The journey through the Cantabrian mountains was very scenic albeit that sudden thunder showers intermittently occurred. Little wonder the area is so green in contrast to the landscape of its southern cousins.
The Basque people are very proud of their heritage. Their language is a living one. The area is divided 50:50 as to whether to secede from Spain or not.
We crossed the border. The only indication was a change in language on the signposts. We eventually reached the Ibis hotel in a great location on the Bastide side of the Bordeaux but a few minutes tram ride/10 minutes walk to the Bourse.
The evening was spent in the old city. We took a tram and 3 stops later, we were on the quays. As it was Friday night the place was alive, especially with young people. It was somewhat cold but most people were sitting outside the bars and restaurants. After a brief walk, we chose a fish restaurant and had the French favourite huitres (oysters). The city looked lovely bathed in light.
Porte Cailhau-an old city gate (1495)
This morning (Saturday), we took Bat 3 (€2), a 3 minutes walk from the hotel, to the recently opened La Cite du Vin.
It was a very pleasant voyage along the Garonne.
The morning was bathed in warm sunshine and the citizens of Bordeaux are out walking, cycling and breakfasting along the quays.
La Cite du Vin
The €20pp entrance fee to La Cite, I thought a little steep, for what was a very basic description of the wine industry. An audio tape was supplied with 1-2 minute snippets of information on various presentations. Possibly, if we had more time, we might have delved deeper, though I doubt we'd have learned much!! I considered that trying to accommodate all wine regions of the world was too ambitious!
On the first level were conference rooms, on the second an explanation of the wine industry, on the 9th, a panoramic restaurant and on the11th a panoramic view of the city, with a glass of wine included in your ticket price.
There were no grand crus among the selection!!
On the ground floor was a very spectacular wine shop, selling wines from all areas of the world and a restaurant.
Wine tastings were available at a price as was
a lecture on the architecture of the building.
We quitted the Cite and returned again by boat to the hotel.
Saint - Emilion was our next destination. It is just 1/2 hour from Bordeaux, though with no road signs in Bordeaux, it proved a challenge to find the correct road (Sat Nav was misbehaving again!) but eventually we arrived in the very picturesque town.
It is a world heritage site - the first wine area to be so designated. It is a beautiful village with a church dominating the central place.
A wedding had taken place in the church and their chariot awaited.
Saint Emilion
The grapes were heavy on the vines, awaiting harvesting.
I wonder will the recent thunder storms experienced in the area damage this year's crop? It is a difficult industry so reliant on the vagaries of the weather.
There are in excess of 127 chateaux in the village and surrounding area. There were many wine shops in the village and a large cave du vin but the village had kept its integrity unlike the garish Chateau Neuf du Pape village, we had visited on our Rhone trip. We visited Le Petit Gravet in the lower village square and made a purchase.
This morning (Sunday), we decided to visit some chateaux. We visited Saint Christophe, a small, family owned 8 hectare estate.
The chateau has been in the family for seven generations. The wife of the present owner gave us a tour and explained their process in detail. I am impressed by her enthusiasm, considering she does not know whether we will purchase or not. We tasted their three wines - most of their customers are French - the chateau only exports 5% !! We purchased a case. She explained that it was difficult for the chateaux as the Russians and Chinese are tempting owners with their unlimited cash. As a result the price of a hectare has trebled in the last ten years. She added that it is difficult for family enterprises as the inheritance tax is 30%, which must be a huge sum for families to raise in this difficult industry, so open to the vagaries of the weather. The harvest commences c 25 September and the wine growers are hoping for temperatures of 25-30 for the next three weeks so the grapes can ripen. I tasted a few and they appeared ripe to me!! They had to contend with frost in April and much rain this year!
Why are governments so slow to address these anomalies.? It is similar in London, where again the Chinese and Russians are investing in apartments in the wealthiest parts of London and leaving them idle. It is said many apartment blocks in areas such as Chelsea are mostly dark at night because of absentee buyers!!
