OMG. We did it. We ate frogs legs. French for this food is "cuisse de grenouille" by the way hehe. While staying at an absolutely beautiful place belonging to some of Annie's family friends we experienced a more interesting array of French cuisine than I could possibly have expected. I'll be the first to admit that both of us were a little hesitant at first to try the frogs' legs but they're actually damn good. And I won because I ate 3 and Annie had to throw out the anchors after eating 1 ... ;) Aside from these we tried hare stuffed with truffle and foie gras (duck liver pate fried in a sweet wine), home-made pear liquour with enough power to burn the mouth of any unsuspecting taster. Then there was the chicken with thighs the size of lamb shanks. We were tricked into thinking these were a crazy castrated chicken and turkey hybrid. I mean, come on. How gullible are we? Ok, so it really was a castrated chicken but there was no turkey involved. Oh, and then the cheese. Every meal went along with every meal and some of them were on par with the pear liquour in terms of strength. And yes, I managed to mess this up too by eating the mouldy stuff around the edges of the cheese. Nobody told me you're supposed to cut the damn stuff off! (Annie: LOL) THEN I managed to completely mess up the name of one of the desserts by calling it "tartin" (which translates to raw meat) instead of the proper name, "tarte tatin" by claiming that my Mum makes it for dessert. Raw meat for dessert? Yeah, nice one Chris ... again. At each course there was a dazzling array of wine, both reds and whites. We managed to avoid having to try "rooster balls" which we saw for sale next to jars of "rooster crest". Yes, you read right. Rooster BALLS. OMG. I feel sorry for the roosters that had to contribute to that particular delicacy although our giant roasted "ball-less" chicken dinner did taste pretty good.

The following few days were a blur of wine and unbelievable food, all hosted by Fred's lovely family. A huge thanks has to go out to everyone for inviting the backpacking kiwis to stay. So ... THANKS! Christian and Fred - we'll catch you guys back in Wellington! :)

Getting to Vichy was a 9-hour mission of various train connections. The one from Lyon-Part-Dieu to Vichy was so packed we had to stand up with our backpacks for the entire 2 and a half hour journey. Man, that was a back-breaker. We spent the time playing various games, Annie whipping my butt at "Rock, paper, scissors" almost every time. Dang. (Annie: And no, Marshall, I didn't cheat!!)

Vichy is also well known for its spring water. The locals fill bottles with said water because drinking it provides all sorts of health benefits. We went to have a go at drinking the spring water that is good for your liver but unfortunately the spring was closed.

Apart from providing a health resort for older members of the population Vichy also caters to the younger inhabitants by pumping out loud techno and trance music into the streets via building-mounted speakers during all hours.

Next stop ... Paris!