The good news: we arrived in Châteauneuf-du-Pape with half an hour to spare before the world cup semi-final between England and Croatia began. The bad news was that our chambre d’hôte at La Pergola was inaccessible  - totally barricaded within a building site in the centre of the busy little town. But as our hostess … Continue reading Châteauneuf-du-Pape : July 2018

Monday morning, after a stunning breakfast - the fig and orange jams replacing the jam trap as the wasps’ preferred destination - we had time to explore the steep slopes of the Côte Rôtie on the back roads between Condrieu and Ampuis followed by a stroll down to the river and the local landing stage … Continue reading The Northern Rhône: July 2018

We left Burgundy via the now very familiar and wonderful D974 - la route des grands crus - and onto the D981,  studiously avoiding all signs to the motorway and la route de soleil, remaining steadfastly on the right bank of first the Saône and ultimately the Rhône, as the valley widens and the Côte … Continue reading Via Beaujolais to Condrieu in Northern Rhône : July 2018