Day 12 - Tues, 21 Sept - St.Emillion - Bourdeaux

Today we travelled to Libourne on the Dordogne River.  This is a small village of tiny cobbled lanes and an open square where the daily covered market bussles.  Fruit, clothes, linen, plants and cheese stalls are set up from early morning and close by lunch.  We procrastinated, over a linen stall that was selling tradional crafted tableware.  Tableclothes in natural material with floral or checked borders were of particular interest.  We decided not to get anything because they were too big, although beautiful.  Next stop was St. Emillion a charming village in the middle of the Bordeaux wine district.  Kilometres and kilometres of vineyards which are heavy with fruit will be picked at the end of September.  Some by hand, like the Grand Cru and others by machine.   St.Emillion represents much like other French villages settled in the 12th century - narrow, cobbled alleyways, sandstone block exteriors with warm blends of Spanish tiles with shutters on the windows.  We enjoyed lunch outdoors and chose soup: onion for Stuart and vegetable for me.  One Canadian couple in our party are bilingual and are happy to help out if we are in need of a translator, and we have become quite friendly with them. 

After leaving St.Emillion we toured the wine districts and stopped off at Bordeaux - a major city on the River Garonne.  Along the waterfront is a long sweep of elegant, classical fascades, first built to mask the slums behind.  In the centre of the main square called, "Esplanade de Quinconces" is a the "Monument aux Girondins" which was built between 1804 - 1902.  It commemorates the Girondinists (original revolutionaries who said that the killings should stop) who were sent to the guillotines by Robespierre during (1793 - 5).  The monument features a column with an angel atop surrounded at the base with huge fountains of galloping horses.  During the 1st World War, the sculptures had been removed to be melted down, but thankfully someone had hidden them in crates in a warehouse and were rediscovered in the 70's.  The horses appear to rise up from the pools of water with sprays coming from their nostrils.  This brought these gorgeous sculptures to life.

Our accommodation at Relais Margaux was a classy French golf resort.  It is one of many large vineyards which have been purchased by the Hotel chains, as the taxes make it uneconomical to continue the family ownership.  We had booked to dine at the Hotel Brasserie which turned out to be a bit of a debacle.  The restaurant had endured a power failure during the day and they were only able to offer a narrow set menu (Entree: Fois Gras (duck liver pate), Main: Duck, Sweets: Macaroons.  We were very disappointed as it did not reflect the standard of the hotel at all.  We enjoyed the company of our Canadian and American friends as well as Shirley (our Doncaster friend).

Day 11 - Mon 20 Sept - Biarritz to Bordeaux

In the morning we had a scenic drive to the top of a Pyrenees mountain where we caught the funicular train to ascend through the picturesque mountains, where sheep and wild horses graze. The peak is 3000' above sea level. At the top we were served their speciality of hot chocolate made from boiled milk with melted chocolate - a good thing I am on the cholestoral tablets, which I hope will be working very hard while we are in France eating cheeses, eggs and pastry! We had 360 degree views over Spain and France and the Atlantic.

We returned to Biarritz for lunch and we dined at an exquisite Cafe called Miremont. It was established in 1872 and on the top level has a picture window overlooking the beach and promenade. Stuart had club crab sandwich and I had quiche lorraine.

We then travelled to Bordeaux to a Chateux/Golf Course Resort where we will stay for two days. We then went to a nearby winery called 'Chateux Anvy' for wine tasting and dinner. This winery specialises in red wines and has been in the same family from 1157. The service, decor and food was magnificent. Old wine making implements were hung around the barn like structure - we sat around round tables with cane chairs.

Our meal consisted of Asparagus soup, duck & potatoes, and sweets were pears poached in red wine, followed by cheese and grape sauce.

We all had a wonderful time and the Aussies entertained on the way home with any songs we could remember the words to.

Day 10 - Sun, 19 Sept - Lourdes - Biarritz

I had decided that today (Sunday, 19th September) I would be more restrained with my diet. That was before I laid eyes on the breakfast - my willpower vacated and I once again feasted on fruit, toast, tarts and coffee. Stuart is more than happy with limitless, beautiful fresh fruit salad each morning.

We travelled from Limoux through Carcassone to Biarritz travelling through Lourdes. Lourdes is a very spirtual town, which became famous in 1858 when a young girl named Bernadette experienced 18 visions of the virgin at a grotte Massabielle. She was guided to the spirng with miraculous healing powers and many have claimed to be cured by the holy water. There were streams of wheel chairs being steered toward the faucets of holy water, where anyone can fill bottles, drink or was themselves in. We collected some in little bottles. 4 million people visit Lourdes each year.

From Lourdes we headed to Biarritz which is on the Atlantic coast near the Spanish border where the Basque people live. It is another seaside resort similar to Nice, but perhaps more sophisticated. The weather was beautiful and being a Sunday, everyone was on the beach enjoying the Atlantic Ocean which Stuart wanted to touch. The beach was beautiful, a clear deep turquoise blue and unlike Nice, had sandy beaches. Men and women bronzed themselves for hours and women feel very comfortable going topless, regardless of age.

There are lots of bars along the beach, with food being served indoors. Small dogs are treated like children - adored, spoilt and kept close. They are allowed in restaurants and hotels. Our motel was the Novotel in Biarritz, which was not comparable to our previous night's accommodation. My vegetarian meal was a serving of beans and ratatouile after everyone had finished their main. Very disappointing.