September 18, 2012
A Day Amongst the Vines in Alsace
Happiness is sitting in the Laundry watching your clothes go round and round. It is also an amazing test of intelligence and I think probably a screening test for the onset of dementia. Each one seems to work a bit differently and there is never anyone in attendance, helps a bit that this time the instructions are in French. Anyway there is an amazing sense of achievement when all the bits of change you have scrapped together are deposited in a machine hidden somewhere in the building and the washer starts.
Today was our day off so I attempted to sleep a little latter, Ken didn’t think that was a good idea. He nipped to the next door Boulangerie and bought some tempting morsels to have with our fruit juice. Tomorrow our 11year old granddaughter flies to Japan on a school trip so I gave the excited Charlotte a call. She has to be at school by 5.15am tomorrow to catch the bus to the airport , as a good team member she was playing netball tonight so no doubt will be pretty tired by the time the plane takes off. Have a really wonderful time Charlotte.
Our plan for today was to take a short trip up into the foothills of the Vosges mountains where the grape growing happens. We didn’t have a proper map so just set off in the general direction of up. The grape growing area around here is very extensive of course; although steep in parts it is not nearly as steep as in the Moselle. What really impressed us was the amazing condition the grapes are in. They are fully ripe and just at the start of picking. There is not a skeric of disease on them and to us the most amazing thing is that not a single berry had a bird peck on despite the fact there was not a net in site or a banger or any other form of bird control. If we did that we wouldn’t have a single berry and despite all our very best attempts we still get a huge amount of bird damage. We were unsure of the grape varieties, one in particularly looked strange to us. The berries were a rusty colour we even wondered if they were Pinot Gris but they had too much colour for that. Ken was looking at the tractors and the way they were picking. The tractors were extremely narrow with a combined hoist and a tilting device on the back. The bins were enormous and the grapes were picked into these then hoisted onto trucks to be taken off for processing.
The villages themselves are charming overflowing with flowers. One of the things I have been thinking about as I pedal along are the Villes et Villages Fleuris (Pour la florissament de la France) and the number of fleurie each village is awarded. Who judges them? How do the decide how many fleuris a ville or village is awarded? Are they assessed annually ? Does a village go into mourning should it lose one fleurie? If they lose one do they just scrape it off the notice board on the entrance to the town but then the notice would be asymmetrical. One theory I came up with was that it is judged on roundabouts or bridges. One particularly proud Village with 4 fleuris had a roundabout so high with flowers that I lost Ken going around it, I couldn’t tell what exit he took. There are so many things to learn in this world and so many I don’t know.
The washing is done and all is well except Ken’s socks have changed colour
Today's ride: 23 km (14 miles)
Total: 2,789 km (1,732 miles)
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