

The dogs didn’t pay much attention to the visitors until they were done with the job they were supposed to do. Once they were rewarded and released, they came up to us, wagging their tails and looking for some petting.

Back at the house, Gilles brought out some truffles that had previously been cleaned and were ready to be eaten. He used a mandolin slicer to shave them down to thin slivers which he piled onto baguette slices and topped with olive oil and sea salt. He prepared a whole plate full and offered red, white or rose wine.

The only truffles I had ever had were tiny slivers inside pate and other things. I had never actually tasted any truffles of a decent size. What if I didn’t like them? Either way I really enjoyed the tour. But I didn’t want to be making a face or trying to choke down a mouthful of something that tasted horrible. No problem. They were delicious. Good thing since we had a whole plateful for just me, Jean Loup and Jane to share. I had a rose wine with mine.

I never thought I would ever be able to say that I was full of truffles. But I was full of truffles by the time we left. Gilles had some for sale that were packed in a jar. He also had some truffle oil for sale. I bought some of each. They had a website from which I can order more.

We took a shorter route back to the ship, but stopped briefly so I could take a photo of the castle we had passed earlier from a distance. The ship was supposed to have set sail at 6:00pm, but we didn’t arrive until 6:10pm. Fortunately I was with Jean Loup. They wouldn’t leave without him. They did have to put the gangway back in place so we could get onboard.

At dinner that night, I met the other couple that would be on the entire trip with me in addition to Roberta & Jeff. This new couple was Vicki & Tony.

That night, we had escargot as appetizers. I love escargot and order it whenever possible and feasible. So I know how to handle it – normally. For some reason these snails had burrowed themselves as far into their shells as possible. In order to get them out, it was necessary to wrestle with them. There were a couple people at our table who shot one of theirs across the room, shell and all. I managed to eat five of my six. That last one just wasn’t coming out for anything.

Next time – Tournon

We had sailed from Avignon at 4:45am and arrived at a lock at Bollene at 9:45am. It was a deep one. Judging by the entries I saw on the Internet when I “googled” it, it is also considered to be quite a tourist site on its own. We gathered on the top deck at the bow to watch, photograph and video what was happening.

At seven stories tall, it is by far the deepest lock on the Rhone. Built in 1952 as part of the Donzère-Mondragon Dam, the lock also produces renewable hydroelectric power. In fact, together with the nearby nuclear power station and adjacent wind farms, this region produces one-third of France’s electrical power.

The captain used a small control panel, located at the starboard side of the ship to navigate his way through without scraping the sides of the ship against the wall of this very long and narrow lock. This was because he was eyeballing it –judging exactly how much room he had.

Once inside, the guillotine gate at the stern closed and the lock began to fill with water. As the ship rose, we found ourselves elevating from the dark, dank depths of the lock towards the sunlight. The first photo I have included with this post was taken from inside the lock. The second is from when we reached the top and were officially on the Canal de Donzere Mondragon.

Later in the morning, we had a cruise briefing on the plans for the day plus some changes that were coming up during the rest of the southern portion of the cruise. The biggest change was in Lyon. We had planned to tour the city in the morning and then have some optional tours in the afternoon. Instead, there would be a bicycle race in the morning, closing down the entire city (it would be a Sunday). So no city tour until the afternoon. Two of the optionals — “Delights of Beaujolais with Wine Discovery” and “Lyon Culinary Journey: Les Halles de Paul Bocuse” (an indoor food market) – were moved to the morning. But the one for which I had signed up – “Medieval Perouges” (a walled medieval town high on a hill) – was canceled. That meant that I would have another morning off on that day.

Our Cruise Director, Jean Loup, also announced that he had arranged for a mini-van that could carry six passengers up to the top of Viviers to the Cathedral. It was a very steep, cobble-stoned hike up from the river. Dennis and one of the Danish couples (we had two couples from Denmark in the midst of 17 Americans) and I rode up with Jean Loup and the driver.

At a couple points on the way up the narrow roads in Viviers, it seemed we were going pretty much straight up vertically. It made me very glad that I had chosen to ride in the mini-van. We left the ship an hour after the main group and beat them to the cathedral. We pulled into a parking area next to the building and had time to explore before the others arrived.

An operatic lyric soprano with a gorgeous voice sang for us. The acoustics were amazing. The tower was built in the 11^th century with the rest of the Cathedral of St Vincent following in the 12^th century. The village itself dates back to the 5^th century although most of the current buildings date from between the 11^th century to the 18^th century. The population at its height was about 30,000. Currently it is below 4,000.

The photos of the village give an idea of how narrow the streets were as well as how steep some were. I thought it was a cool village that still had so much of its authentic medieval atmosphere.

Next – Grignan & Truffles (not the chocolate kind)

Month: November 2021

Grand France River Cruise – Gignan & Truffles

Grand France River Cruise – Bollene & Viviers