Dieppe and Portsmouth

Last month we had two short breaks in one. For her 80th birthday the family gave Hubby's mum a luxury hotel break in Brighton so we drove her and her partner down, before driving on to Newhaven where we caught DFDS' Seven Sisters ferry to Dieppe.

We haven't travelled this route or with this company for many years; a very good crossing on a very nice ship. As the crossing was just four hours we didn't book a cabin but spent nearly an hour watching the white cliffs disappear before enjoying fish and chips in the restaurant. Before we knew it we could see Dieppe; it is certainly a skill to get the ship in the small port and turn it round before docking.

On board the Seven Sister's with a lovely glass
of my favourite wine Sancerre. 

The Seven Sisters 

It was dark by the time we arrived in Dieppe but the sat nav easily found our hotel. We like Accor Hotels and had chosen to stay in their Ibis as not only do we like this chain but it was in walking distance of our favourite restaurant - Flunch.

Thursday morning we were up fairly early and off to Auchan. One of France's largest supermarkets we enjoy shopping for many food/wine items to bring home. But first was breakfast in one of the bar/cafe's just inside the shopping complex.

It was lovely to wander round looking at the many promotions and french goods we love, especially as we were not doing a holiday food shop and trying to plan meals as we do in the summer. Our trolley had quite a variety of goods; wine (of course), beer, sirops (cordials), hand wash, toothpaste, vanilla sugar, biscuits, sweets - all the good things.

We have travelled through Dieppe in the past but never stayed to look around - in fact neither of us had realised their was a castle. We drove and parked just above it and wandered along expecting to pay to enter but to look around was free, payment was just for the museum which we didn't visit. The views were amazing, looking right across the town and watching the other DFDS ship set sail for England.

Dieppe Castle

A double drawbridge

Cannons and firing holes

Beautiful turrets

Inside the grounds

View across Dieppe

DFDS ferry sailing back to England 

After visiting the castle we moved the car into the town centre and enjoyed a lovely lunch at one of the harbourside cafes - although I wasn't impressed when the waiter tried to tell me their Sancerre was a very good pinot grigio !!!

The town itself had a couple of pedestrian streets with a mix of buildings - we found a Leffe bar which had we seen earlier would have been our lunch stop. The church in the centre made me feel quite sad - it was in such poor state of repair. Inside the once beautiful painted walls were covered in damp and beginning to crumble, as was the roof, so badly that across the nave was a large net to catch falling masonry. The carving had weathered to be unrecognisable - it will cost a lot of euros to repair and renovate this ancient building.

Leffe Bar

After enjoying an early evening drink on our hotel's patio we strolled back to the Auchan shopping cntre for dinner at Flunch. It's a well known chain restaurant where you choose your starter, dessert and any drinks at the self service area before going to the check out.

The cashier gives you a voucher for your chosen main meal and after settling at your table you take the voucher to the grill area where your meat is cooked just for you. You can then help yourself to an array of hot vegetables, chips, rice, pasta or potatoes.

To my delight is was 'moules a la volonte' which means I had a bowl of mussels and once eaten returned to the grill with my bowl of empty shells for it to be refilled ! You can do this as often as you like - some people went up three or four times. Of course you can also have as many chips or other hot veg as you like as with the other meats !

My amazing dessert at Flunch 

Friday was our return day to England - another good crossing on Seven Sisters which didn't seem like 4 hours at all. Arriving in Newhaven we drove along the coast to Brighton to meet Nick's Mum and partner before continuing our journey together to Portsmouth.

Unusually for us we stayed in a guest house as opposed to a hotel chain. The journey took quite a while due to Friday night traffic and many roundabouts on the A27. Our host was there to greet us although she doesn't live in the guest house. Our rooms were very spacious and nicely decorated.

After a little stroll round and a glass of wine at a water side pub to watch the Wright Link and Brittany Ferries sailing in and our of port we returned to the guest house to share a bottle of red wine from France. It was a very cosy lounge where we could see the ferries from the window.

Relaxing in the cosy guest house lounge 

Brittany Ferries Normandie - my favourite boat that we
sail to France on each summer - lovely to see her at night

Saturday we took Nick's mum and partner up the Spinnaker Tower - wow what a view. The had recently been on holiday to the Isle of Wight, sailing from Portsmouth so it was nice to see the island and the ferries making the crossing. I was very pleased to see one of the Wright Link ferries is called St Clare (correct spelling).

Stunning view from the Spinnaker Tower

Family photo up high

Busy port traffic 

Looking inland

The Spinnaker Tower

We had a great day around Portsmouth, taking a bus to Southsea and watching the Hovercraftgunwharf arrive from The Isle of Wight. Of course we got covered in sand when she left again. Southsea pier had the usual attraction, it would have been rude not to have an ice cream, complete with flake.

