The French “Cheese and Wine Party” 2022
(la fête du fromage et du vin français)
Welcome to another motoring adventure with the 200BHP crew. This year, post Covid, we are out of the UK and off to France staying in some nice hotels all which are very different from each other.
The theme of course is “Cheese and Wine” – We will be visiting some of the well-known wine regions, experience tastings and good hospitality along the way but most importantly great company. The journey will include Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, Rhone Valley, Bordeaux and Loire Valley.
France is a huge country and we will be circumnavigating most of it but with a quick deviation off to Andorra just for “Shits and Giggles” as it’s not somewhere you would normally visit.
It also adds another country to our clubs list.
- 3 Countries
- 10 Days
- 2,035 Miles
- 8 Hotels
- God Knows how much Fuel !!
- God knows how much wine !!
Day 1: Friday 16th September
We all meet for the first time at the “Rose and Crown” – High Street, Elham, Kent, CT4 6TD
https://www.roseandcrownelham.com/ – Travel times can vary from home to here. We are booked into the restaurant at 8pm. Menu here – https://www.roseandcrownelham.com/copy-of-menu
Day 2: Saturday 17th September
We set off for the Eurotunnel and need to arrive at 8.00am – Travel time between Rose and Crown and the terminal is about 15 mins.
We are booked on the 09.36 Train arriving in Calais at 11.11am. (clocks forward an hour)
On arriving in France we will head south east A16 then A25 towards The Mormal Forest where we will stop for lunch at the Auberge Du Cuckoo – A real Partisan establishment and a basic menu to match.
The route shows a stop at Dyneff Aire which is a service station. This is hour drive from Calais and its one of our RVP’s should we get split once exiting the Eurotunnel. Total time to the restaurant is about 2.5hrs
After lunch we will head off towards Chalons en Champagne which is around 2.5hrs drive heading for the Hotel “Le Renard” in the town centre. We have arranged underground parking for the cars.
We will stay here for one night and we are booked into a local “Indian” Restaurant it will be interesting to compare…. http://www.namaste-indien.fr/carte.html
Day 3: Sunday 18th September
After an unrushed start and breakfast somewhere in the square we will be heading off towards the Alsace region and Ribeauville in particular. The run is only about 3.5hrs so we can take our time and stop off for a lazy lunch on the way.
We do have the first of our wine tastings in Ribeauville which will be at 4.30pm at Cave de Ribeauville after we have dumped bags etc in our rooms. Its free of charge and lasts a couple of hours. Parking is to the rear of the hotel.
Rooms: Here we are staying at Hotel de la Tour, 1 Town Hall Street, 68150, Ribeauville. https://www.hotel-la-tour.com/en/hotel-de-la-tour
Our evening meal will be at the restaurant “Cheval Noir” which has a good selection of “Alsatian” dishes and wines. – Sit down at 8.00pm. https://cheval-noir-ribeauville.fr/
Day 4: Monday 19th September
This is the first day where we have quite a bit of driving to do. 5.5hrs min not including stops so we will hit he motorways in order to get down to the Rhone Valley. The suggestion is to stick to service station sandwiches etc as we have a nice meal booked in our hotel restaurant this evening.
We are staying at the Hotel Restaurant La Treille Muscate, The Village, 26270 Cliousclat
A small hotel in a small village with very narrow streets.. Should be fun. –
The restaurant here has a mention in the Michelin guide although it does not hold a star and so I expect the food to be good. As we are in the Rhone Valley the wines should be equally as good. Prices in the restaurant look good with a choice of menus up to 43.00 per head.
Parking is away from the street and secured.
Day 5: Tuesday 20th September
The second of our long drives (5.5 to 6.00 hrs) starts as we head off South towards Montpellier and then on towards the Pyrenees of Andorra driving through the Languedoc-Roussillon region. The latter part of the drive is a steady climb into the mountains – There is a border control between France and Andorra but I am told it’s a quick and easy passage.
We will be staying in a Ski Hotel called the Grau Roig Hotel and Spa. We have chosen all the same rooms which are well appointed and have balcony and own jacuzzi, minibar and hi speed wi-fi.
