29th June 2013 – Clermont Ferrand

Our final day trip from, and to, the city where butter poisoning is a common complaint takes us to the town of Clermont Ferrand. 210 miles South of Paris and 150 miles from la plage, it is known as the gateway to the South. For over 100 years it has been the corporate headquarters of the tyre company ‘Michelin’. We left Paris slightly later, deciding not to hang around at the venue quite as long as we did yesterday, and took to the air from Le Bourget at 5pm. One hour later we were in our Michelin-clad cars enjoying the delightful scenery of the Auvergne, which is surrounded by extinct volcanoes and is one of the oldest wine growing regions in France. The climate here produces light, fresh and fruity wines, with the Reds dominated by the Gamay grape.

A glass of the local white would have been just the ticket to go with one of the star dishes of the tour today, Crab Tortellini with poached Lobster served in a light Coconut and Lemon Broth with a hint of Chilli. The other dish shown here is Breaded Pork Cutlet with Fried Egg, Buttered Cabbage & Crushed New Potato.

The problem is that you want it all..most of us opted for a small portion of the Crab Tortellini. It was divine.

Great venue, great audience, great show.

Thanks to everyone who entered yesterday’s contest. Yes, it was a bit easy wasn’t it but how many of you DIDN’T use Google or Wikipedia?

When we arrived back at the hotel in gay Paris at 1:15am I asked the concierge if he could call our new found local bar Flottes to see if they would let us have a drink. They did, so Jim, Mike and I rushed round and devoured several Leffe-style beers in quick succession, something which now I am very much regretting. There was another reason for the visit however. Ianto discovered the other day that one of the waiters in the bar had waited for hours outside the Bercy after the Paris show to get an autograph whilst we, including Mark were sitting at HIS restaurant having after show drinks. Mark sympathized and signed a copy of the album ‘to Fabrice’ at the venue today and we delivered it.

Au revoir Paris