Berlin, Germany!

No trip to Berlin is complete without some World War history. Here is the famous and controversial monument that is a tribute to those who suffered persecution in Nazi concentration camps. Located in the heart of downtown Berlin, this monument is a painful reminder of the history of Germany, that most Germans prefer to forget.
Another interesting monument is the "mother holding her injured child" which pays tribute to the innocent civilians and soldiers that suffered during the great World War.
Changing subjects, I became fascinated with the food of Berlin. Not to be associated with all of Germany, Berlin has its own specialities that are hard to find perfected outside of the city. The classic Weinerschnitzel can be made with pork or veal and is breaded and fried. Some restaurants proudly display the prominence of their Weinerschnitzel by actually making it larger than the plate that they serve it on!
Kebab stands are all over Europe, but the original Döner Kebab was invented in Berlin and no kebab I tried compared to these guys. Crunchy pita-style brick-oven bread with red cabbage, tomatoes, and some fricassee lettuce, and don't forget that spicy garlic sauce! Bon Appetite!
My old Toulouse roommate Peter was not only our tour guide for this leg of the trip, but he was also our Gastronomy coordinator. After wonderful dishes of Weinerschnitzel, Currywurst, or a Döner kebab, we would wash it down with an incredible Eiskaffee (ice cream coffee). Consider it to be a Root Beer Float, with Coffee substituted instead of Root Beer. Starbucks Frappacino isn't quite the same.

I miss France :(

France or USA Meat case?
France or USA Meat case?
France or USA Bakery shop?

France of USA Bakery shop? I can't complain too much cause I like the air conditioning here in America, the fact that I have a car, and that whole fiance/marriage thing is pretty cool too.

1/2 Day in Strasbourg, France!

Here is the famous Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame in Strasbourg. There is a history lesson behind it, but all I can tell you is that it was quite pretty. We only spent half the day in Strasbourg, as we headed up to Berlin, Germany on a night train.
The main highlight was our dinner at Saint Martin restaurant on the river that ran through the center of the Petite French Quarter. Look it up next time you are in Strasbourg.
Flammekueche or flambé tart. The classic dish of the region, a thin pastry covered with cream, onions and bacon pieces. Add some vegetables and you have a nice little snack.
Coquelet au Riesling et spatzel. Chicken leg and wings in a Riesling cream sauce with a side of spatzel. Spatzel is my new favorite pasta dish. It is classicly made with eggs and served with melted butter. Off to Berlin..........

Bordeaux, Wine, Dine, Festival!

We made it over to St. Emilion for our first adventure in Bordeaux.
I took in a little Sensory Science at a wine museaum. Pick that smell and guess correctly, and you get a free wine tasting. Like taking candy from a baby!
It just so happened the International Bordeaux Wine Festival was going on the same weekend we were in Bordeaux. I swear we didn't even plan it, but partake we did. Cheers!
A friend of mine from the lab in Toulouse's father owned a bakery in Bordeaux and we finally found the bakery of Didier Moreau. Thanks for the 2 free loaves of bread Mr. Moreau!
No trip to the Atlantic is complete without a little Escargot! Cook these guys in some butter and parsley and they are ready to go....................................into my stomach!

Bienvenue a America!