We eventually located Chateau Clotte. It is a popular wine among the local wine growers so we decided to visit it. We located the previous owner. She explained that she had run it with her two cousins but it needed big investment and the cousins were unwilling Were they lured by Chinese or Russian money, I wonder?The new owner had closed it at present awaiting renovation !!
Our next chateau was Arnaud de Jacquemeau - here they practice organic farming.
A tasting had just finished as we arrived. The owner did not speak English but his elderly father did. Having enquired as to whether or not we had time for a tour, with our acquiescence, he treated us to the most informative tour we had yet received and gave us a detailed step by step demonstration on how to PREPARE before drinking wine. One could see his passion for his subject and how proud he was of his ancestor who planted the first vines on the estate in1870 - another two cases added to our stock!
Last night we chose a restaurant in St Emilion.
Even though our hotel is only 3 km from restaurant it cost €40 return as taxis have to come from nearest town 8 km away. I suspect we were the only clients. Le Roy de Clos was an excellent choice. Initially, we sat outside, but the rain arrived in buckets and all the guests had to retreat inside. The meal was superb
Cod with celery
Duck with forest fruits
Chocolate filled Macroon with ice cream
Menu €32 - all delicious with excellent flavours with the exception of the cod which was a little bland.
The quality of French food for the price is amazing. The waist line would be seriously compromised if I lived here!
Yesterday (Monday) , as we left St Emilion, we visited the nearby Chateau Cantenac,
purchased more wine and set out for Granville, the home of Christian Dior , where we spent the night - to break our journey to Cherbourg. We travelled via Bordeaux, Saintes, Nantes and Rennes to Granville on the coast. Thankfully, the roads were quiet, the French having returned to work after their August break!
The town of Granville is situated on the coast and boasts a beautiful beach with an amazingly, large marina.
A portion of the marina!!
I suspect everyone in Granville owns a small yacht.!
Granville is the home of Christian Dior.
We took a walk along Casino plage. It was a beautiful autumnal morning and a few hardy souls graced the beach. The promenade had bathing boxes reminiscent of former times.
We reached the end of the promenade and climbed the steps up to the house. It is in a spectacular setting - high above the town and looking out on the beach.
As we approached the house could be seen, situated in spectacular gardens.
The house was purchased by Christian's father in 1906. His mother Madeline had a great interest in gardening and it was her rose garden which inspired his perfume fragrances.
His mother died in 1931 and a few years later, the house and gardens were given to Granville. Why this bequest was not explained but the town opened a museum in Dior's honour in the 1990s.
Inside the house (no photos permitted), were a few examples of Dior's creations but most exhibits were by later House designers.
John Galliano's creations!!
The museum was well presented and there was an informative video with English subtitles. All other notations were in French.
I walked back to the town and returned to the hotel to commence our drive to Cherbourg. What a journey it turned out to be! As I sit here, as the ship departs the port of Cherbourg, I didn't think we'd make it!
Leaving Granville, there are few signs and at one point we turned back, thinking we were on the wrong road. The car's Sat Nav and google maps kept recalculating and the road signage was woeful. We were on the correct road!
Next we came upon a very recent road accident, involving three cars! As a result the road was completely blocked and the cars appeared in no position to move though thankfully no one appeared injured. As we didn't know how long it would take to clear, we had to reroute. Without appropriate signage and technology of little use, we found ourselves at one point going in the opposite direction to Cherbourg! Finally we arrived at the motorway, where signage was excellent but by the our ETA was 17.40. The ship sailed at 18.00 and last check-in was at 17.00!
Speed limits were broken and having been observing the limits throughout the trip, CC was now driving like the French, who never appear to observe speed limits.
We arrived at 1735 and to our relief, we were allowed to board. By 1750, much relieved, we were sitting in our cabin, awaiting departure!!
What a day! I was never so glad to see Cherbourg!
One tip: if you like an early morning cuppa - buy a travel kettle. The hotels in France and Spain do not for the most part provide tea/ coffee making facilities.
Until the next trip ........
