Blogs from Aquitaine, France, Europe
May 17th 2012
We have had a great week here in Cenac with our friends Geoff and Mon. They are off to Scotland tomorrow and we are off to Paris. We went for a drive yesterday and ended up driving around the French country side for about 6 hours. It was really pretty and some of the tiny little villages were very cute. We got lost a couple of times trying to take a few short cuts! Some of the roads were more like tracks. We went to a place called Rockamadour, very impressive. The view from the castle on the hill was amazing. It was very high up, a little scary looking down. It has been quite warm here, we have only had one day of rain and that was really light. I don't think I mentioned that ... read more
May 15th 2012
We went canoeing yesterday......Graeme and I fell out of our canoe!!!!!! We went to close to the edge and the under growth. I would like to tell you that the rapids were huge but that would not be true. The current was quite strong, it was a bit scary for the first few minutes. We had to hold on to a tree and et our breath, lucky we had life jackets on. Geoff and mon caught our canoe and held on to it until we could swim to it. It was a very cold and wet 2 hour trip after that. We did entrip the trip, the views were magnificent. We went to the town market this morning, all the locals were out buying their veggies for the week. We felt like a local and ended ... read more
May 14th 2012
Hi everyone, We have found a lovely restaurant in our village that has wifi....happy. We had dinner here last night, it was very nice. Some of us has duck breast with strawberry sauce! Tasted lovely. Cenac is a small village of about 1000 people, it has everything we need, supermarket, restaurants and a pub. It is quite hilly so we are getting a good workout. As I said yesterday we went to a walled village called Domme. We had to walk up a very steep hill. Domme is a bastide town, pop 2000people. We are going canoeing this afternoon, it will take about 3 hrs along the Dordogne river. Should be fun! Cheers S&G... read more
May 13th 2012
Hi everyone, We are having a great time a great time in the south of France. We have very limited access with wifi at the moment. This is the first chance we have had any wifi. We are sitting in a bar in a beautiful hill top town called . Thank goodness for bars with wifi. Our cottage in Cenac is so lovely, it has heaps of character. We are really comfortable and we are having lots of fun with Geoff and Mon. Have to go and walk home down the hill! Xxxx... read more
May 8th 2012
Since we had no appointments at any particular chateau in St. Emilion we decided to take advantage of the bank holiday (end of WWII) and sleep in before we head out. This gave us a chance to catch up on some sleep. They way we travel, is pretty much go go go from 7 am until 11 pm so the occasional sleep until 9 or 9:30 is very nice. We did miss breakfast, but the beef from last night was still pretty much sitting there for me so I didn’t mind. Once a wake and showered we were off to the UNESCO world heritage site of St. Emilion. The entire village has been classified as an historic site. Once you see you it will know why and I am sorry but the pictures really don’t do ... read more
May 7th 2012
After a somewhat fitful night of sleeping we work to a sunny French day. Today’s agenda was the wine region known as the Medoc. Within the Medoc there are 8 or 9 sub-appellations. We were hoping to hit at least 2 or three. After showering we went up to breakfast (yes up the breakfast room is on the 4th floor). Before I continue I do have a brief aside on the shower issue. The shower was perhaps the smallest shower I have every seen. It was hard for Jerry to move around you can imagine how much fun it was for me. Ah the joys of two stars. Tourism Office Our first stop of the day would be a walk to the Masion de vins and the Tourist office. According to Fodor’s the Masion de vins ... read more
May 6th 2012
Before we left Pau, we took a walk to the Chateau that was the birth place of Henri IV, one of the King’s of France. We missed the last tour so only saw the outside. On the way there we kept hearing loud racing car noises; we could not figure it out. Also, last night on the way to and from dinner we passed by a large place with tents and tons of people celebrating. We found out why. This weekend was a Grand Prix auto race, this weekend was the antique cars next week the modern cars. We watched a little and went on our way. Today we head north to Bordeaux the half way point of our journey. The exit out of Pau was pretty easy; just follow the signs to Bordeaux. We again ... read more
May 5th 2012
Breakfast at the Château The day started with breakfast at the Chateau. It was your traditional half baguette, croissant and coffee affair, plus a cold buffet, with cheese, ham, yogurt etc. The only reason I am really talking about this is because of the very cool three minute egg cooker. They had this machine full of water, you turned the temperature up and when it boiled you placed the egg in a small ramekin then in the special holder and dropped it in the water. Three minutes later you have the perfect 3 minute soft boil egg. I want one of these for home. Roquefort After breakfast it was off to Roquefort and a tour of the caves. It is about a 15 minute drive from Millau to Roquefort, you pass under the famous bridge and ... read more
Bordeaux France - Wine, food, wine, sights, wine, french people, wine, french language, wine and wine!
Published: April 18th 2012Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux
April 18th 2012
Friday March 30th - After a good 12 hours of traveling and/or sitting in airports, we finally made it to Bordeaux. Customs was non-existent and we luckily got the last tourist map from the airport information desk. With our baggage in tow, we found an English speaking taxi driver (first one in line at the taxi stand) and we found the apartment rental with no problems. Our hosts were very friendly, as far as we could tell - they only spoke French! But they smiled a lot and we got through the tour of the home with lots of pointing, nodding and smiling. We were also amused by the antiquated gender-specific tasks in which they navigated the tour. Brian, here is the electrical panel. Shannon, here is the broom closet. Of course, we just had to ... read more
March 29th 2012
Open a champagne bottle. Take a firm grip and feel the tension in your body as you slowly push out the cork, every muscle ready to fight or take flight. Feel the slight perspiration on your palm as sweat starts to form. Sense the pressure from the champagne trapped within the glass as it pushes up on the cork, trying to take control from your slick hands. Right before the edge of the cork approaches the lipe of the bottle there is a moment where everything pauses, tensed, suspended and it's a 50/50 chance that you are in control. -POP!!!- The cork flies out like it was sent from a cannon, shot to some unknown place and the clear, crisp, bubbly froths out onto the floor, watering the ground like the great celebrations in honor of ... read more
