Each evening co-author Steve Smith and I visit the restaurants we recommend and check out other possibilities. Our treat after a long day of research is sitting down to a meal at our favorite place. In this restaurant in Amboise, I was particularly charmed by both Aurore (who runs the restaurant) and her cheese course. She introduced it so lovingly to each diner, that I had to share the experience with this video clip.
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
Comments
Just the picture is mouth-watering. I remember being in Switzerland some years ago and finding 6 or 7 different kinds of Gorgonzola from various countries at the cheese counter in the grocery store. Wonderful. I wonder why the cheese course hasn`t really caught on in this country.
I must confess that reading about two people who love to eat is not my idea of a broadening experience (pardon the pun). But I realize that for some, travel is partly, if not all, about food. After all, we have fatso “celebrities” on American television who pride themselves on how much they are “learning” and “contributing” by scarfing down whatever the world has to offer. The world is full of billions of starving people so I find blogs like this repugnant. Tell us about the Seven Wonders of the World. Tell us about finding piquant flavors the Average person eats. Tell us about ambiance and different cultures. Tell us about overcoming travelers diahrrea. But try to soft-pedal self-indulgence. It`s conduct unbecoming. And it`s why when you apply for a visa in a country and you blink at the cost, some clerk says: “why you care, you Americans are all rich.” Then of course we get the knee-jerk rebuttals And they always seem to come from those who can “afford” and who seem thrilled by an opportunity to do something somebody else can`t. Ok. Do it. But recognize that not everybody thinks a seven course dinner should be written about except in the food section of the New York Times. As a people, we spend too much and we brag too much and what we sow we will reap. Just a thought for the RS groupies.
b. Has it ever occurred to you that Rick`s job is to encourage people to travel and thus support the economy in countries other than our own? The cooks and wait staff in the restaurants, the hotel staff and cleaners, the tour guides and all the rest of the folks who profit from tourism are grateful for the encouragement that Rick gives to people to explore new places. Rick himself has an excellent record of charitable giving. To enjoy a marvelous meal and write about it for others is sowing good seed and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I love hearing about the cheeses. And, all sorts of people eat cheese, certainly not just rich Americans. I remember when I took the train from Stuttgart to Athens in the 70`s a young Greek couple shared their Feta cheese sandwiches with me. Two years ago when I was walking in Scotland, a German couple picked up some Dutch cheese to share with the group. Cheese for all, I say.
That cheese just looks lovely!!! I loved that part of the meal in France. Just a little! These kinds of experiences in my life have made it possible to deal with the tough things in life, it is wonderful. Enjoy!
Of course Louisa has a valid point of view. And she and Rick Steves also know that what he does and writes will usually get different reactions from people with different perspectives at different times. It`s just that “splurge,” “indulge,” “sybaritic,” “luxury,” “sensuous,” “gourmand,” etc seem a insensitive when we have 15,000,000 out of work or underemployed, and many millions more who are anxiety-ridden. I know most of us are not so callous that we will ask our less privileged fellow citizens to “eat cake” –but some are and the chickens will come home to roost and they won`t be coq au vin.
I understand what b is saying. I don't begrudge somebody spending money on a good meal. Everybody has their own splurges so to speak. What I find the most troublesome though is the hypocrisy of on the one hand describing the luxuriousness of a meal, then on another post criticizing the excesses of capitalism and American greed– the very economic system that enabled the author to accumulate his wealth in the first place. You cannot enjoy the fruits of your success yet decry the excesses of others trying to do the same, all the while pontificating about the hunger that the majority of the world lives in. Maybe that explains why one assuanges guilt and justifies their own excess then champions the cause of Bread for the World.
Did I miss the velveeta ?
Rick is not exactly a robber baron, folks, he just likes cheese. And justice. Those are not exactly opposing forces. And my slowing down my spending will not help anyone get a job.
b, you do understand that some of those millions and millions out of work or underemployed, and many millions more who are anxiety-ridden folks actually depend on people spending their capital so they CAN be employed and the wealth is spread around. Naturally this method of wealth distribution depends on the individual actually putting forth effort TO ACHIEVE. Sadly it takes the government out of the social engineering aspect of it but it somehow worked for the first 200 years of this nation. "Tell us about overcoming travelers diahrrea.", maybe this cheese story could help with that ! Rick tell us again how the cheese smells like angels feet.
There are many powerful interests which benefit from keeping things the same as always in the U.S. Such beliefs as efficient financial markets have been disproven by recent burst bubbles. And anti-regulatory practices for the past 30 years have come back to haunt us when opaque derivatives went bust and when ratings agencies have over- valued assets which proved worthless. And trickle-down-economics (encourage the rich to keep all their money and we will all prosper) has created a chasm between the 10% who are so privileged and the rest of the nation such as when hedge fund managers and ceo's and corporations are paying lower tax rates than their secretaries. We must ensure there is a better BALANCE between capitalism and government. Government is not the problem. Capitalism is not the problem. It is that they have become increasingly out of balance and dominated by the more rapacious aspects of finance.
I do not understand you guys. I loved reading the wonderful dinner they enjoyed. For once can everyone remove politics from this blog. I am one who loves to travel and Rick takes me to places I might not ever have wanted to visit. This is his passion and love with traveling and my husband and I enjoyed the blog and video. I know our economy is hurting but please having a little escape from time to time is healthy. My husband is retiring and we planned a 2 month vacation and have worked hard to enjoy it and will be traveling. I do not want to feel guilty about our trip!! Rick is a buisnessman and I feel that people out there either love him for his talents and educating the public or not. He has saved us alot of money in the past and will in the future and GOOD FOR RICK FOR HIS WONDERFUL MEAL IN FRANCE!! No guilt. And P.S. We know what the economy is doing!!!! Our daughter 9/2008 got laid off at the begining of all of this mess with an education and a home!! We are so grateful that after a year 1/2 she changed careers and now is and has a insurance company with state farm. As parents we went through the ringer with stress. I am sorry but Rick is a STATE OF MIND and BLISS!!!
I don’t see where politics is the primary issue when it comes to travel right now. Economics is. And that’s why what is happening around the world is important. The pleasure travel industry (actual, not arm-chair) for most of us is driven by: our entertainment priorities, our health, discretionary income, credit, and our confidence that the view will be worth the climb. So if I have ample quantities of each, I travel and spend more than necessary for food including cheese. But I can’t travel in a bubble either. So near term and long term economics plays a large role in my travel decisions. I have to set priorities and I also plan for rainy days. Of course just because other citizens and countries are in hock up to their eye-balls doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a relatively expensive trip – as long as I am not sporting Nordstrom’s $2400 thigh-high suede boots in downtown post-Mubarek Cairo. If one can easily afford to travel, travel because it helps the world economy and our own psyches in the short term at least. In the long run, as John Maynard Keynes observed, we are all dead.
good video man
Wow some of these comments are ridiculous. Rick is enjoying some cheese, relax and enjoy.