WB is back!!!

By popular demand... The petition worked! :)

We're going to start at a humble 40. If you add the one bottle of delicious Czech Frankovka (blaufrankisch) from Kromeriz we had tonight the total will be 41. The winery started mass producing wine in 1345 - and boy do they know how to make a wine! Did we mention the bottle was only ~$5. So far Lesley and I are truly enjoying Poland and not just for its overall relative lower prices.

We'll blog soon about our adventures in Copenhagen, Berlin, and Krakow. BTW, we've updated our pictures online - just click on the photo link on the bar to the right;

Do widzenie,
Russ and Lesley

WB=41*

*It should be noted that we enjoyed some Bison grass vodka (yes, really) here in Poland and, well, that just doesn't fall under "Wine and Bubbly." Zubrowka (vodka flavored with the grasses that bison feed on) mixes marvelously with apple juice and is a popular drink here!

A boat by the fjords

Today and tomorrow (Aug 9th & 10th) I'll be taking a boat from Trondheim to Bergen. http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&searchtype=address&country=NO&addtohistory=&city=Bergen (Zoom out 3 times)

There will be more about my adventures in Norway in a few days.

Skol!
-Russ

A Fairytale Fortress

Tired and loaded down we left the Carcassonne Train station in search of a place to stay that Thursday night. We walked 3 blocks to a cheap hostel to discover they didn't have any available rooms. The summer travel season has begun! Fortunately, we found a 2-star hotel across from the train station.

After some rest and a tasty cassoulet (a very hearty bean casserole fromS. France with sausage and confit de canard - duck legs cooked in duckfat and then preserved in the cooled fat - it's rich, salty and verytasty ) we headed to the medieval turreted fortress of Carcassonne. On our way there, we encountered a wine shop so...of course...we went in to explore. The wine shop had a small yet delicious selection of good-priced Langoudoc-Rousallonwines which included a 100% Cab Franc. The shopkeeper was a sweet lady who spoke less English than we spoke French - which isn't much. With guide book in hand, Lesley (Dr. Linguist) was able to express her love of their 100%CF.

Finally....off to the double-walled old Cathar town with 3 bottles in hand. The fairytale fortress triggered endless medieval images in my mind. The fortress stood on top of a small hill over looking the nearby city and countryside. My medieval daydreams came to a screeching halt once I reached the old town inside the turreted walls. The cobble stoned streets were surrounded by touristy shops, a plethora of tourists, their kids and which filled the town with sounds ofSssshhhhhhhwing.....ssssshhhhhhwing (which was the sound of toy swordsimitating real swords swinging in battle). Most of the shops had no association to the history of Carcassonne. Maybe we should have visited at night time when the tourists were gone. Oh well.

On our way out we passed a Merry-Go-Round by the front entrance to the walled city and said good-by to the touristy fortress of Carcassonne. After visiting Mont St. Michel a few days earlier Carcassonne didn't seem as grandiose as it probably should have.

The next day we left to Barcelona then had a rather uneventful time till weflew to Scotland.

Lots of love,
Russ and Lesley