Michel arrived on Friday evening and joined a meeting in progress at the Tavern about the September Chefs on Stage event with Jana King and Co. There's a lot happening before that, s.v.p.!
We had a fun weekend, with Michel elbow deep in open heart surgery on my home computer. We so appreciate Dr. Fraisse! He put all the bits and pieces back in working order after our trip to Best Buy--where we DIDN'T spend $2000 on a new internet TV option. He and John did their usual shopping trip to the Nittany Mall (John and I have never gone to the Nittany Mall together) and afterwards we checked out Cafe Lemont to caf up a bit for our power meeting. Mssr. Fraisse recommended a change of itinerary for our first day together in Beaujolais, which makes a lot of sense. Rather than head off to the banquet in Fleurie with another several hundred people, we will enter the zone from the heart, in Brouilly, at St. Lager, Nathalie's village and spend some time there getting acclimated at the Espace de Brouilly, a community wine center that features the cru nearest and dearest to our hearts--Brouilly! Maybe we can rendezvous with Nathalie's parents--Denise and Raymond Longefay--and with Herve and Alex if they are available that day.We'll have dinner at a restaurant in the village, starting with the iconic frogs legs for those brave enough to try them.
It will be an early night, because the next day we will head up to Fleurie for the festivities, with an early departure--for those interested--to the 9 am mass with the bishop. The Fete du Crus goes on all day and we will have our conversation partners with us--Barbara Lange's friend Brigitte's English class of 8 or 10 Anglophiles (Amer-phjiles?) who will accompany us for conversation and international understanding at the festival.
We have folks arriving over a span of several days, ranging from May 4th to the 6th. We will be staying at the La Campanile (Ghislaine will check on getting us the rooms there) next to the train station at Part Dieu, so it will be easy to get a train from the airport right to the hotel. TRAVEL LIGHT! is the mantra. On Saturday we will rent two vans right there at the Part Dieu and John and I will drive the 12 of us to Cogny around noon.
Our week in Cogny and environs is still to be determined. Nathalie and Ghislaine plan on doing some legwork in a couple of weeks to determine what is possible and what is not to be missed and to determine driving times. All will be revealed in due time. For now, practice your French and read up on Lyon so you know what you want to do there. The visit to the hammam spa on Friday is still in the works for interested girls on Friday. Menfolk, you will be on your own during that time. Les Halles is a must do, also the hike to the basilica. Otherwise, we are going to hang loose and see what happens. It is the gastronomic capital of France. We will not starve.
Au revoir! Working on an Excel spread sheet of arrivals and departures. Un moment!
