More about our Le Boat trip

The return trip to La Rochelle was uneventful. We did start seeing a few other boats on the river. Weather continued warm and sunny. We've had a pleasant few days in La Rochelle. Tomorrow is Nikki's 21st birthday and Steve and I will leave Saturday, May 19 and head over the Pyrenees into Spain and then Portugal. Jody flies back to Oregon on May 21; Kelly and Nikki will fly to Porto, Portugal and then to Seville, Granada and possibly Barcelona before going their separate ways (Nikki will visit friends in Germany).

Le Boat Trip

In the La Rochelle harbor

On May 3, Steve and I arrived in La Rochelle to meet up with Jody, Kelly and Nikki. La Rochelle is a beautiful medieval port city with much character. We drove down to Le Mas d'Agenais on May 7 to pick up our rental boat. First stop was Agen, another beautiful old city. We moored the boat at Buzet where we met neighboring full-time boat couples from England and Oregon (Newport). From there we went to Narec, a particularly interesting medieval city. The Saturday market was immense, and their annual Flower Market was in full swing - very colorful, as you can see in the photos. My nighttime photos of Nerac turned out beautifully. En route to Nerac, we pulled into the little village of Vianne. Everything was closing down for lunch hour(s). It is a bastide town from medieval days, meaning it was walled in on four sides, under the rule of a local lord (either English or French). Each corner of the bastide has a watchtower, providing protection from passing marauders.

Inns and Meals in the Countryside

Monday, April 30^: La Ferme Lamy, Meyrals

We left Le Mely reluctantly; Luc was such a fabulous host. The weather was terrible – torrential rain all day.  The trip to Meyrals, through the Dordogne Region, was spoiled as a consequence. Luc had recommended many points of interest to see, but the rain was so heavy, we didn’t even get out of the car.  We did stop at the National Museum of Pre-History, an ambitious and modern institution that offered more about its focus than anyone could really stomach. The displays were interesting, replicating the 10,000 to 30,000 B.C. cliff dwellings, cave paintings, as well as hundreds of finds from that period that have been excavated.

Dinner at La Ferme Lamy was simple for France: three courses, with the omnipresent Foie Gras, duck breast and a delicious three-chocolate confection. Totally pleasing…

Tuesday, May 1: La Chartreuse du Bignac, Bignac

The day was beautiful, the first in many, reaching the low 70s! We revisited some of the spots on the Dordogne we had by-passed yesterday, due to the rain.  May Day is a major holiday in France, as it is in many European countries. It is a celebration of Socialism. The roads were crowded; people were enjoying cafes, shopping flea markets, cruising shops…. Motorcyclists, RVs, bicyclists were everywhere. I shudder to contemplate what it is like in summer, particularly August!  To add to the congestion, the Dordogne River was in flood, washing out parking areas and other stopping spots. We stopped in Domme, La Roque-Gageac, Beynac, Montfort, Les Eyzies.

We decided to stop for lunch because, due to the national holiday, we knew the hotel wouldn’t be serving meals.  Margo was driving and as we rounded a bend, she spotted a nice-looking place for lunch – Les Pres Gaillardou. We enjoyed a delicious regional meal, reasonably priced.

(Margo) I chose terrine of duck with a small salad and onion confite (relish), followed by coq au vin, ancient style, whatever that is (!), with roasted potatoes and a green salad.  Steve ordered the green lentil salad with slivers of grilled duck breast, followed by herbed, roasted duck breast and fries with a tomato salad. For dessert, we whose dessert of the day: fresh white goat cheese smothered in wild strawberry sauce. All was delicious!

We chose the hotel on the basis of its “red” markings in the Michelin Guide. It was fantastic.  A huge layout of what must have been a major farm in the 1800s, it sprawled in a lovely landscape.  The hosts were charming, our room delightful.

May 2: Auberge du Centre-Poitou, Coulombiers

Again, a listing in the Michelin Guide attracted us to a detour on our way to La Rochelle, about 100 kilometers. The guide described it with both a blue “Bib” (an accommodation of both special quality and value), and a red “Bib” (special quality and value of food).

The drive wasn’t particularly attractive, but the major roads were high speed, with huge numbers of big rigs from countries outside France.

We stopped for a rather unsatisfactory lunch; Margo had a salad with what appeared to be artificial crab, and I a salad Nicoise with poor quality tuna.

