Peterman's Choice*
Road to Burgundy - Brasserie du Pont

Must have been jet lag.

lotllot, chefdeb, hazel We're over here now.  FOOOD is on. Where is miss Bebe?  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmissss Bebe.

I don't think anyone is going to show up until you fix this thing.  Just what you would expect when the boss takes an extended vacation.  Everyone is probably at Starbucks, their faces glued to their iPhone.  

Missing a turn and finding something new and unexpected has only happened as I've been researching something.......looking up one thing, I find many other interesting things instead.

It was how I stumbled into this village,bleary eYed,directions on a page smeared by tears....and the sun began to shine...

It was how I stumbled into this village,bleary eYed,directions on a page smeared by tears....and the sun began to shine...

Take your favorite clothes, no reservations, and go!!
When I look at a map, all I see is you are here.

Good thought, every time there is a bridge out, pavement upheaval, jack-knifed semi or wrong turn taken by me, I think: "Aha, this is where the fun starts."
Case in point: having gone astray, way astray, in rural Nebraska, I was waved over by a police woman who wondered if I would care to join twenty-one bikini-clad girls from a nearby fitness camp looking for evidence of a missing girl in a soggy meadow.
"Sir? You might want to pull over to the side of the road and turn your car off first."
The girl was later found sleeping in the back of a pick-up truck.

O yes silly me! Here we all are on this page. Well, I Pootered through lunch calling it a Spanish Omlette. In truth it's clearing out the 'fridge leftovers and glueing them all together with a cheesy egg mixture. Tasted good.

Stoney~ Your reluctance is duly noted...

Stoney ~ aside from the obvious question...why do all the good things happen to you?...that is about the funniest line I expect to read today.  I am still laughing and laughing.  Great picture!

O Mr P, Quelle Pootering! at the end of the day, l'addition is still the bill.

Sigh. All's right with the world after all. Some of you later posters will not be aware that our topic was quite late today. But since many of you later posters don't seem to read the early posts you probably will never know. But giving thought to a world without our Village was not a happy thought. Verrry happy to see all of you who are here this morning.

Surely BEBE will be back soon ..........................

ChefDeb ~You must be acquainted with Anne Willan and Shirley you are aware of the La Varenne Cooking School...It's the one with the big "L" on the school sweaters.

Mr. P. must have really gotten lost in France for a while.  Late first posts, and then when I signed in my Eye went back to yesterday's topic. 
 
Got lost in England a few times and always found the most delightful B & Bs to hold up for a day or two: Monk's Barn Farm, The Oust House, Church Farm just to name a few.  Wonderful memories.
 

La Brasserie du Pont reminds me of that Bob Segar tune
and  sweaters with a big “L” on them…never
mind, that’s la brassiere du points…my mistake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN1_3zHjhW8

Thanks for the breadcrumbs left on yesterdays post.  Made it here in one piece, much like many of my adventures in getting lost.
 
I've found I often meet the nicest people, see the most interesting things, and taste the best food when I ditch the guide book and get well and truly lost.  Guide books and tours are alright for timid beginners who are just getting their feet wet, but they can cause tunnel vision and you lose a sense of place when you are so focused on the next big stop.  I often wish I could get lost on the way to work, but it never seems to be an option.

mais oui, Paolos...I do know of and have met Anne Willan---I imagine your night moves include a love of sweaters......

Funny that all through my early morning meeting today I was fantasizing about meandering through the Luberon in search of good food.  Sometimes I get lost in my own mind, which can much more pleasant that listening to a sales pitch on tactical 401k strategies, at the rate I'm going I'll be able to retire when I die.

When walking south on the Appia Antica outside of Rome. At a crossroads stood a truck labelled "Porchetta." Sandwiches were so good we did not notice that we had resumed walking on the cross street and not the Appia Antica. However when we reached the village of Quatro Millglia (sp) we realized our mistake. As we were turning to return to our original root we looked up a hill at what seemed to be a cafe. Upon arriving at the t op of the driveway it turned out to be a place to play ping pong with the best coffee we had in Italy. Several hours later we made our way back to our original route.

Random memory.

When I was young and had first got my driver's license, I would drive over to a town near where I lived, Short Hills, NJ.  It's an affluent community with beautiful homes and lots of windy streets.  I would drive there purposely to get lost and try to find my way out. I figured it was a good way to learn the streets and it was fun. I think I learned it fairly well, but that was 40 years ago.  I'm sure if I went there now, I would be hopelessly lost. 

....... I was quite surprised to take the turn indicated by your video and NOT find Laverne & Shirley as I had anticipated from your sweater comment earlier...............

I think people who excessively use GPS miss out on a lot of good stuff.  First of all, can you really orient yourself since you no longer have to study a map to get the lay of the land? Then it's turn right, turn left--who knows what direction you're headed? I've resisted using GPS, and I still love to purchase a detailed map wherever I go. That being said,  I've been trying to come up with a nice, random memory about getting lost and stumbling on a great adventure, but no. I've been lost, but the story goes: I got lost, I wandered around a lot, got a little stressed out, I got found, and went to my destination.  Now, let me say that I have gone off the beaten track and had some great times, but I wasn't lost.

So, what is today's topic?  Looking back I think it is more about food and restaurants than getting lost.  Oh well.

I marjorie, the only thing I have ever used a GPS unit for is geocaching.  Don't have one in my car, don't own a smartphone, and I get around fine.  My techie friend Patience has one in her car and on her phone and it has tried to take her down closed roads and off cliffs.  I think I'll stick with low tech and lost over high tech and dead.

For me, getting lost and finding interesting things, places, people, food, views is one of the best things about being able to travel. It requires deliberate planning to get lost in these days of phones with GPS, etc., but it's worth it.