Viva la Tour! Stage 10: Pau-->Hautacam

After a night in Lourdes visiting my roomate Jean-Michael and family, Kristen and I headed out (6:30 a.m.) with Jean-Michael's neighbor and his buddy Dominick to take in Stage 10 of the TOUR with the summit finish of the mighty Hautacam mountain (1520 meters)! This would be the first epic stage of the Tour with a pass over the Col d'Tourmalet and then a finish on top of the Hautacam. We parked at the bottom and began the 3.5 hour walk up the mountain, fully loaded with a picnic and some fresh baguettes! Gosh, I love the French way of life.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, finally! Only 1 kilometer left to go. What a view! If you can climb up a mountain, you can do just about anything else in your life.
I finally got one of the super cool Skoda caps that I tried to get from the caravan after two days of following the TOUR. The crowd slowly made its way up the mountain througout the day and pretty soon, the crowd would swell to 1000's of people on the summit. Not to forget the tens of thousands all the way down to the bottom. Celebrity sightings included TOUR hero Miguel Indurain and once again Phil Ligget. We camped out right in front of the big screen at the 30 meter mark, had a classic French picnic with pate, jambon sandwiches, pomme frites (french fries), Tomme de Pyrenees (cheese), Bordeaux Rose and Red wine, and water from the famous grote (mountain spring) in Lourdes.
I got a cool video of Leonardo Piepoli and Jose Cobo sprinting past us for the stage victory and caught this awesome pic of American podium placer Christian Vandevelde leading the contenders to the finish line. I was never more amazed at how fast these guys go up the slopes of these mountains and am fully committed to never trying to be a professional athlete after seeing it live in person. Still wonder about those Saunier Duval guys as they got kicked out of the TOUR 3-days later for Ricardo Ricco getting busted for EPO. This drug use sure does lesson the experience as hero's in this sport are more villians than victors some times.
Kim Kirchen fought valliantly, but lost his yellow jersey and that cool painted Giant with matching bar tape. I was very sad for Frank Schleck as the results showed that he was 1 second from the yellow jersey which passed over to Cadel Evans. On the flight home, we met a CSC-Saxo Bank Team PR-representative who was riding in one of the team cars this day. He said that Frank was almost in tears as his chance to wear the Yellow jersey slipped through his fingers. He also said to watch out cause the team has some big plans set for the Alps and you are going to see CSC-Saxo Bank tear this TOUR apart in the second part of the TOUR. Can't wait to see it back in America listening to my new friends, Phil Sherwen and Paul Ligget on Versus.

Viva la Tour! Stage 8: Figeac-->Toulouse

The TOUR brought us home from our Eurpean adventure and no one was happier to be home for this experience than me! What a spectacle that can't be explained by watching Versus TV. The caravane alone was worth the 5 hour wait in the rain right on the 50 meter to the finish line.
The Arkansas flag made its way to the TOUR and got a few cheers from the locals. Frankie Andreau even waved to us after I screamed out his name and told us our flag was cool :) I realize that I am kind of a cycling stalker as I could pick out random TOUR celebrities in the crowd. The night before, we were hanging out in Place St. George in Toulouse when I looked over at a local cafe and saw Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwen finishing up a couple-seven beers and enjoying some people watching time. Then Sunday morning, I walked right past the legendary Michael "The Boogie Man" Bogard walking down the sidewalk near Capitole.Back to the TOUR, at 50 meters to the finish line, we had great seats for the action.
There goes Mark Cavendish after a perfect leadout from Gerald Ciolek for an easy victory on the boulevard Jean-Jaures.
The end would be near for Kim Kirchen, but take that yellow jersey when you can get it. Kristen and I were now off to Lourdes in the Pyrenees to watch Stage 10, with the mighty Tourmalet and the Hautacam mountain finish.

Back to America!!!

So, after Kristen came we took off on our European adventure. We started off with the Bordeaux Wine Festival, then Strasborg, France. We then jumped the border to Berlin to visit my old roommate Peter and we also stayed with his family in Sauren, Germany. From there down to Dresden, Germany for two days before crossing over to Prutz, Austria to visit the original Walnofer's. After two days, we continued down to Italy and went to Venice and Genova. Soon we were back in France to see Monti-Carlo, Monaco, and Nice, France, and Avignon, France. Back to Toulouse to see the Tour de France on the boulevard Jean Jaures, then we train hopped over to Lourdes, France to visit my other roomate Jean-Michel and caught the mountain stage of the TOUR on the famous Hautacam climb (Congrats Piepoli!). After 25 kilometers of mountain climbing and descending (by foot), and the coolest experience of my cycling life, we returned to pack our bags in Toulouse. See everybody back in Arkansas at 7:35pm on Wednesday! The France adventure is over, but the new America adventures await. Come back and read all the updates on Europe soon! Au revoir France, Bienvenue America!

I Have a Visitor!!!!

