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Nineteen Corvettes and a rented Opel (Ted Holcombe and his son Phil are here sans Corvette) racing 100+MPH for 80 miles or so to the town of Cognac.
Jim & Rhea Browning's daughter's husband's father (follow that?) Jack
lives in France; he helped out by guiding us to the Hennessey distillery, arranging for our visit there and leading us all over France for the week; you da man, Jack!
The Hennessey people treated us like royalty. They roped off an area for the Corvettes
Here's Dan explaining the finer points of under-hood C5 lore to our hosts at Hennessey:
We received very special treatment for the tour (and tasting) of their fine cognac. We didn't drink too much (high-speed driving you know) but enough to tell the difference between their 12 year old, 35 year old and, yes, 70 year old product. And they even gave us a discount off their already low factory prices. Some of us stocked up. Here's their "Cognac Boutique":
The tour included the oldest cellars they have -- dating back to the 1800s. The cellars are located across the river so they took us there by bateau (that's "boat" to you non-French-speakers out there):
We were treated to a view (but not a taste) of some of their oldest product. This demijohn contains Hennessey Cognac created in 1858 - yes, that's 1858!" :
We were interested to learn that the most expensive Hennessey Cognac available for purchase is US$1000 per bottle. It was created in 1815; not bad for a 185 year old Cognac...
Here's a shot of our Hennessey guide, Cyril. Not only did he get photographed next to Chaz' C5, he got a ride in Jock's. He was one happy Frenchman!
We bade farewell to the fine folks of Hennessey Cognac
and hurried back to the Chateau for a scheduled photo opportunity requested by the local newspaper. We arranged and re-arranged the cars in front of the Chateau and the pictures came out great.
Tonight is the first-ever C5 Registry Dinner in Europe! And, of course, Dan has lots to tell us about...
We were joined at the dinner by Registry Member Rune Ystebø and his friend Kjetil Klenne who drove all the way from Norway (2300 miles!) to be with us:
And the chef drew a resounding round of applause for a splendid meal!
Tomorrow is a scheduled bus tour of the castles of the Loire Valley. Some folks will opt out for other venues. Talk to you again tomorrow night!