The inn was spectacular; founded in 1870 with four generations continuously operating it. Though food and accommodation were relatively inexpensive, everything was special. Every generation had added to the plant, buildings connected, floors added, etc.

The place was packed for dinner.

(Margo) Steve ordered cream of green lentils with warm Lyonnaise sauce and passion fruit vinaigrette; I chose ravioli with fruits de mer (squid, shrimp and mussels) with a curried dried fruit sauce.

For dessert, we both ordered the special of the day: warm dark chocolate tart with caramel sauce, topped with chopped and toasted pistachios – a strange but delicious combination.

Le Mely

Friday: April 27^th, Le Mely (Luc Poppe’s place)

(Steve) This day’s drive was a cluster****. We weren’t aware that we simply could have entered Le Mely into the gps, so we chose what we believed was a “town” nearby. The gps led us all over Limousine region. We finally reentered another place near Luc’s. We eventually reached Le Mely in late afternoon, after driving at least double the actual distance. Luc greeted warmly and we settled in.

In celebration of Margo’s birthday, we went to Luc’s favorite restaurant, Le Recreation, located in an old schoolhouse that has been delightfully renovated, and displays modern artwork on its walls. It was a wonderful experience.

(Margo) The partners, owners/chef, greeted Luc warmly and we proceeded to order our fantastic dinner. We all ordered cream of white asparagus soup which was delightful.  Luc ordered ravioli in lobster sauce followed by sautéed turbot (sea bass, I believe) with potato/cheese pancakes/galettes and vegetables. Steve ordered a salad, topped with grilled cheese (he said it was delicious). For the main course, he chose roasted quail and the potato/cheese pancake, with sautéed vegetables. I ordered perfectly-roasted lamb, the potato/cheese patty and sautéed veggies. Before dessert, out they came with a platter of a regional specialty cheese that was very nice. Then…. We had to make room for dessert! Luc: tiramisu; Steve: nougat/pistachio ice cream; Margo: mango soufflé with fresh strawberries and Chantilly whipped cream…..aaahhhh! Luc chauffeured us back and forth to the restaurant, driving along the very narrow, winding roads!

Saturday, April 28^th, Le Mely

Our excursion, today, was the weekly market in Cahors and a concert in the cathedral by a trio of Brits, one of whom played the harpsichord and is a neighbor of Luc’s. The concert was all Baroque featuring compositions by Scarlatti, Bach, and Purcell, and Handel. It was delightful. We then walked around the outdoor market, enjoying that.

Luc decided to fix dinner at home tonight. He did a wonderful roast lamb, seasoned beautifully and served with Bordelaise sauce, roasted potato wedges, and green beans. A lovely meal.

Sunday, April 29^:  Le Mely

(Steve) We went to a fabulous little museum that we missed seeing on our last trip. It focuses on the works of an artist named Ossip Zadkine.  He was a Russian who had fled to France in 1908, probably to escape pogroms. He moved to Les Arques (near Le Mely) in 1934 and spent the remainder of his long life working there. He work reflected his contacts with some of the well-known artists of the period, but was uniquely his own.

(Margo) In the evening, Luc introduced us to another of his favorite restaurants, Le Casserole. The owners are a Dutchman and a Belgian. Luc and Margo ordered set meals, but I confined myself to wonderful cream of zucchini soup, pork medallions, cheese, and cassis (blackcurrant) ice cream for dessert. Luc and Margo both ordered the set dinner menu for the evening, and one of their favorite French desserts: Colonel (which is a dish of fruit sorbet drowned in vodka!).

Giverny, Monet's Garden

Wednesday, April 25: Clos de Mondetour, Fontaine-sous-Jouy.

We had an early start after breakfast, depending on Suzy to take us through the abominable Parisian commute traffic for over an hour. The sky was dark and drizzly, but it had lessened by the time we reached Giverny…artist Monet’s Garden. The anticipated crowds had apparently been put off by the rainy weather, but the gardens were a glorious riot of blooms. Tulips of all colors dominated. The rain stopped and we were able to get many good photos of the gardens and lake. We were a little disappointed that the lilies on the lake were not in bloom. Monet’s house was open for visitors, so we were able to walk through it. It was an awesome feeling to actually be able to walk through his personal art studio, the walls of which were covered with many of his famous paintings. Also displayed were many personal mementos from the last 40 years of his life, which were spent in Giverny.