The 1992 Peugot 106 rolled up to the Blagnac airport to pick up my first visitor to France from America. Big thanks go out to Kerry for providing the chariot to pick up visitor.Who wouldn't want to see this guy waiting for them at the airport after 23 hours of travel from Arkansas to Toulouse. It's true, I Heart Kristen Jessup.
But, let it be known that I Heart Kristen Jessup even more in person! I enjoyed our 4 month relationship on SKYPE, but I never want to talk to my fiance through a web camera ever again! Let the adventures in France begin!

Fete de Music.....Last Bike Race!

This weekend was a crazy time in Toulouse. The annual Fete de Music was on Saturday night. This event is similar to Mardi Gras, but the entire city of 600,000 people is shut down for the 1 million or so people that come into the city from all parts of Europe. I couldn't capture much as I was just trying not to get trampled by the crowd and enjoying the tunes. It was pretty much like being in a radio and every 50 meters or so, a new station would come on and you would hear some new music. Drumline, punk rock band, piano, Beatles tribute band, the Fete had everything. This pic is from the river and it only tells a little bit of the story.
I didn't get to sleep in to late after the Fete and headed out to Fonsorbes for my last bike race in France. I finally have been getting some consistent riding in and maybe even got rid of a kilo or two of all that beautiful cheese and foie gras that I have been consuming. Mapei guy and I made a 15 man breakaway and eventually broke away in the end to 2-man TT it to the finish. The weather was a balmy 90 degrees and these French guys were dropping left and right. Luckily, I am a fan of those Arkansas summers and enjoyed the salt-caking dehydrating experience more than some. But, alas, the Mapei guy dusted me in the uphill sprint and I settled for another 2nd place in France. No flowers for me, but another trophy and a box of groceries. Maybe next trip to France.......

Merci Beaucoup!

This Thursday, I threw a little "Merci Beaucoup" cocktail lunch for all the participants of my consumer wine testing. Thierry brought the goodies of foie gras de canard and de goose as well as the baguettes. I supplied the non-cork tainted wine from my testing. These wines were typical of the Gaillac region and included two Whites (Sauvignon Blanc, French Colombard), a Red (Fer Servadou), and a Rosé (Cinsaut) snuck in there for good measure.
To my surprise, Thierry gave me a going-away gift. My own personalized bottle of wine. Cuvee de stage translates to "Internship of 2008". LCA stands for laboratory chemistry-agriculture.
On the flip-side, the real label shows a 2000 Buzet (Merlot, Cab Sauv., Cab. Franc), another wine growing region near Toulouse. Not every good wine is made in Bordeaux, Burgandy, or the Coté de Rhone :)
Also on the gift list was this Wine Encyclopedia CD-Rom. In French none-the-less, which only makes it more sentimental. It won't hurt to brush up on my French back in America, even if it is only wine terminology!

Manade Tournebelle!

So Madame and I had scheduled a trip with her Lyon's Club a couple months ago to visit the famous fighting bull area near Narbonne. This part of France is world-famous for providing the fighting bulls for bull fights in both Spain and France. I keep forgeting that Madame's friends are all 80 years old or older and the collective age for the bus for this trip was calculated to be near 3,760 years if you included the 53 year old bus driver (Yes, I asked!).
From Toulouse to Narbonne by bus, then from Narbonne to the fighting bull farm by boat on the Canal du Midi. Notice how the silver-hair shines in the French sunlight Notice how it is 80 degrees, but the pull-over sweaters are out in full force. I love old people! The canal was a great way to see the beautiful landscape of this region, and a welcome day of relaxation away from Toulouse.
This guy hopes to be lucky enough to gore a matador someday.....................................
...........................his friend was unlucky, as I gorged myself on this Gardianne de Taureau (local bull meat marinated and cooked in wine slowly for 2 days with a secret sauce of chocolat and herbs). Throw in some pomme de terre (potato wedges) dusted with paprika and you have an excellent "Cowboy Lunch."
Don't forget it is Narbonne and we are right on the Mediterranean sea. Here are some moules a la tole. Mussels roasted and served with garlic, oil, and parsley. Throw in a little local Minervois rosé and vin rouge and you have a country-style dejuner that I will not forget for a long time.

Specialties of the French Alps!

