Long flights to Siem Reap

Off we go on another adventure! This trip started out a little rough with a visa snafu and a computer meltdown at the Juneau airport but we still made it to Seattle on time. I booked us on Business Class as this was going to be a LONG flying trip. It was amazing and worth every penny!! All the booze, food, and comfort one could want was available to us for the first two legs of our 17 hours of flying. With a ‘brief’ 9 hour layover in Japan, at an amazing lounge, we left late at night for Thailand. After being awake for the last 38 hours the solid 5 hours of horizontal sleep on the plane was very welcome.  We awoke refreshed and had a quaint Japanese breakfast before landing. The attention to detail was commendable, the Japanese staff would ALL pause and bow prior to assuming their responsibilities and the plane was spotless.  The respect for elders and children we witnessed was also inspiring. After a quick shower in Bangkok we boarded our last flight to Siem Reap and arrived at 7am, 28 hours after starting this journey. The air was thick and sticky and smelled of dense jungle as we made our way across a tarmac that you could fry an egg on and entered the eastern-styled airport for our visas. We were met by our tour guide ‘So’. She rattled off historical points and safety tips as we made our way to our luxury hotel. Looks like this visit would be MUCH different than my last backpacking and hostel hopping trip. We spent the day lounging poolside and sipping cocktails before a couples spa afternoon complete with body scrubs, massages, and candle lit hot tub with rose peddles.  Feeling rejuvenated we flagged down a tuktuk and sped off to a night market. Weaving and bobbing through chaotic traffic with the city’s colorful lights racing past, we made our way to our destination.  The city was preparing for one of its new years so there were lanterns, lights, and celebrations galore. After our mildly anxiety provoking ride we strolled through the market ignoring the sales pitches for ‘foot cleaning fish’, ‘Cambodia’s best restaurant’, and ‘cheap shirts’ while admiring the local goods.   We found a popular corner filled with locals and popped a squat to sample the street food and we were not disappointed.  Pork and noodles with a papaya shake filled us and we continued our perusing. Given that it was such a long day we decided to turn in early as tomorrow we have a crazy early day. Glad to be traveling again!

What a nice day for Nice

It was a rough morning. Still feeling the effects of the previous night’s libations we had to be up by 5am to get to the airport. As Emily and I zombied our way towards the airport we began looking forward to some beach and relax time. Unfortunately this portion of the trip was not well planned as we spent 3 hours at the airport then flew for an hour then got to our next hotel too early and we couldn’t check in… a little exhausted we made for the beach with the clothes on our backs. Solid decision as it was a hot overcast day and the beach had sand-side service including booze…  the remainder of the day was filled with relaxing beach time and booze leading to an excellent night of sleep at our beautiful hotel. I figured I smash two days into this blog as our last 2-3 days we planned to do absolutely nothing. 

What a great night of sleep, so much so that we both slept in. With such an energy recharge we elected to run our 4 miler along the coast. The views of the coast and the statuesque people made for a very enjoyable run. It was gloriously sunny and a slight breeze off the ocean made for an enjoyable jaunt. Up until now I have not described French people. I have yet to see a fat French person. They are all perfectly marshmallowy tanned, fit, thin, and slightly smug. But if I looked as good as they did then I’d be slightly smug too. The beaches were filled with six pack abs and Brazilian bikinis. We returned to our hotel for a mimosa infused breakfast and threw on our suits to head back out to the beach for another day of relaxing by the ocean.  What a beach, not sandy but sunny with warm ocean waters to swim in. We read, drank champagne, laughed, and people watched, it was glorious.  4 bottles of champagne and a bottle of fine rosé (what Nice is known for) later we were happily inebriated and sitting on a beach in southern France.  It started to rain slightly and the WHOLE beach packed up but Emily and I remained sipping a fine rosé and enjoying the ‘sprinkle’. Emily is turning into a true Alaskan as she looked around perplexed as to what anyone would leave a perfectly fine beach at 75°F with a little rain (and thunder with lightening).  I couldn’t be anymore in love. As the sun set we had to pack up for our final hurrah. A two Michelin star restaurant for dinner awaited us…

Oh wow, by far and away the best dining experience we’ve had thus far. We ate at a Michelin restaurant called ‘Pure and V’. I think I will write a review. This was a quite unassuming little restaurant with 7 tables, all worn-looking and 3 wait staff, one of whom was the chef.  The quaint vibe in conjunction with Scandinavian chef, Christian Kanstrup Pedersen, resulted in a gastronomical adventure with hints of Nordic influences.  Seven perfect courses all the while the chef kept returning to our table to receive exaggerated praises and watch as we exalted over each mouthful.  3 hours and 7 glasses of wine later we stumbled out on to the street and made our way back to our hotel for another night of great sleep! One more day…    

