Turns out it's an actual place. There is so much culture you miss out on if you live in the Mormon bubble. As TBM's, we would never have considered going there. Prices are a shocker, though, but still less than tithing...

Having been a BYU Study Abroad student in Madrid the day I turned 21, I missed out on all the wine, hard cider, and all that good heady stuff in Europe.

I remember our BYU Spanish teacher/Director took us to a Sherry wine (Jerez/Xeres) vineyard in Andalucía. I guess that was being pretty progressive for a Mormon.

The Spanish tour guide had a good laugh when it came time to give out the free samples, and we all shook our heads no in unison.

Congratulations on your tour of France. I do hope you got to sip some wine that was loved by past popes! LOL.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2013 08:51PM by Senoritalamanita.

We were in Chateau-neuf-du Pape 2 weeks ago!!!! Had a bottle or two of their finest. Ignore the prices.

OKAY, my French is VERY rusty (if indeed it was ever anything else), but you are in the ninth Chateau of the ahem ...... boobs? Or is my French way out? Even if it is interesting. I have always LOVED the name of the mountain range in the US, the Grand Titans (is that how you spell it?) Meaning BiG Tits Range, Sorry in a weird mood this morning!!

Châteuneuf du Pape means "New Castle of the Pope". Neuf means new as in newly created.

The city is near Avignon, where the Popes lived for over 100 years in the 14th and 15th C.

I was assuming that "du Pape" refered to "papa/pope". Apparently some Catholic Pope loved the wine from that vineyard.

I don't know French. But I thought that the Grand Tetons had something to do naming the mountain range after big boobs.

That place was in my mission. Ugh. The thought of how close I was and never went there, or even wanted to go (then). Wasted, wasted, wasted time.

Thanks for the translation. So it is pope, not ....boobs. I suppose if he pope loved the wine, it is a little bit like the prophet liking postum, everyone wants it huh?

Postum! Very good joke, Fluhist.

Mamelle also means breast in French. But I had to Google it, of course.

Chateau-neuf-du-Pape means "the new castle of the Pope". The village is across the Rhone from Avignon where the Palais du Papes is located. The papacy was located there under several Popes in the 14th Century.

The wines of the region became deservedly famous.

A local Australian winemaker makes a fine quality red which he calls as a pun "Nine Popes", as "neuf" can also translate as the number.

fluhist, were you thinking along the lines of the Paps of Jura, mountains on the Hebridean islands named because of their resemblance to breasts.

I love collecting word and nomenclature trivia!!!!

To bring this back to ExMo relevance when we were staying in Avignon 2-3 weeks ago the city was buzzing with young visitors for the Avignon(arts and performances) Festival. Each day as I walked through the Porte Roch in the walls opposite the main railway station I saw Mormon missionaries accosting young traveller's who had just stepped off the train.The only blight on a magical city.

Yes somewhere in my mind the word Pap meant breasts (a latin root I learned in school perhaps?), as in Pap smear, the medical test, meaning reproductive organs or whatever. But mamettes makes sense, as in mammary gland, but the ette means little, so mamette must mean little breasts, all very interesting!

Sigh, your trip to Avignon sounds WONDERFUL!!!! Arts and performances there must be incredible!! When I think of Avignon I always think of the "Sur le ponte, d'Avignon, Lonny dancey toute en rond" song, that I love. On the bridge at Avignon Lonney Danced round and round. I LOVE it. But my French is SO scetchy and of course meanings change over the years.

Well I suppose even paradise must have its problems, and Mormon missionaries are part of it huh?

Are there many French members? I would have thought that the Catholic Church would have had a good hold? It certainly did in French Quebec when I lived in Canada. But then the two places are VERY different even the French is different.

Thankyou for telling me about your trip. I sounds wonderful!!

Sorry again Fluhist. Tha pap smear is named after Papanicolau the pathologist who first introduced and refined.

Sorry to be a know it all but I do LOVE trivia.

Fluhist ,I love your Mondegren of the folk song!

The words are "on y danse tous en rond"-we all dance there in a circle.

We were told that the folk song was originally "SOUS le pont" under the bridge as the bridge originally connected both banks over an island where festivities were held.The bridge is now of course, famously broken. The folk song was used in an operetta around the late 1800's and as it seemed illogical to dance UNDER a bridge,as that would mean dancing in the water, the word was changed.The bridge is way too narrow to dance on but a must-see to walk on.

The song is claimed to have done more for tourism numbers in Avignon than any high powered PR couild do.

This is why I love collecting trivia.

Haven't forgotten your trip to Scotland last year. We spent a fantastic time in the islands prior to our France jaunt. You asked for a return and report.

I could go on for hours. Lets just say that whisky in the porridge is a culinary stroke of genius and as for cranachan...

Won't bore others on the board with a long treatise but loved every second .

We surprised people on our SeaDream cruise in Italy and Greece when I put some scotch in oatmeal. A lot of folks have never heard of doing that, but it's really delicious. Our trip to Scotland was probably my favorite yet. I felt right at home there.

Would looooove to go there. The wine is divine! ;-)

**Smug mormon-like smile***

Well I did say my French was rusty!! Heh heh!!!

I LOVE all your trivia, I must admit it is not something I am good at.
I once said at a trivia night that if you wanted me to speak for a half hour on the significance of crinoline in 19th century Australia, I could do it, but answer trivia questions? NOPE!!

But dancing under the bridge at Avignon sounds just as good as dancing on it!! Especially if the bridge has fallen down now huh? Heh hheh!!

Have a GREAT time and have a dance at the Avignon bridge for me!!

PS

I bet when you put this thread on this morning you didn't expect to to be discussing boobs etc did you?? Courtesy of fluhist the ever so slightly idiotic!!

When in France a couple of years ago, we sang the song "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" while walking on the bridge in the fog. It was the best! Also, the Chateau des Papes and the surrounding area was beautiful. Wine was great too!

OK, since we're sharing our french ignorance, neuf means 9. Nouveau means new. How does Chateauneuf mean new house and not 9 house?

OK, to find out the multiple meanings of neuf, go to wordreference.com and check it out. ;-)

Thanks, Bordergirl!

meanings.

yes,nouveau/nouvelle also means "new",as does "neuf,adj(m);neuve,adj(f).

The best known example ofthis word is Le Pont Neuf in Paris.The NEW bridge, not the 9 (9th would be neuvieme) bridge.

French also has homonyms-words that sound alike but different meanings as dos English, and words that are spelled the same but are pronpinced differently.

English examples in my last sentence: does,does
spell ,spell

Here endeth the lesson.

And a good morning to all. Had a good laugh indeed at all the linguistic gymnastics. If there were a city of boobs, I'd definitely want to go there :-)

Last day in Avignon today, going wine shopping in a minute. Then it's on to Paris where we shall celebrate our daughter's 15th birthday on the Eiffel tower.

PS the other thread was closed so I'll confess here that we did not cycle up the Mont Ventoux. Our old and trusted Toyota took us there in about the same time as Lance used to cycle up :-)

I went back to my mission and looked up an old convert that had left the church. He, my wife and I went out to a dance place and got drunk. Yeah! Much more fun this time round.

We bought 2 bottles from the northern Rhone region. Same grapes, same year but still wildly different according to the shop guy. Curious to find out is we can taste the difference. Wine is fun. So is tasting wine at a wine shop :-)