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| Cognac, France |
Our second day in La Rochelle took us to Cognac. I know, I thought Cognac was a beverage. Well, it is, but it is also a town in France. Before our coach took us to Cognac, we got a bus tour of La Rochelle. It is a nice small French port. The highlight was the German U-boat pens, which were used in the movie Das Boot and Raiders of the Lost Ark. The rest of the group had been to Normandy and we had been through areas like La Havre that had been extremely damaged in WWII, but this was one of the first remnants from World War II that Lisa and I had seen on the trip. It was actually a little spooky. La Rochelle is another historic city. We drove by the picturesque Harbor Towers, which were constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries. They were pretty impressive.
From La Rochelle, it was a little over an hour to Cognac. When we got there, it was a little before lunch time so we walked around the town a bit. Justin and I found a tobacco shop and we bought a few Cuban cigars. We continued on, and guess what Lisa found? A fabric shop, of course. We travel all the way to Cognac, and they have a fabric store. She found some that she wanted and then waited to pay. I waited outside and it took a long time. She finally came out and said that the lady ahead of her was just chatting with the store clerk and they were in no hurry to check out. No sooner than Lisa walked out of the store, they closed. All of the shops around us closed. we checked the time and of course, it was noon. The French are serious about their break times. Most shops were closed from noon to 2:00 for lunch. We found a spot to eat that was nice. We got to sit outside and enjoy the mild, clear weather. Most of us got sandwiches, but I decided to get foie gras. When in Rome, right? Well, it was extremely rich, creamy and slightly warm with a ring of fat or something around it. I am generally a fan of foie gras but this I did not like. It actually upset my stomach. Everyone else enjoyed their lunches. This was also the lunch that I was reminded of the kleptos that I travel with. Two members of our group snatched wine/beer glasses from the restaurant. The glasses were really cool because they had the name of the restaurant on them.
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| Streets of Cognac |
After lunch, we were on to a cognac tasting. Our tour and tasting was at one of the most well-known producers of Cognac, Hennessy. The facility was on the river and we got to take a boat ride around the river and across to the storage facilities where they had a very interactive tour. Several people in our group mentioned how it was like Disney World with alcohol. They showed us where the grapes come from and how they make cognac, which is a distilled wine (I didn't know that before). As most of you know, I really enjoy wine and I have been known to drink a few distilled beverages as well. At the end of the tour, we got a tasting of Hennessy. I found that I do not like cognac. Wow, that is some strong stuff. They had different levels of tastings depending on the quality of cognac you wanted to taste. Well, Lisa and I got the base level tasting, which was the entry level cognac. Lisa couldn't drink it. I barely did. Justin got the step up, which was older cognac. It was better, but to buy a bottle was very expensive and I didn't like it enough to consider buying any.
Back to the tour, the grapes are actually from the Champagne, which is close to the town of Cognac. This is the same region where Champagne sparkling wine is made. As we went on the tour, we got to an area where they had vintage barrels of Hennessy. They had barrels that were over 100 years old. The oldest barrel was from 1800. The barrels were very interesting because over the years they had to add metal hoops to keep them sealed. Overall, Hennessy was very interesting, but I did not enjoy the product as much as other places on the trip.
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| Really old barrels of Cognac |
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| This barrel is almost as old as the USA |
After Cognac, we headed back to the ship. We left the port at 6:00pm and Lisa, Justin and I had reservations at one of the specialty restaurants on the cruise ship, Qsine. This was a quirky modern restaurant, very different from the more traditional main dining room. There was an extra charge, but it was well worth it. When you walk in, there are lamps on the ceiling that are hanging upside down. They served wine glasses that depending on the amount of wine in the glass, it was stand up on its side. The menu was all on iPads, and you could order as much as you wanted (so we did). The waiter, who was awesome, walked us through the menu and directed us to start with 5-6 and see how it goes. The menu items were different takes on common items. For instance, we got Sushi Lollipops. They were just sushi rolls on lollipop sticks stuck into a tray so they were displayed in a playful manner. The other items we ordered were: Treseviche, 3 types of ceviche; Meat Ball Trilogy, 3 kinds of meatballs; "Popcorn" Fish N Chips, Lava Crab, and Lobster Escargot. Our favorites were the ceviches, lobster escargot and the Lava Crab. The Lava Crab was one of the most interesting things I have eaten. It looked like a birds nest and there were 2 of them. When you cut into it, it was like a bread bowl with a creamy crab sauce inside. They were awesome, but very rich. After eating those 5 items, we were stuffed. Then we had dessert. We got the Chocolate Tombstone, which was all kinds of chocolate items. It was very good as well. Then when we thought we were done, they brought out chocolate ganache balls that we got to pick one. Now we were really full. It was a great meal, and we almost did it a second time, but it never worked out. I think it was actually the best meal on the ship. After our report back, several people in our group tried it later in the trip and also enjoyed it.
Next stop: Bilbao, Spain.......
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