Saturday night we returned to Gunwharf Quays for dinner although I thought I was back in Dieppe as we dined in Cafe Rouge and I had mussels ! Portsmouth is a lovely place to stay, so much to see whatever your interests.

The breakfast in our guest house was lovely, a great start to Sunday as before travelling home we visited Porchester Castle. It was lovely walking along the shore in the early morning looking back across to Portsmouth.

Looking back to Portsmouth

Porchester Castle

Quite a busy few days with such variety, it was lovely to pop over to France and equally as nice to spend a few more days in our favourite UK port. Next week we're off to Turkey - winter sun, perfect!

A week in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Our second week in France back in June was less travelling as we stayed in a lovely house in Les Salles sur Verdon in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region. Les Salles is a small village above the Lac de Sainte-Croix.

The Lac is an artificial lake constructed 1971-1974 with a barrage supplying electricity for EDF. The original village of Les Salles in now under water, the village today was reconstructed when the Lac was built. It sits above the Lac which meant quite a steep walk down to the beach, although if you were camping or motor-homing there are plenty of pitches lakeside.

The views across the Lac were stunning, such a glorious blue, with, as you can see, great beaches.

Stunning colours 

Provencal rooftops - stunning colours 

Glorious setting

I could have stayed all day 

Our reason for staying in this area of France was to see the Gorge de Verdon - Europe's equivalent of the Grand Canyon. It was amazing, so many twists and turns, spectacular views, sheer drops, being on top of the world, and looking down on flying eagles !

So steep !

Sheer drop cliffs

One of the many tunnels cut through the edge of the rocks

The holes in the rock is the tunnel above - taken in the afternoon when
we traveled up the opposite side of the gorge. 

We traveled the road in the distance in the morning going down the gorge.

On top of the world 

Above the eagles 

It really was an amazing drive, hard not to keep stopping to take in all the views even with plenty of pull ins. The drive took a whole day and really we could have taken longer. If touring rather than being based in one place it would be good to do one side one day, stay over and do the return side the following.

As well as the gorge we visited some really beautiful Provencal villages, always build on hills, always with houses tightly packed together to provide shade and always with terracotta roofs.

Traditional lavoir

Beautiful Provencal

Refreshment time !

Winding lanes

Unusual door 

Provence is famous for rose wine and lavender; we didn't really try much wine - well rose wine haha, but we did find the lavender fields. They were stunning, amazing colours against the rocks and bright blue sky. I was very surprised at the noise of the bees, they were not flying around but busy collecting pollen, constant buzzing.

Provencal lavender

Such contrasting colours 

Our final trip whilst in Les Salles was again down the Gorge de Verdon. This time on a pedalo. We thought about the electric boats, especially as it was 32 degrees, but they all had canopies which would limit the view upwards. We also thought about the canoes but everytime we try one we just go round in circles, steering is not a skill we have on water.

So pedalo it was, and hard work it was, and hot it was, but oh so so worth it - stunning!

Good job I took this at the start - we look quite cool and fresh 

Under the bridge and into the beautiful gorge

So blue, such rock formations

Waterfalls

One of the most beautiful, tranquil places I've been

We had a great week, very different to our first week of travelling, a good chance to relax. It's nice too to cook for ourselves as I love shopping in the french supermarkets and cooking french style.

Eighteen days travelling through my favourite country doing and seeing so many different things, it was a holiday to remember, here's to the next one !

New wines for Scouts

Last Saturday Hubby and I hosted another wine tasting for the leaders at Scouts - it's a small but popular event. The wines this time were all (but one) from Asda with a budget of around £4.50 - £6.00.

All the wines this time had an element of newness about them, either the grape or the country. As always some wines were preferred to others and some wines had a limited appreciation but it was another great night.

We started the evening with a Spanish aperitif wine - La Gitana Manzanilla, a crisp dry fresh wine best served chilled. We did pop it in the freezer as it seemed to need to be ice cold - a little like dry sherry and was best when paired with olives and cured ham. This was on offer in Sainsbury's at £4.50, it's usual price is around £10.


Staying in Spain our next wine was a new experience for everyone - Espatero Rioja Rose.

I'm not a fan of either Rioja wine or rose wine so I approached this with caution. The label did not give detail of the actual grapes but I did not pick up on any tempranillo, the usual Rioja grape and as it was full of cherries and strawberries it could have been granacha based.

It was quite a pleasant wine which would be great in the summer in the garden - good price too at £4.48 (Asda)


Our first two white wines were from opposite sides of the world - Germany and Australia. The first being Winemakers Choice Piesporter Michelsberg and the second Wolf Blass Chardonnay Semillon.

