Our first stop was for a wine tour at the Chateau Casselas, a 14th century castle and town. Jean, the owner, told us that one could buy a castle very cheaply but the taxes and maintenance expenses were very high. He gave an excellent overview of the wine business in the area, with the different types of grapes grown and the importance of the soil, elevation and climate, the "terroire. He has noticed the change in the climate and is adjusting the grapes grown to those from warmer regions in anticipation of warmer temperatures and drier conditions. Afterwards we went into the wine cellar where he explain the wine-process and we were able to sample 4 different wines made on the property. (Some of the women on the bus thought Jean was quite handsome and wanted to "take him home with them"!)
Chateau Casselas
Beaujolais countryside outside Chateau Casselas
Our lunch was in Cluny, famous for a large abbey going back to the 10th century. They built a church to hold the relics of St. Paul and St. Peter which made it a major destination for pilgrimages in the middle ages and they had to build larger and larger churches to hold the crowds. Unfortunately, during the French Revolution the large church was destroyed except for the tower - don't know what happened to the relics. This is also nearby the religious community of Taize which was founded by a monk in the 1940s - we sometimes use the Taize chants in our church service.
For lunch we had a chicken dish with a delicious sauce with o gratin potatoes. Dessert was fresh vanilla ice cream with a poached pear.
Lunch restaurant
After lunch we went to a goat farm (don't tell customs/immigration) to learn about the goats and try the fresh goat cheese. We were able to try cheese that was one day old, one week old and one month old. I don't usually care for goat cheese but this was very good. Amy made many friends.
Amy and friends
From there we went to a truffle farm - once again we were amazed at the skill of the bus driver making turns in small villages with roads not designed for cars, let alone large tour buses. At times we gave the driver a round of applause after successful navigation.
The truffle farm is owned by "Oliver" who inherited it from his grandmother. He has a PhD in botany and about 15 years ago he decided that he wanted to create a diversified farm. He grows black truffles, saffron crocuses, fruit and wheat. He loves to talk about his farm and was exceptionally informative - we wish we could have stayed longer. The tour guide warned us that he like to talk and would have to tell him numerous times that we had to go. We learned a great deal about the cultivation of truffles, the harvesting and values. A kilogram of good black truffles sells for 800 Euros, almost $1000. He took us to his grove of trees to show how his dog "Chinook" can hunt for truffles which she found for us. "Chinook" is so valuable to his enterprise that she is not allowed across the road and has to be carried - without her he couldn't locate the truffles. We went back to the farm house where we sampled truffle butter on rounds of toasted french bread and local wine from his friend's farm. We were also able to sample saffron flan.
Oliver and Chinook finding a truffle
The bus ride back took about 1 1/2 hours and we were able to experience the very heavy traffic in and out of Lyon. Amazingly we got back just in time at 6:30.
There was a special captain's dinner. The appetizer was escargot followed by filet mignon with shrimp and salmon. Amy even tried the escargot. The dessert was "chocoholic" which included chocolate ice cream, chocolate truffle, chocolate torte and another chocolate pastry. Lots of red wine flowed. Everything was delicious.
David, Amelia, Ed, Linda, Patty (taking photo), Jim, Susanna & Peter
We went back to our room to pack although we are fortunate that our flight leaves at a reasonable hour. Some passengers had to leave at 4am.
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