The Morrises and The Ivy; friends, family and the three-day Fish Rule; England’s Rose Freehouse; The Real Ship Inn at Sandgate; Eurotunnel to Calais; Beaune again
The best thing about these two weeks in England? Catching up with friends and family: South African friends Graham and Vanessa in Canary Wharf; Londoners Sue and James Morris over lunch at The Ivy Tower Bridge; Californians Ellie and Steve who were visiting Oxford; Roy’s sister Lyndsay, John and their twins Charlie and Hannah in Stratford-on-Avon; and finally the lovely Marianne in nearby Welford-0n-Avon.
Again we broke the Three-day Rule, i.e., don’t visit anyone for longer than three days. It’s also known as the Fish Rule, because guests, like fish, will rapidly go off after three days. (Dale and Colin, Lyndsay and John, thanks again for putting up with us.)
After two weeks in England, it was time to point the Twingo south towards Folkestone and the Eurotunnel. It’s more interesting taking the backroads, so we did. Gerald-the-GPS took us via Woodstock and an unexpectedly delicious lunch in the tiny village of Postcombe, just outside the city of Oxford.
Review: England’s Rose Freehouse, Postcombe
This 16th-century gem is a gorgeously furnished pub and dining room. They do breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a fancy afternoon tea presided over by a Downton Abbey-worthy teapot. It’s also a B&B.
Warm, chatty landlady Sheila presided. Outdoors were laden apple trees (help yourself, she said), an old red postbox, a spacious beer-garden and two acres of land for dogs and children to run mad in.
From an extensive sausage menu (about £10 each) Roy had the delectably fiery chilli sausages; they came with gravy, mash, broccoli and carrots, all perfect. I had the fish cake special: fish and prawns with potato mash – neither crumbed nor fried, just shaped into patties and served on a salad (around £9.50).
Review: The Real Ship Inn, Sandgate
Cold blue late afternoon skies showed off The Ship Inn to lovely effect. This is The Real Ship Inn and Restaurant in Sandgate (65 Sandgate High Street), as opposed to plain old The Ship Inn, which is in Folkestone proper.
We were on the first floor of the adjoining cottage, looking directly over the calm Dover Strait to Calais – clearly visible on this pellucid evening. Though it could benefit from new carpeting, everything else about the spacious room was lovely: an excellent shower, a big TV, a good coffee-maker, a Revlon vanity mirror and – surprisingly – a full-sized telescope in the wardrobe in place of the ironing board that you might expect. (£80 including breakfast.)
Though we had a drink in the cosy bar, we didn’t fancy Wednesday Steak Night in our hotel restaurant. Instead, we had a great meal at Sandgate Vaults, less than 100 metres down the road.
Review: Sandgate Vaults, Folkestone
Sandgate Vaults has an excellent chef and lovely service. We shared the lighest, freshest whitings (£6) imaginable; followed by the mussel starter (£6.50) for me, and Roy’s impeccably tender and tasty Barnsley lamb chop (£18) with mash, yummy whole carrots and a pile of fresh green cruciferous stuff. He polished off that lot, but was beaten by the lavish apple and summer berry crumble (£6) – it could have fed a family of four starving crumble-gobblers. Together with a couple of glasses of South African Malbec, our bill came to slightly under £50.
It’s a 10-minute drive from The Real Ship Inn to the Eurotunnel terminus, from where we were among the first to board the 10.20am train.
Once in Dover, it was a good six-hour drive to the wine town of Beaune, Burgundy.
I visited Beaune in the early 80s as part of a six-week Contiki tour. We stayed in the tour company’s tent village in the camping park. That was a very, very long time ago, and here’s what I remember:
- A “bad-taste party” at the disco, where we all dressed up even worse than was usual for the 80s, and
Me, Durbanites Julie and Diane plus a bunch of Aussies in Beaune, way back in the 80s 2. A wine-tasting where I was introduced to the local Beaujolais: it was the first red wine I ever really enjoyed. Unsurprisingly, I remember little else about the place.
Beaune Again
Bathed in rosy twilight, Beaune centre was exquisite.
Review: L’Air du Temps
Beaune is an important tourist destination with numerous attractive restaurants, bistros and cafés. We followed the advice of our hotel to dine at nearby L’Air du Temps – and were not disappointed.
We chose à la carte: for me, croustilles d’escargots de Bourgogne (€9), six garlicky snails in crispy phyllo shells; for himself, œufs en meurette (€13), poached eggs in a Burgundy sauce.
Then, the mijotée de noix de joue de bœuf à la Bourguigonne (€17, pictured above), beef cheeks slow-braised with veggies in a rich wine sauce. With all these Burgundy references it would have been rude for Roy to choose anything but a hearty red – and here he is with it:
Review: Maison de Maurice
Roy came up trumps with our hotel Maison de Maurice (8 Rue Edouard Fraysse). When you’re merely overnighting in a lovely town, it’s important to be right in the middle of things – and we were.
What’s more, the courteous Christophe had phoned to ask our arrival time, and then physically went and stood in parking space right outside so as to reserve it for us – exceptional!
What a fabulous little establishment, and what stunning decor! Remote-controlled electronic shutters darken the elegant skylights; the fittings are top-notch and the furnishings super-stylish, with all sorts of details to ensure your comfort – wheeled clothes-horse, illuminated makeup mirror, comfy leather couch, Nespresso machine and more.
Our host served a great breakfast, too, with everything one could wish for – in France, anyway – including fresh lemon and litchi juice and delectable croissants.
Coming up next, Roy and I celebrate daughter Wendy’s 40th birthday with her in Arles, Provence, while taking a walk down Memory Lane.
