Petes-Pix: Paris & the Heart of Normandy

My Books

"Pinotage: Behind the Legends of South Africa's own wine" is available on the ibookstore

Learn more about my new book telling all about Pinotage and read sample pages at
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A I Perold's
A Treatise
on Viticulture
A I Perold (1880-1941) was South Africa's first Professor of Viticulture and Oenology. He dedicated himself to improving the quality of grapes for wine, brandy and the table. He studied wine and brandy production in Europe, imported more than 60 varieties to the Cape and bred new ones. Perold said this book “is intended to serve both the student and the practical grape-grower. There are in it technical passages that will appeal more to the student, e.g. the chapters dealing with the biology of the vine, its external and internal morphology, the theory of grafting. My remarks on the practice of viticulture, such as those dealing with the propagation, manuring and pruning of the vine, the production of table grapes for export, will, it is hoped, assist the practical grape-grower as well as the student.” This is a newly typeset reprint, not a photocopy. Text on the 712 pages have been aligned to match the original pagination so any external references to pages in the Treatise will be valid in this edition
Available in paperback and hardback editions. 712 pages

A Year in Paarl
with
A I Perold

Dr Perolds report on his Paarl experiments 1915 - 1916 reprinted with glossary, introduction and brief biography. Fascinating historical document on viticulture for wine and table grapes, wine and brandy making.

05 September 2024

Paris & the Heart of Normandy – Paris

This was our 18th River Cruise and the 14th with Viking. It was also the 4th River Cruise we’d taken in 2024, two with Viking and two with Scenic.

We had not cruised on the Seine before; we had been waiting for Viking to introduce shorter boats to the route which would permit them to moor in central Paris. Skaga was shorter by having fewer cabins, but apart from that the boat was to the same clean, airy design as the rest of the Longship fleet. We had a port side cabin at the rear of the upper deck. The cruise started and ended in Paris.

There were 148 passengers. The capacity is 158, so there were 10 people fewer than there could have been and the boat was 93.7% full. Most of the passengers were from the USA, there were about 13 British and 6 Canadians.

Viking’s fare included on-board gratuities, Silver Spirit Drinks package and economy flights. Flights from London were with BA. We paid a supplement to upgrade to business class.

Day 1 – Thursday 5 September 2024

Vegetarian lunch on the short hop to Paris - with two or three glasses of Champagne

Our flight was scheduled to depart London at 11:00 and arrive, thanks to the hour time difference, at 13:20. We left later but it was only a 60 minute flight which landed at 13:28. Immigration and baggage claim were quick and there was no problem seeing the Viking reps wearing bright red fleeces outside arrivals, and we were in a taxi with two other couples 65 minutes after the plane touched the CDG runway.

It was dark and raining in Paris.

The journey to the boat took a long time. Although the Paris Olympics had finished the Paralympics was still on and Olympic restrictions continued. Outer lanes of motorways were restricted to official Olympic vehicles and some bridges across the Seine closed to traffic.

We boarded Viking Skaga at 16:00. The boat was moored on the Left Bank with its starboard side to the bank and was not rafted so our cabin faced the river. The rain stopped and the sun came out at 17:00. There was a safety drill at 17:45 so we just had time to unpack and enjoy a coffee in the lounge.

We could see the Eiffel Tower ahead of the boat, ten minutes walk from the boat.