We spent several hours immersed in the gorgeous grounds and inspected the interior of Monet’s home which has been lovingly restored and maintained. He left his entire estate to be enjoyed by the public.

Our evening’s destination, located through Guide Michelin, was a restored 16^th century building that offered only three rooms.  We had our choice, dropped our luggage, and set off for a restaurant recommended by our hostess… Les Tres Etangs, which translates to “three ponds”. In summer it   is a “leisure center” offering trout fishing, boules, etc.  We had intended to have a snack, but the menu was too enticing and we ate a full meal.  Steve chose steak tartare, Margo chose duck confit which was superb. The meal included a trip around the buffet prior to the main course. For dessert, we chose a trilogie of sorbets with assorted fresh fruits. The combination of lime, berry and blackcurrant sorbets was interesting. We enjoyed a couple of espressos with cream, and then drove back to the B&B. Margo took a walk through the village while Steve took a nap.

Later, we went downstairs and enjoyed a cup of tea in front of a cozy fire in the fireplace. The charming owners came and visited with us. They apparently bought this ancient farmhouse 11 years ago and the restoration is an ongoing project. They’ve done a wonderful job. It reminds us very much of our friend Luc’s place, to which we will be returned this coming Friday, to spend a couple of days with him.

Paris

Sunday, April 22: Paris, Hotel Taylor.

(Steve) After breakfast, we reluctantly said our goodbyes and began our drive to Paris (5 hours).

The trip was on a relatively lightly traveled motorway, no domestic commercial carriers, and a minimum of Eastern European commercial vehicles.  The weather was not at all pleasant, intermittent heavy showers added to the stress. We had a heart-stopping experience: The GPS went on the blink about a third of the way.  We couldn’t begin to anticipate how we might negotiate our way to the hotel, which is so obscurely located that cabs had trouble finding it on our last visit to Paris!  We attempted every possible maneuver to make it work… unsuccessfully!  However, an hour before we reached Paris, “Suzy Sound Bite” returned, just in the nick of time to get us to the hotel.

Traffic came to a crawl.  It took us several hours to make the last six kilometers.  I shudder what it might have been without “Suzy”.

We did make it to the hotel, and then a new problem arose: parking.  As often is the case in Paris, the hotel has no parking facilities on site.  One is expected to park in public garages, which are sparse.

The clerk gave us a map, which had few street signs, drew a complicated route to the nearest garage and sent us off. We never did find it, became totally disoriented by the myriad one-way streets, and decided to start all over again from the hotel. Next, we discovered a new obstacle: road works closed of many of the turns Suzy (our GPS) called for… one-way streets were reversed.  It took us nearly an hour to find our way to the hotel in order that we might start afresh.  We turned the first corner of our new attempt and Margo noticed an obscure sign, “garage”.  Located in an old, derelict-looking building, the narrow entrance was dark and sloped sharply upwards.  There seemed to be no one around.  I stopped, blocking traffic as all good Parisians do. A shadowy apparition appeared.  In my perfect French, I asked, “garage?”  He beckoned us in, directed us up several steep floors, and there were loads of spaces.  The charge was an arm and a leg, but significantly less than we had been stuck with in the Munich hotel.  We paid, gladly.

We decided to cruise the neighborhood in search of food.  Many places were closed (we assumed because of it being Sunday and Election Day).  Just around the corner from the hotel, we spotted Café Renaissance that, although being unprepossessing, and looking deserted, except for a few drinkers, had a large menu.  We gambled…and won!  The food was delicious.  We correctly guessed the cooking was from the Auvergne region of France – hearty, tasty, but very filling. I chose meat-stuffed cabbage and Margo tried the roast pork. We skipped dessert.We walked back to the hotel, Margo had a hot soak in the tub with a glass of wine, while I worked on the journal.

Monday, April 23: Paris, Hotel Taylor

(Steve) We arose and had a leisurely breakfast. The breakfast buffet is small but offers everything one could want: croissants, small baguettes, cereals, cheeses and cold cuts.

 The sky was clear, but rain predicted. Took a cab to the Pompidou Center where we encountered the first of a series of endless queues (two hours in line). The place is huge and sprawling, and finding elevators and escalators a challenge. One “up” elevator was not operating and a woman standing next to me said, “Welcome to France”! 

