Bordeaux, Land of Wine

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BORDEAUX

SATURDAY – NOVEMBER 19



Left San Sabastien and headed into the Pyrenees. We are in Basque country, and the signs still read both Spanish and Basque. The architecture has changed, even in the countryside. As the terrain flattened out it became quite wooded. It looks like there are a lot of tree farms in this area. Also spotted some lumber processing plants in some of the towns. As we drove into Bordeaux the traffic got much heavier, and the signs weren't indicating the road we needed to follow. We had to make a quick choice, and made a wrong turn. After stopping at a fuel station and asking for the road number, it was correct. As we drove further, we saw that we were going the wrong way. We turned toward Bordeaux center and ended up in a little neighborhood near the river. Stopped to ask for help from a gentleman in a plaza, but he spoke only a few words of English and he knew more English than we did French! We were able to get back onto the highway and discovered the correct direction and highway. We did find our hotel (after 2 hours). This was the only time we had more than a little difficulty. I am so grateful that I have a husband who is patient and is trusting of my directions. I leave the driving to him, he leaves the navigating to me. After checking in and opening the door to our room, there was a kitchen!! Oh, Heaven! Now I can cook!!!! Asked at the desk where there was a grocery store and headed out. Stocked up and left to go to the city center for dinner, as it was too late to cook tonight. And, oh did we find a place. A beautiful steak (they know what rare means), frites and salad. Walked around for a bit afterward, finding ourselves in front of the tourism office. There was a van parked there with a group of folks who had just returned from a wine tour. We talked to the guide and made arrangements to take a tour on Monday afternoon, then took the tram back to our hotel.



SUNDAY – NOVEMBER 20

Today we are going to Font du Gaume cave, about 2 hours out of the city. We had a nice breakfast of coffee, cheese and baguette. Had no problem finding the town and the cave, arriving about 11:30. The lady at the desk said that the next tour available was at 2:30, so we back-tracked a bit into Les Eysie and found her recommendation for lunch, Cafe Marie. Oh, what a lunch! First, pate with foi gras inside. Next, cassoulet with local sausage and pork. The bread was chewy on the outside and soft on the inside. For dessert—creme brulee. The sugar crust was beautifully brown and crunchy. You just shattered it with your spoon and dug in. The crème was fabulous---silky and not too sweet. All was washed down with a half-bottle of a local red wine. Mike had an omelette with ham and fromage, frites on the side. He helped me finish the wine. Properly fortified, we walked about the town a bit, then it was time to return to the cave.



Font du Gaume is a cave with prehistoric paintings 13-15,000 years old. Some are polychrome, some are just black outlines. The work is incredible. You are not allowed to touch anything inside, as the oils from our hands and residue on our clothing will degrade the environment more quickly. The tour was completely in French, so understanding everything was impossible, but we understood some, as the words are similar to English. The tour guide was a man who was so passionate about what he presented, that our 45 minute tour took 1-1/2 hours. Well worth it. This cave is the only one left in France that has polychrome pictures that is open to the public. Lascaux Cave II is a recreation of the original, and not very far from Font du Gaume. This whole area has more than a few caves available for touring, but check times and dates, as they are not all open every day of the week or certain times of the year. To see what was drawn 15,000 years ago, the detail and realism of the pictures, makes our petroglyphs and pictographs from 1000 years ago look child-like. The people who lived in this area treated these caves as sacred spaces and did not live in them. You can also see scratches on the walls from bears that used the caves to hibernate or live in before and after these people. After such a wonderful day, we headed back to Bordeaux. Arrived in the city after dark, but we found our hotel just fine. Took the tram back into the center, had a light dinner, and returned to the hotel.



MONDAY – NOVEMBER 21

Took the tram into town and walked around before meeting up with our tour group. Went out to St. Emilion appellation and visited 2 chateaus. The first was a very small operation and we were met by the owner. It was interesting to meet someone so passionate about what he does. All the growing and picking is done by hand. We learned a lot about how the French create wine. It is quite different from how we do it in the US, as they create one wine from each chateau, blending grape varieties. Still quite delicious. The second chateau was larger, but still does much by hand. Had a nice walk about St. Emilion afterward, and learned a bit about French history from Marian, our guide. She gave us a good recommendation for dinner at a Thai restaurant, which we enjoyed.





TUESDAY – NOVEMBER 22

Started a pot of chicken soup this morning, then put it away for dinner. Being our last day, already, we wandered about town, picking up some gifts and enjoying beautiful weather. Went over to the Museum of Wine and Commerce. Open, luckily. The exhibits explained how the wine in the Bordeaux region is sent to market from the grower, through a negotiator, to a merchant. This is still done today. Normally the growers do not have any contact with the merchants. It was also explained how Bordeaux was originally part of England, and their own private wine country. As things changed, the French needed to find new markets for their wine. It went as far as India, Russia, the Caribbean, and the Colonies in America. Would like to return here and learn more, as well as sample different wines. Stopped for a glass of wine at a cafe and watched the people walk by. Returned to our hotel and had some yummy chicken soup. Made too much, and shared it with the girls at the front desk, as we are leaving tomorrow. Abiento, Bordeaux!



TOULOUSE

WEDNESDAY – NOVEMBER 23

Departing Bordeaux, we were in wine country again. Along the highway there were cute little towns that we would have loved to explore, but we had a lunch date. Sebastien, one of our exchange students, and his mom, Francoise, were waiting for us at Sebastien's home. Following the directions we got online, we were fine until we got into the city. The directions were incorrect, and we had to call Sebastien to come and meet us. He came to the fuel station where we were waiting, and we followed him to his house. We finally got to Francoise, and had a nice visit. We left the house and headed into town on the Metro. Toulouse metropolitan area has 1 million (larger than we thought), and is a blend of old and new. It is known as the Pink City, since most of its important buildings have been built with red bricks, most with white stone trim. We had lunch in one of the main squares in the center and had a nice tour of the old town hall and cathedral. The town hall had the most beautiful murals painted on the walls, mostly by Henri Martin. He is one of the French artists whose style of painting was dabs of paint on the canvas. We then walked along the Garonne River, which flows to Bordeaux and into the Atlantic. Rode the Metro back to Sebastien's house and met up with his wife, Celine, and 2 girls, Eloise and Chloe, on the way. Had more time to visit back at the house, as we were waiting for traffic to subside before heading to Francoise and Dominique's home in the country. Followed Francoise to Les Brunels where Dominique was waiting for us with a cozy fire and a delicious dinner. Spent a wonderful evening visiting and getting to know these lovely people. They have downsized their farm, to a few acres where they garden and enjoy life in the country. Had a quiet, toasty warm sleep in the guest house and were greeted in the morning to a yummy breakfast. After spending a few hours with our gracious and generous hosts, we had to depart and turn toward Barcelona. Both Mike and I hope that they can come visit us in New Mexico so we can reciprocate the hospitality.

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Photos

Wine Tasting Tour
Clos de Jacobin. Thibault, the owner on right.

Murals
Toulouse Town Hall

An American in Toulouse?
Mike, Sebastien, Francoise

Guest House
Sitting room where we stayed

Francoise's Garden
Rows of radicchio

Francoise, Eydie & Dominique
American tourist with 2 beautiful French hosts