The "Best of" Blog

While it is still fresh in my mind, and while sitting in Pau Airport waiting for a flight to Charles de Gaulle, I thought I would attempt to capture all of the "best of" elements of the trip.

Best petit dejeuner - I think the Hotel Roncevaux in Pau. The bread was fresh and crusty, the croissants and pain au chocolat buttery, and the coffee rich and tasty. Plus they had granola and fruit.

Best lunch - We had great ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches in a picnic lunch on the long day from Pau to the Comminges, but the best lunch may still go to the garbure we had at the top of Tourmalet.

Best dinner - This is a really hard category, but a slight edge goes to the second night at the Hotel d'Angleterre in Arreau. Appetizer was grilled eggplant tower layered with cheese and a tomato coulis, lamb chops that were out of this world (I am sure we had seen relatives of our dinner while out riding that day) and cheese with a cherry preserve for dessert. Gordon had the same entree but started with a garbure and finished with an upside down apple pie. Honorable mentions all around for the confit de canard the night before at the Hotel, and also to the fish at La Concha in Pau.

Best hotel - The 7 Molles in Sauveterre de Comminges. The accommodations were quite refined and the setting was splendid. The only downside is that two rounds of beers for the group cost us about 60 Euros.

Best wine - Hard to say. The region, unfortunately, isn't know for its great wine. We had a terrific rose from Corbieres at the 7 Molles, and a Chateau Bouscasse from the Madiran was good. We really didn't drink any bad wine the entire trip, but I don't think we had any wine that was particularly memorable.

Best Col - Another hard category. We liked the Aspin and the Col d'Azet for sheer beauty. Tourmalet, of course, is wonderful because it is legendary. This is like asking which of your children is the best.

Worst Col - Pla d'Adet. It was a long and hot grind to the top, and the top was a ski village that must look a lot better in the winter.

Worst meal - At the Hotel des Cimes in Argeles-Gazost. Other than a few carrots that had been thrown in a pureed soup, the entire meal was beige and barely edible. It is probably fitting, as that Hotel also got the honor of the worst hotel and the worst breakfast. This was the country cousin of the Hotel Paradis.

May think of more, but that's it for the moment.