Those of a certain age will remember drinking German wine in the 1980s as that was the mainly all that was available. It did bring back a few memories and laughs with it's slightly sweet apricot taste. A good light wine at a great price £4.20 (Asda).

Wolf Blass has German connections as it was Wolfgang Blass that took his German vines to Australia in 1966. The chardonnay semillon blend was the new element of this wine as most had previously tried just chardonnay. A lovely fresh  wine with a slight creaminess, a palate of citrus and peach with a lovely smooth finish- £5.00 at Asda.

Back to Spain and a white wine I did enjoy when we holidayed there a few years ago - Palacio de Vivero Rueda. A nice crisp citrusy wine that is comparable with sauvignon blanc with it's touch of acidity and dry finish. This was a great priced wine £4.25 (Asda)

A complete new experience for all next with Asda's Wine Atlas Feteasca Regala from Romania (£4.00). This wine was full of tropical fruit and whilst a little light on it's own it matched perfectly with Castello pineapple halo cheese - an amazing pairing.

Our last two whites were again from opposite sides of the world: Asda's Wine Atlas Cotes de Thau (£4.97) and Kiwi Cove Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

The Cotes de Thau is an inland lake in southern France, separated from the Mediterranean by a thin strip of land and is where mussels and oysters are farmed. This wine with it's crisp zestiness it perfect with any seafood dish.

The New Zealand sauvignon blanc was donated by two of our members in celebration of the arrival of their second grand-daughter Daisy.

In the higher price band (£7.50 Asda) this was noticeable a better wine than the other whites tasted. It had the usual strong nose of kiwi and gooseberry which continued on the palate.

It's finish could have been a little longer but all told a good wine from the New World.

Our buffet was mainly cheese and biscuits: blue cheese, soft cheese, brie, cheddar all good with any of our whites. I made a potato pie to which I'm pleased to say turned out ok - I used to bake this years ago and couldn't find my recipe so I guessed it !!


After our buffet it was time for our red wines starting with one I took the tiniest sip of as it was Don Pelayo Tempranillo Garnacha which although not from Rioja was a Spanish tempranillo; try as I do I cannot get on with this grape.

A good price at £4.37 (Asda) this medium bodied wine was full of blackberries with a touch of liquorice and vanilla. Hubby quite enjoyed this as he is finding a liking for Spanish wine.


Sangiovese is usually from Italy but this bottle was from Chile. Mayu Sangiovese was a lighter wine than our first red with lovely dark cherries and a hint of vanilla.

This actually improved as the evening progressed and I think maybe a wine that is best opened a day before drinking. A little expensive in relation to the others £5.38 (Asda).



Moving to Italy our next wine was a blend of two grapes we all know quite well; Shiraz (or syrah) and Cabernet. Its new element was being from Italy. The nose of this wine was lovely, full of dark fruit and a peppery note but not really one I enjoyed and it definitely needed a food pairing. Not a bad price at £4.00 (Asda) and would be great with a rich Sunday roast dinner.

Back to Asda's Wine Atlas range for our fourth red; Carmenere. I really like this grape and this wine from Chile was full bodied with plenty of dark fruit and spice. At £4.97 I would add this to my rack but again let it breathe for a good few hours before drinking and accompany it with a hearty meat dinner.

Last two reds - in fact last two wines of the evening - Asda's Wine Atlas Cotes de Rousillon (£5.47).

Another wine from the south of France with plenty of rich fruits, this wine had a really smooth finish with its full bodiness giving a great length. This, and our final red, were the two favourites of the evening with our red wine drinkers.

Our final wine was donated by Hubby and me and was a bottle from our holiday in France this June.

We were so close to Mont Ventoux on the edge of the Cotes de Rhone region, but not near enough to visit. Mont Ventoux seemed to be towering above the skyline everywhere we travelled and even at home it played a part, making an appearance in the Tour de France. We'll definitely be visiting this great mountain next year but I will not be cycling or running up it (great work Chris Frome).

So the wine - Expert Club Ventoux purchased for around 4 euros. Very dark in colour, full of fruit, hints of spice, smooth yet full bodied with a great finish - my favourite red.

With the last three reds we tried chorizo, dark chocolate and strong cheddar cheese. Quite a mixed reaction but general opinion was the chocolate went really well with the Cotes de Rousillon, the cheddar with all three but the chorizo with the Carmenere just made us breathe like dragons - so firey. It's always fun to try a variety of foods with the wines.

It was another great night, lots of new wines for us to try. Our next wine tasting evening will be at the end of November and as with previous years will be slightly more expensive wines with the coming festivities in mind. That said we've decided to do a sharing buffet so I can spend the whole ticket price on wine !!