As we continued eating and drinking our way across France we
encountered some magnificent scenery and were blessed with cool, crisp, and
mostly gorgeous fall weather. Who knew France was so stunningly beautiful? As
lovers of history and natures’ magnificence, we were in heaven as we explored
the sites of Joan of Arc’s military victories, and the villages that escaped
destruction during Frances’ war torn past.
Our route from the village of Noyers towards Switzerland
took us into the Franche-Comte’ region of France, and into the sub-alpine
mountains of Jura. Our next stop was at Chateau De Germigney, which was used as
a hunting lodge by French aristocrats in centuries past. Today the chateau is
an enchanting hotel run by a delightful transplanted English manager who directed
us to some of Frances hidden treasures. While researching this hotel, reviewers
were raving about the restaurant on the premises, and once there, we checked it
out. The décor was quite formal and the prices were quite astonishing. “How
good can it be?” we wondered. Upon returning to the hotel after our days of
touring, we noticed the restaurant was packed every night and we decided to splurge and made a reservation for our last night.
We spent our days in Jura outside hiking and exploring this
breathtakingly beautiful area and planned to end our time there with a gourmet
dinner at our hotel. We put ourselves at the mercy of our servers as there is
not much English spoken in the French countryside. Well, the courses just kept
coming, each being more fabulous than the last. We had no idea what we were
eating, but it was so rich and delicious we couldn’t resist anything, a true
adventure into gastronomy…and the adventure did not end in the restaurant.
We settled into our lovely room for a good nights rest before heading out the next morning to meet our river cruise in Basel, Switzerland. The weather forecast predicted a rainstorm and we did not want to miss our boat. The rumbling in my stomach woke me a few hours into the night and I knew this wasn’t going to be good. I spent the night in the bathroom reliving all the dishes we enjoyed at dinner. I was so sick I thought it may have been food poisoning, but Mark was sleeping soundly, totally unaffected, and was of no help to me. Is it possible to overdose on French food? I did not overeat, but the rich, unfamiliar dishes must have overloaded my system.
Still in the bathroom when our alarm went off, I managed to
get packed, and with the help of our kind and caring hostess, who supplied me
with Coke to sip on our drive, Mark got me to our stateroom on the Uniworld
River Queen where I collapsed on our bed and slept for a long, long time.
Part 3 coming soon.
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