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My train ride on the TGV from Brussels to Paris CDG Airport, whizzing through the rolling hills and verdant countryside of France at 320+ mph, was most enjoyable as was my flight home on Qatar Airlines A380-800 Airbus with its impeccable service. When I fly to Asia I can handle the 7/8 hour flight in Economy OK, but the long haul to Europe is hard slog so I head for the pointy end of the plane. After I was ensconced in my seat the Maître D introduced himself and explained the set-up. One has a gourmet menu to choose from along with an excellent international wine list and can choose anything in any order day or night by just calling over the attentive flight attendant assigned to you. Here is one of the appetizers I had, an Arabic mezze,  consisting of hummus, tabouleh and moutabel (mashed eggplant) along with Arabic bread. My favourite Chardonnay is a French Pouilly-Fuissé and I savoured one here from the southern Burgundy region. There was also a stylish bar and every now and then I would head there for an expresso and Drambuie or other digestive. Here are a couple of pics from en haut. The seat slides down into a comfortable flat bed. It seems a little incongruous to be home again after jumping into a train every few days and, after arriving at another town, dragging my faithful Katmandu trolley backpack along cobbled paths to a new hotel. I enjoyed the petite Duchy of Luxembourg and my travels around Belgium with its historic sights and friendly people, its superb and seemingly endless choice of craft beer, delicious chocolates and waffles, but my true love was the provincial towns and villages of South-West France. It is my intention to go back in the European spring of next year, hire a car and drive around the Dordogne villages for a couple of weeks. I would not book any accommodation in advance but would explore two or three villages a day and look for somewhere to stay in the late afternoon. If anyone wanted to come along I would take them with me as it  is a wonderful experience to wander around these historic villages and, in the evening, enjoy a meal from a particular terroir and share a bottle of local wine. The main purpose of my blog was sequential, otherwise the places I visited, the people I met and the things I did tend to blur and blend into one. For those who took the trouble to read my blog I hope it was of passing interest. I would especially like to thank my number 1 fan, my sister Joan, for her sweet and encouraging comments. A box of handmade Belgian chocolates, without doubt the world's finest, will be heading her way the next time we catch up. So that's it folks. All that is left is to say Au Revoir à Tous et Bonne Journée.


                               FIN DE BLOG


Comments

  1. Unknown27 July 2018 at 14:47

    Bitter sweet last entry! I certainly enjoyed living vicariously through you Neil. Beautiful flight home. Way to go!! 🛫🍗🍔🍟🍕🌭🌮🛬

    ReplyDelete
  2. NEIL'S FRANCE SOJOURN27 July 2018 at 18:29

    Merci, Joan.

    ReplyDelete

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