Wine country

Today was amazing! Day two in Bordeaux and now we were off to the Saint Émilion region. After a solid night of sleep and a great breakfast our guide came to pick us up at the hotel for a private tour. Our first stop was this spectacular little village called Saint Emilio. Carved into the limestone plateau, this quaint village housed some impressive history. It’s main church was originally built in the 5th century and underwent centuries of war, revolution, hardship, and prosperity.  This was apparent in the stonework of the church itself from beheaded and chiseled statues to bullet riddled walls to various turn of the century architectural components seemingly haphazardly thrown together.  This was the France I’d envisioned; small ancient stone and wooden villages overlooking vast fields of grapevines ripe and ready for harvest and dotted with elegant chateaus.  It was also the first day of school so this enchanted village felt like a lively and bustling day for any Frenchman.  Our guide was great and let us in on the scandals involving the wine tier system and when corruption of the vineyards.  Before setting out to our first tasting we explored a caved wine cellar brimming with recently and not so recently bottled wine.  The caves were dark, damp, and cool with bottles that appeared hundreds of years old. Though most were only a few years old but the conditions in the cave led to their withered appearance. 

Next we visited our first vineyard. We were a little disappointed that they don’t take us to multiple wine tasting but apparently that is the culture and they would rather you experience their vineyards in a more comprehensive way in order to truly appreciate their wines. Also, their tours are spectacular! They have props, 4D experiences, interactive machinery and all of this is presented in a very casual and engaging manner.  Château Fleur Cardinale was our first stop and FINALLY! Spectacular wines! Emily and I nearly fell out of our chairs when we tasted these wines. The actual tasting room was designed by the family to make the tasting a relaxing and enjoyable environment and we soaked up the vinyl records, comfortable couches, and eclectic art work as we were swooned by the luscious libations. We bought 4 bottles!! After the village tour and the vineyard tour it was time for lunch. Our guide made reservations for a glorious restaurant atop a winery deep in wine country.   Emily and I know our fish and the fish dish on this tasting menu knocked our socks off. So there we sat, a beautiful sunny day, amazing French food, local French wines, a 360° view of vineyards, and endless smiles.  Every dish at lunch was delectable. Following lunch we continued in to our second vineyard. Again, the wine was inspiring. We picked up a few more bottles. We may have taken a quick and pleasant nap in the way back to our hotel in the warm van with full bellies and heads swimming in wine nirvana.  Next we headed out to explore Bordeaux sampling wines here and there. We even got to help some damsels in distress. Two young women approached me afraid that a weird man had been following and bothering them. I told them to walk with us a ways as I stared down the weirdo who walked away. A few blocks later they felt safe and thanked us and moved on. We, in turn, stumbled in to a local wine shop and convenced the owner to give us a tasting. We laughed and talked about our trip and sampled some interesting wines. More bottles purchased and more exploring of the city was had as we killed time towards dinner. 

 Wow. Dinner. I can safely say that 4 of my top 10 best lifetime meals out have occurred on this trip. Tonight’s dinner was no exception.  The setting: a cute boutique restaurant set in a French renovated ‘brownstone’ with elegant plastered ceilings, violently red painted walls, hardwood floors, and marble table tops, La Table de Montaigne, was as impressively decorated as delicious. It was a very intimate setting in our room with only two other tables.   We had 6 courses of mind blowing cuisine and paired with 6 wines and 2 champagnes. Emily reported on the way home, “I was drunk 3 separate times today..” the staff was great and I think they liked us because they could tell we were dramatically savoring every morsel. After dinner we rolled ourselves back ti the hotel to pack for our early flight tomorrow. Nice here we come!!   

Moving on..

Paris was an action packed adventure but this morning we bid, “adieu” to one of our favorite big cities. It was interesting as normally Emily and I avoid big cities when traveling but Paris was an absolute exception to the rule. We left with a ‘wanting’ still in our bellies. We already have big plans for a return trip. After a pleasant night of sleep in our 5 star room we arose early to catch a train to Bordeaux.  This travel company did an amazing job as we had a deluxe Mercedes awaiting to take us to the train station where we boarded first class towards our wine tasting adventure.  

Again, arriving in Bordeaux we had a phenomenal hotel.  With a little time to kill before heading off to wine country we enjoyed a lunch of steak tartar, grilled duck, and good wine. Our guide, Raymond, was a super charming and informative Frenchmen who took us deep into wine country and talked endlessly about the area and the many chateaus.  Our first stop was château de Dauzac which was beautiful and yet very simple. I anticipated old grottos, vine covered villas etc, but found farmlands with unassuming buildings that hid modernized technical wineries.  To be honest, the vineyards of Bordeaux reminded me of the landscapes of El Salvador.  Our first winery was ok but nothing to write home about. Then we moved on to our second winery that was similar to the first only when we arrived we had some extra time and attempted a ‘smell test’ with 16 sommelier smell vials while sitting in a green park-like area under a warm afternoon sun.  I did pretty well, I guess owing to my Jewish sized nose from dad and the olfactory cells I inherited from mom. It was a riot trying to guess the obscure smells from the vials and our tour guide and vineyard representative put us all to shame. This, again, was a very unassuming vineyard but the technical 3D immersive experience was stunning.  They projected ‘how to make wine’ on to their tanks and had projected specialists give master classes on clear panes of glass in front of their barrel rooms. Again, underwhelmed by the wine but the experience was spectacular. Emily and I discussed this and agreed that we have been spoiled by Californian, Oregon, and Washington wines.  But all in all the tour was fun and our guide was hilarious. 