There is a choice of restaurants in the hotel the” Marmita” restaurant which has an extensive choice from fish to beef, lamb, venison, pork etc..,The menu looks very good indeed !! . The other restaurant concentrates on cheese – The Fromagerie – Which does an amazing raclette with traditional salted meats and potatoes and fondue. An alternative to the main stream and set at 30 Euro per head. We can discuss this prior to arrival once we have had a chance to look at the menus. The hotel has an extensive wine stock.
Breakfast is included here.
Day 6: Wednesday 21st September
Hey guess what!! France is quite a big place and so we are on the road quite a bit today heading for one of the more famous wine regions – Bordeaux – We will be staying in the ancient town of Saint Emilion – World famous for its fine wines and history. To get there we will stick to the east of the extensive wild fires areas which they have suffered in recent weeks.
In relation to lunch we may choose to use an Aire for fuel and a sandwich in order to get the miles under our belt. The incentive is that we will be stopping for two days in Saint Emilion so we can relax and enjoy all it has to offer.
We are staying right in the heart of the town in a hotel called “Auberge De La Commanderie” a bijou hotel which is really just a residence we will be using the bars and restaurants elsewhere in the town. By the time we arrive we will have a restaurant booked for the evening – There are so many to choose from and all within walking distance. We will grab breakfast at a local café to get us going on both days as breakfast is not included in the room rate.
Day 7 – Thursday 22nd September – NON DRIVING DAY !!!!!!!
Today we are staying again in Saint Emilion and we will be visiting a vineyard or two during the day to sample their wares and finest Cru’s. We hope the weather is good – well at least dry as it will make all the difference to the days experience. In any case it may pay to bring along the “Team” jackets just in case. There are limited taxi services in this part of the world so they will be booked in advance. The afternoon trip at 2.00pm will involve an off road tour on “Segways” for a bit of fun.
It will be a great day and we can put our feet up later that day / evening with another trip to a local bistro to discuss our findings.
Day 8: Friday 23rd September
Today we are off to the Château of Chissay lies in the heart of a unique terroir, the Valley of the Loire, listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 30 November 2000. This hotel has some very obscure rooms and in what seems to be a “Thing” in the Loire valley – Troglodyte rooms too set in cave like openings. Some drivers have paid extra for these odd rooms and you can see why.
We are booked into their restaurant that evening. The menu currently is a little confusing so hopefully we can work it out on the day … It looks good whatever you choose…
Journey time to the Chateau is just a shade under 4 hours. No lunch stop planned as yet. We may want to get to the Chateau earlyish to make use of the pool (Bring yer trunks) – Hope its warm !!
Day 9: Saturday 24th September
The last whole day sees us off to Le Mans – The famous motorsport hub in this region of France. We will have a visit to the 24Hours of Le Mans Museum followed by a spot of lunch depending on the time as do many places close for lunch mid-afternoon ??? – before heading South West to our final hotel on this trip the “Hotel De France” – The draw to get to the hotel and chill for the day is high..
While we are here, we may as well have a drive along a couple of the 24Hr race roads. We will do Mulsanne Straight, Indianapolis Straight and Arnage. Why not !!
This Hotel is steeped in automotive racing history and so was chosen to finish our 2022 road trip.
It has been home to Aston Martin’s 24hr Le Mans Racing Team and has housed many racing drivers over the years and in 1959 the Aston Martin team prepared their cars here before winning the race. Parking will be in front of the hotel. The locals are very respectful of performance cars and are used to all sorts visiting this special little hotel.
Day 10: Sunday 25th September
The long drag back home. This is a 5-hour hit heading north to Calais. We will make a decision as to where to stop on the morning before we leave. We need to arrive in the Eurotunnel Terminal between 4.45pm and 5.45pm so we do have some give but not too much.
If we get the correct train then we will arrive back in Blighty around 6.25pm – then off to final debrief at the Clubhouse.
This is going to be a great little trip !! – Bon Jour – Chef Rouge
Pics from the Tour