Then, after finding our way to the sixth floor, where the special Matisse exhibit was located, we found a still longer line to enter the exhibit itself.  We stood in line nearly an hour, and then viewed two wonderful exhibitions – Matisse: “Pairs and Series” which compared two or more each of his works and explored their relationships.  An excellent audio guide made the show even more clear and interesting.  We spent several hours digesting the show, and then went on to an exhibit of Art Spiegelman’s graphic novels, which included an exhaustive exposition of the development of his powerful “Maus”.  Tired out, we caught a cab back to the hotel.

(Margo) Back at the hotel, exhausted from traipsing around the museum for hours, we rested and then went around the corner from the hotel and had a wonderful Moroccan dinner at Zerda. We began with a cilantro-laden, spicy harissa soup, followed by lamb tagine with prunes, apricots and almonds for Steve, and lamb tagine with apricots, almonds and raisins for me, with a side dish of semolina couscous. It was all delicious but, again, we had no room for dessert!

Tuesday, April 24: Paris, Hotel Taylor

We were late getting downstairs to breakfast, but they took pity on us and served us anyway!         

We spent the day at Musee d’Orsay, and  the queues were worse than the day before at the Pompidou Centre. It took several hours standing in lines that doubled back and forth before we actually entered…tiring and disappointing. We discovered the way to attend these mob scenes is to buy reserved tickets in advance.

While the place has been refurbished since our last visit, it still leaves much to be desired; the audio guides were disorganized and it was difficult to collate the point in the guide and the image being viewed. There is such a huge volume of stuff to be seen that one can only “do” one or two sections, at most, in one visit.

Our feet aching, we caught a cab home. The driver was a kick and spoke fluent English, gained from years in Australia where he had been a chef.  He had returned to Paris when his young wife had a stroke and he then took up cab-driving in order to be flexible in caring for her.

After a short rest, we decided to return to Café Renaissance for dinner. We both ordered the  rabbit-stuffed cabbage.  Unlike our experience there Sunday evening, the place was packed with mostly after-work diners.  We had an incompetent young waiter, which detracted a bit from the meal. On top of that, he “lost” our meal ticket! About an hour later, the maître d’ gave up on that problem, and we retreated back to the hotel.

The Lindquist’s (Jaana and Thomas) home

Friday, April 19:The Lindquist’s (Jaana and Thomas) home

(Steve)After breakfast, we had plenty of time to enjoy the Freiburg daily market, which surrounds the cathedral.  There are many stands selling local handicrafts, some very attractive.  All the vegetable stands featured that seasonal favorite; white asparagus or “spargel”.  The flower stands had

lovely displays of tulips.  And there were multiple sausage stands (often side by side) selling every variety of sausage one could imagine.  And people were gorging (at 10 o’clock in the morning!). 

We tore ourselves away and took the short ride to Luxembourg. Along both sides of the freeway (autobahn) were miles and miles of white asparagus fields. White asparagus is grown in long mounds of soil, covered entirely in black plastic – which apparently prevents the asparagus from turning green from sun exposure. Interesting!

 As we drove up to Thomas and Janna’s residence, we saw Thomas playing with their dog, Yahtsie. He is a lovely collie, but quite eccentric and, at times, not very people friendly.  He obviously objects to sharing Thomas and Jaana with other people…quite amusing. He enjoys being friendly, but only on his terms!

We had a wonderful visit catching up on what had been going on in the lives of the four of us since our last trip.

As is so typical of Scandinavians Steve has known, there is never a moment when one doesn’t have a snack and/or drink pressed on one. The Lindquists are true to form.  You have to be careful or you will gain several pounds daily.  

We went to dinner at Mousel, a cozy old restaurant in the remains of an old brewery.  The atmosphere is exceptionally welcoming and boisterous.  We remembered from our visit in the past, there were groups of people having a grand time, drinking and stuffing themselves.  So it was this time, too. The food is traditional and served in huge portions.  Margo had schweinhaxe (roasted pork leg) and I had baurenschmaus, which was described in the English menu as “sauerkraut with six different meats” What a gorge!  We rolled home and fell into bed satiated.       