My time was short in Grenoble so I only had a brief chance to enjoy the cuisine of the French Alps. To celebrate Father's Day, I decided to go with the grilled steak option on the plat du jour at a local brassiere. Filet entrocote avec marinade de vin (sirloin with a wine marinade) and riz (rice). Accompanied with a Mondeuse Savoie. No big California Cabernet was available on the Carte de vin verre (wine by the glass menu). Not really a French lunch, but I was about to pass out as nothing was open on Father's Day Sunday.
This salad tops the Lyonnaise salad back in Lyon as my new favorite! Ravioles en Salade. Ravioles al dente with herbs, fromage de Comte, mixed green lettuce, and aioli vinagarette. Incredible. Best salad yet in France. Grenoble has a huge Italian influence and pasta's and ravioli's are as much a part of the French Alps as they are in Italy.
Gratin de Crozets aux Diots. Small pasta's broiled in cheese, milk, and cream with pork sausage cooked in wine. Think gourmet mac&cheese with sausages! I walked about 30 miles and still gained weight eating this! A very nice Jongieux Gamay de Savoie helped wipe the fat off my tongue in between bites. This cuisine is famous for feeding the locals, who fight the brutal winters of the Alps. Fondue is world famous here, but a minimum of two people must order it as it takes a lot of expensive cheese to make that melted goodness. Maybe I will have a travel partner soon and we can enjoy that experience together!
My camera is never good at taking dessert pictures because I either show off the beautiful, fresh chantilly without the flash (whipped cream), or show of the lucious chocolate tarte with a bright white halo over its crust. Dessert des peres Chartreux. Tarte chocolat, glace chartreuse, and liqueur de chartreuse with chantilly. Chartreuse is an herb-spiced based liqueur made by Chartreuse Monks in the Savoie. Taste and looks like poison Gatorade, but then again it is a digestif! Thanks go out to Les 2 Savoie for preparing all this food so fast so I could take a memory home with me before my train left in 45 minutes. Luckily it was an overnight train and I slept like a baby after this gourmand meal!

Criterium Dauphine Libere in Grenoble!

On Sunday, I caught the morning train from Montpellier to Grenoble with intentions of marking another French city off my list and checking out a Pro Tour race, finally!!! I spent Father's Day (Happy Father's Day dad by the way) roaming around the city and then heading over to Boulevard Jean Pain to see the final stage of the Criterium Dauphine Libere. The finish line had a big screen TV set up showing the coverage of the race as it made its way from the Alps mountains down to the sprint finish in Grenoble. I had to punch three old ladies in the face, kick two handicap kids, and give away my Credit Agricole free cap to a homeless man just to get a good spot on the railing at the finish line. And they say the French don't love their cycling anymore.
After the podium presentation for the UCI Pro Tour, Cadel came over to say "Good Day Mate." I don't know if he came over to talk to me or this bimbo mom & daughter pair that had bleach blonde hair, a cake make-up job, and Aussie accents. Anyway, I took the opportunity to snap a close-up pic and move on to the next spandex-clad superstar. Luckily Cadel pedaled away from Medusa and her daughter before he failed a doping control from all their Chenal No. 5 and hairspray.
Levi "I might be a Child-Stalker" Leipheimer was next on the list. Maybe it was a bad timing, but this might be the scariest picture post race ever. This American girl and her French boyfriend had made some cookies or something to give to Levi for Father's Day (he has two dogs but no children), but he shot them down, but I am pretty sure I would have too. Well, I really wanted a cookie, but I wasn't a father so I didn't ask.
Former French cycling superstar, 7-time Tour de France King of the Mountains Jersey Winner, now turned TV Analyst, Richard Verenque and his lovely former model wife just walked right through the crowd. I don't think many people recognize Richard, as he is no longer his gangly, 124 pound frame from back in the glory days.
Last on the list was the traveling Girona road show. This tight little sporty hatchback (Saab maybe) was owned by none other than George Hincapie and he was jetting back home to Girona, Spain with his Team High Road teammates Craig Lewis, Michael Barry, and an unidentified rider in the back seat (maybe Michael Rogers???). George loves Fanta and all Fanta sponsorships can be directed to georgehincapie.com . Happy Father's Day George and all the Father's including mine back in Arkansas. For my first Father's Day, I would like George's watch.