This link gives a 360 view of Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

http://www.gillesvidal.com/blogpano/paris.htm

One method of navigation my son uses when touring, is to call his Mom (that would be me) and ask what the next town past Arkadelphia is or some such question---I go to Google maps. I love it, makes me feel as if I'm on tour too.

GPS is for those too insecure to ask for directions and take some gentle ribbing. There is absolutely no shame in being lost, think of it as an opportunity to thwart boredom, a learning experience. Obviously a different rule must apply under more formal circumstances, but doing everything with military precision as to both orchestration and with zero tolerence for error makes Jack a dull boy. Those are the kind of folks whose wardrobe consists of 3 dozen pair of identical executive socks. France is where you need the gastronomical fortitude to occasionally slip on a well broken in pair of loafers, sans socks, and enjoy. Going to one of the world's greatest museums is spoiled, if the tour leader announces that everyone must scurry around in haste, and reform in precisely two hours. Let the soul breathe, like a bottle of newly-opened wine....

Mr. P in his post today is just whetting my appitite. On sept my better half and I are taking a trip to France and are planning to wander along the Rhone valley and and looking foreward to stumbling into some small villages tasting the food and sipping the wine.Since we both really enjoy wine it looks to be a great trip. I have mentioned before that we take "penny tripas" by which I mean we go on back roads and secondary roads (interstates a little as possible) and when we come to a junction ot crossroad we flip a penny to decide which way to then go. This has resulted in some of the better and more memorable trips we have taken. No schedule and no reservations. Just go.Also no GPS ,if we gwt "lost" we can and do stop in a local pub or cafe order something visit for a while and then maybe be on our way. However on ocassion we have stayed and waited until the hext day and then moseyed on.

Bert "let the soul breathe", sometimes easier said than done, but it sounds nice.

No Peterman's Eye early today made me think PE and theSepiaTrain might be lost on the wrong track, however, I see the train is merely meandering in France.

I can't recall ever being lost, so not much to tell. I like maps, don't mind asking directions, and remember turns and landmarks. A few long-way-round trips, but none to fear or worry about. Do try out the Joe Brown circuitous highway in N. GA sometime for the feeling of "lost" if you need to experience that adjective.

Feeling envious of rwh1 and his missus, as I'd love to go back to France to explore backroads, as my visit there in the past was mostly big cities, except Lyon and Nice, which are medium sized, I guess. Enjoy yourselves, rwh1s!

Getting off the beaten path is the best way to see America, too, as I have found in thousands of miles over the past 8 years from Nova Scotia to San Diego to Mt. St. Helen's. We are off again in August to explore for a few weeks ending up in Seattle for the Alaskan cruise in September. Looking forward to some mom'n'pop dinners and Leroy and Lulu sights. More cold beer with meals than wine, I imagine.

I will say that I do love the TGV.  It's not as quaint or memorable as the old trains, but wow, getting from Paris to Strasbourg (the equivalent of Madison to Minneapolis) in under 2 1/2 hours is very cool.  If you're in a station when one is passing through, hold onto your hat! Those things come screaming down the tracks. It's impressive and a little scary.  Sometimes getting to your destination in a hurry can be a good thing.

I can't help it....but ChefDeb, ever since I read your comment mentioning the porchetta my mind has done nothing but think about the fabulous porchetta I had here in town.  There is a locally operated restaurant where the chef does his own charcuterie and it is fabulous--beyond fabulous!!  He uses all local ingredients and the menu tell you from what farm or grower the food came.  Oh my!  Now my mouth is watering...............

paolos ~
Because another man there had a polaroid, there was photographic-pitcher evidence… I kept it at work.

Nachista ~
You can get lost on the way to work: one more turn… a right one. That's why they call it that.

Bert ~
I have reformed in precisely two hours but it didn't last.

I looked up porchetta and almost fainted.

Lost in a moment, lost soul, lost and found, lost in your eyes, lost cause, lost for words, lost in a good book, lost time, love lost, get lost...we humans sure like getting lost.

....talk about lost....I think we've lost our Village, lately...........

Because I can't resist shameless marketing I picked up a bottle of "Skinny Girl" white wine and because I like everything it "ain't" bad. After tequila earlier in the week it's a full spectrum thingy. Funny, Lost and Found is one big basket o' stuff.

I think you are right, Carol~ not the same, any ideas on how to make it better? New people rarely stay ... what is so scary about us?

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.  Mr. Peterman and Mr. Frost just might be sole mates.
Y'all have a good rest of the evening.

Are you saying they share footwear or that each has but one chum?

Just popped in to tell y'all  HOWDY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Participation has always been an ebb and flow deal and nothing is more likely to cause an ebb than a reprised topic that does not open as usual.
At times there have been opinionated posters that liked to argue a little which can be a relief from conformity.

Hey Ivan

That is very true stoney - all of what you said, but the last line - very important to an online discussion type group, no matter how cordial and friendly, that there be some fireworks now and again, even just some sparklers would be nice.  I know many here run from topics of the day, or run from dissenting opinions, but ladies and gents, it never hurts a group like this to keep their debate skills honed.  We can still love each other when the day ends, but it's like a marriage - like minded is good, but too much like minded leads to deadly quiet and ennui.  My op.

Stoney- Insightful Indeed. My favorite memories are often when on a rainy night I stumbled into a new place I'd never been before and stayed a spell irrespective of time listening to some music that reminded me of the spaces between the leaves of the big oak tree of my youth and sometimes hearing a song that I never much thought about in the first place. Relief from Conformity is a phrase well turned.   Ivan- I have ordered a custom T shirt based on your earlier reminder- Jesus Saves...Moses Invests...(And I added Tommy Relaxes)

Yogi said:"when you come to a fork in the road,take it".....otherwise,"you can't get there from here"