                          

Saturday, April 20: Jaana & Thomas Lindquist’s home

(Steve) We spent the day socializing until we went out for dinner.  The destination was Auberge de la Klauss, a lovely inn and restaurant, south of Luxembourg, in the village of Montenach, France. The drive was lengthy, passing through absolutely lovely countryside.  We drove along the beautiful Mosel River, through Germany into France.  The drive was well worth the effort – the scenery was delightful.

The Michelin Red Guide simply fails to do justice to the place.  It describes the restaurant as being a good value, but totally fails to reflect on the rustic charm, ambience, fabulous food and great service. Upon entering the restaurant, we discovered just how large the place is - the rooms are at odd angles to one another; the dominant décor in each dining area is a display of countless dozens of clocks (none working!).  The menu was a bit difficult to sort out.  There were a series of set menus, each priced differently according to the number of courses, and each with a different central food specialty. One choice, which we almost chose, was about a five- or six-course meal. We would have been there until well after midnight had we chosen that one!  The waiter pressed us to order one of the shorter combinations…how right he was!

(Margo) For an appetizer, we all chose the Terrine of Wild Boar, served with thick, crusty peasant bread. Jaana was also inquiring about the appetizer of sautéed duck liver, so the waiter obligingly brought us a small serving for four. It was absolutely, sinfully delicious!

Thankfully, there were long pauses between courses, which gave our digestive systems a chance to get prepared for the next course!

The main course consisted of roast wild boar accompanied by the crispest fried potatoes you could ever imagine.

The waiter suggested a good red wine to accompany the meal, and we had fun watching him slowly decant the wine into a lovely old pewter decanter, gently holding a lighted candle under the neck of the bottle as he did so. We later learned (from our friend Luc) that the purpose of the candle is that any sediment in the wine will be visible before the wine is poured into the decanter.

  

The meal lasted well over two-and-a-half hours.  It was fabulous!  The image, below shows some of the dozens of clocks…none working!

Thomas took the motorway home, cutting the driving time less than half. Margo and I dozed most of the way.  Again, we fell into bed.

Freiburg

Thursday, April 19:  Freiburg, Hotel Oberkirch

We had a leisurely breakfast, which did offer all the treasured delights we remembered from the past.  The only part of our hotel stays so far, this trip, which brought back fond memories.

The horrendous bill upon checkout confirmed our negative feelings about Bayerischer Hof.  We were stiffed for everything; €3 [ca. $1.32 per Euro] for each daily edition of the Herald Tribune, which had been complementary in the past , over €127 for two phone calls to Verizon,  €30 for each night’s garage.  Never, again; we have made reservations elsewhere for our return to Munich when we fly home in August.

Our drive to Freiburg, on the autobahn was relatively short in distance, but very high on stress.  Almost constant roadwork meant narrowed lanes; no passing and recurrent brake lights that were stressful to the extreme.

Our driving negotiation to the hotel, which had been difficult in the past, proved much easier this time.  We were welcomed warmly—what a contrast to Munich!

It was cold with a drizzling rain, so we made dinner reservations in the adjacent restaurant, then retreated to our room.  By 7 p.m., the restaurant was packed, the meal delicious; a positive memory from the past.

Munich

(Steve) We left San Francisco the evening of Sunday April 15.  Our first disappointment was the airport lounge Lufthansa uses in San Francisco, managed and serviced by United Airlines…what a dump - the only snacks available were pretzels or bags of tiny raw carrots. The hostess was personality-deficient and very unhelpful.

We boarded our plane, a new Airbus 600 with a gracious staff, but sadly lacking in sufficient  toilets for a full plane.  The food was over-plentiful, but the seats failed to fully recline, making sleep a struggle. 

Monday, April 16^: Munich, Hotel Bayerischer Hof

The flight was eleven hours and, upon landing, it took us nearly two hours to recover our  luggage and pick up our lease car.  It is a Peugeot, with a wonderful GPS which guided  us, in heavy  rain, to our hotel.

(Margo)After settling ourselves our room, we headed downstairs to the hotel’s Keller (ancient wine cellar dating back to the 1700s. It was like being in a rock-lined dungeon. We enjoyed it  on our last visit. We had a light snack (hearty asparagus soup with liver dumplings. He said it was good. I opted for a German veal sausage (weisswurst). Our meal washed down with a dark German beer for Steve and light German beer for me.

We then headed back to our room to catch up on our sleep.