After a quick nap we followed our concierge’s reservation to a great bistro (Le 1925) where we enjoyed Bordeaux’s oysters, foie gras, and prawns in pesto risotto. All of this while sipping through a Bordeaux white wine. Giggling and listening to the French chatter around us we couldn’t help but smile as we recognized that we were eating French food, surrounded by French conversations, drinking French wine, all while sitting in Bordeaux….  Too surreal!  

And on the third day

 

We were back at it again! This was a morning to remember. I awoke early and gently suggested to Emily that we go for a run early in the morning as it would be our only opportunity to run in Paris. She was… less than enthused but begrudgingly agreed that it would be a cool environment to run in. Rolling out of the comfort of our bed and stretching out the reluctant soreness from our legs we donned our running gear. We set out along the Siene, accompanied by a multitude of other ambitious and enthusiastic morning exercisers. The weather was perfect for a light jog and we cruised though the city at a swift pace stopping occasionally to soak up the views and the fact that we were running in Paris! We finished in front of the Louvre with smiles and high fives. 

Today was an ambitious day as we hoped to tour the great palace at Versailles AND scale the Eiffel Tower. We quickly dressed and set out for the golden palace. Opulence and decadence don’t even begin to describe this royal place of refuge.  The town surrounding the palace was quaint and very French appearing with manicured lawns, French architecture, and cafes sprinkled throughout the town. As we approached the magnificent palace, we were met by the golden gates gleaming in the sunlight guarding the vast columned edifices. It was larger than the Louvre which is saying something. We were fortunate and arrived in the morning with our tickets in hand. We started off in the ‘ladies of the court’ wing and viewed elegantly decorated salons with fire places and murals on the walls. Due to the nature of our schedule we had to condense an 8 hour tour into a 1.5 hour time span. Needless to say we nearly sprinted from room to room absorbing the ambiance and speed-reading through most of the descriptions of the rooms. The shear volume of ornate rooms was impressive. We spent the first quarter of our time just in the guest wing before entering the main palace. Holy Cow! Gold and detailed murals covered EVERYTHING! There were rooms where every square inch was either hand painted or bedazzled.  The king’s bedroom was no exception and had a myriad of supporting rooms for dressing, bathing, and concubines.  The dining halls seemed endless and the hall of battles was intense with >80 foot tall murals depicting important battles. With the clock running we dashed towards the finish of the palace and on to the gardens. Only a mere 800 hectares of gardens, fountains, hedge mazes, and amphitheaters.  The palace was on a hill and the gardens extended as far as the eye could see in nearly all directions and intermittently obscured itself with tall maze-like shrubs and hedges.  Elegantly laid out in beautifully symmetrical patterns, the gardens were well maintained as we roamed around slack jawed. An immense fountain system with captivating stories portrayed in bronze statues littered the grounds. Sadly our time crunch forced us to say, “au revoir” to the gaudy royal palace and rush to the Eiffel Tower where we met up with a tour group of other tourists from the UK and the US. 

Our tour guide Clara was awesome and Emily crushed the tourist trivia (we had heard most of the info earlier) which made her look wicked smart. Up the first elevator to the middle level, there was a lot of lines and waiting. I’d be lying if I said our legs weren’t killing us from the run and the 16 mile walk the day before. Clara dropped some more knowledge on us as we met our fellow tourists.  We gained access to the tower and stood in awe under its massive iron legs.  The first elevators were unique in that they had a hyperbolic trajectory. This posed a problem when the tower was initially built but Mr. Ottis rectified this issue and we gained access to the first level in huge Ottis elevators. As we rose the city expanded beneath us. We could already see the entire skyline just from the first tier of the tower.  Hanging ominously above us remained the second elevator to, “the summit.”  We packed 70 people into a 10 x10’ elevator and were rocketed skyward to the pinnacle of French achievement. We were all nervous at first but then they informed us that there was a champagne bar at the top. Needless to say, I was first off the elevator and first in line for booze. With champagne in our hands Emily and I circumnavigated the tip top of the Eiffel Tower remarking to our tour group the great finds we encountered on our previous day’s travels.  It was all surreal. Sadly, our day did not end well. I had picked a restaurant from home to be our crown jewel and it was a total expensive flop. Emily even got a little food poisoning to boot. We made our way back to our hotel to crash. But, I urged Emily out of our room briefly to witness the Eiffel Tower glittering at night (only occurs every hour for the first 5 minutes) which was a sight to behold.  Not the best ending to an exciting day but we still have a lot to look forward to.