Tuesday, April 17: Munich, Bayerischer Hof

(Steve) After a poor night’s sleep (jetlag), we woke up to a series of disappointments and frustrations:  The package with our wedding gift for Frank and Melanie, which we’d had shipped to the hotel in Munich,   had been returned to the U. S. by the German post office. I discovered that my brand- new iPhone simply didn’t work, despite the assurances I received from the Verizon dealer in San Francisco from whom I purchased it, that  it was European-compatible.  We were informed by the German cell phone stores that the so-called “sim” chip was incompatible with the European versions. The Apple store personnel in Munich told us the same thing! Won’t work in Europe

                   

 We spent the next day going from the Apple Store to various cell phone  stores, all to no avail.  A cell phone in Europe is called a “handy”.  No one had a solution…

In a rage of frustration, I called our Visa card company to request that all Verizon charges for the iPhone be disputed. The Visa representative called Verizon to discuss the problem.  Verizon, in turn, brought in a tech support person who walked us through a lengthy, complicated process that made the sim chip work.  It took several hours, but I now have a functioning iPhone!  (The phone charge on our hotel bill was, of course, astronomical).

We have enjoyed staying at the Bayerischer Hof hotel in the past, but it has has proven a disappointment this time.  Although the staff is generally as agreeable as it had been in the past; the services have been severely cut back though the prices have sharply increased.  For example, our reservations included a complementary “high tea”.  In the past, that consisted of a pyramid of cakes, scones, sandwiches and the like - so generous we used to skip dinner. This time, however, after a long wait, the server finally asked us if we wanted either cake or a sandwich!  The cake wasn’t what it had been in the past, and the sandwich was tiny, dry and tasteless.  The coffee was lukewarm and served in a half-filled pot.  We left, hungry.

(Margo) We went for dinner to the Spatenhaus brewpub, which was as much fun and the food as hearty and tasty as we had remembered.

For the appetizer, we both chose Sautéed White Asparagus with a delicate sauce laced with crumbles of crispy smoked Black Forest Ham – I’ll have to experiment with that at home (using green asparagus). The Germans go hog wild over white asparagus, which is only available for a very short time in the spring of the year. Following our appetizer, Steve ordered Beetroot (beet) Carpaccio served on a bed of green salad, followed by Venison Ragout and steamed fresh vegetables. He said it was delicious.

For the main course, I ordered crispy roast pork with Klosse (wonderful German potato dumplings and German red cabbage, apple sauce, with a side dish of green bean bundles wrapped with smoked bacon. 
              

 Wednesday, April 18^:  Munich, Hotel Bayerischer Hof

(Steve) We window-shopped, including a visit to Loden Frey (upscale clothing store near the hotel).   We found things extremely expensive and had no urge to actually buy.  We did go to the huge bookstore on the Marienplatz and were able to find a 2012 Michelin Red Guide for France.  We stopped at Dallmayr, the lux gourmet food shop, for a bottle of wine to take for to  Olivier LeFeuvre, our friend in Berlin, who had invited us for a wonderful gourmet dinner. He has recently taken up gourmet cooking and showed us photos of some of the wonderful things he has been cooking and baking.

An obligatory stop at Konditerei Kreutzcam for a lunch snack of coffee and cake was in order. 

(Margo) Olivier picked us up at 7 p.m., and drove us to his home for a wonderful evening, which included a lots of warm and lively talk and a viewing  of a grand Woody Allen film we had neither seen nor heard of in the United States (“Whatever Works”). We highly recommend it.

Olivier’s delightful meal was outstanding. Before dinner, we sat and chatted over some wonderful French white wine (although Olivier lives in Munich, working for BMW, he is actually French, so enjoys serving French wines). The wine was light and fruity, with a little bubble to it. Olivier disappeared into the kitchen and when he reappeared, he brought three delightful, square ceramic dishes (with lids), in which he served his delicately seasoned fish soup. It was a creamy, bisque-like soup – very delicious! Olivier’s main course was roasted duck breast brushed with a most unusual, tasty sauce that he told us included cumin, coriander and cinnamon. He served it with a mélange of lightly sautéed Spring vegetables, served with an excellent French Merlot wine.  After we viewed the Woody Allen film, Olivier drove us back to our hotel around midnight – tired, exhausted but happy to have been able to spend time with our good friend.