Report: Paris to Bordeaux and Back , Heat Wave Edition
Jul 13th, 2005, 04:47 PM
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Report: Paris to Bordeaux and Back , Heat Wave Edition
So this was our first trip to France in June. In the past, we've travelled in the March-May window, but we opted for June this year for two reasons:
1) DH said he was tired of the unpredictable, often cold and rainy, spring weather.
2) DH had a tradefair to attend in Bordeaux in June.
So, as you can probably imagine, everything that went wrong on this trip was all my husband's fault
.
We spent the bulk of our trip in the Medoc, with a few nights in Paris tacked on to the end. We drove to the Medoc from CDG, making overnight stops in Amboise and La Rochelle. I'll comment on our hotels and restaurants there, but really, we did not have much time to enjoy the towns.
Some of you may remember that I was worried about our flight, because we bought tickets at a price and schedule that seemed too good to be true for the season ($475 RT , direct PHL to CDG, third and fourth week of June, tickets purchased from Delta, but a codeshare so flight was actually AirFrance).
Well, we had no problems on the outbound flight (foreshadowing moment here).
No problems except that my husband's suitcase weighed a ton. And this is <i>before</i> the trip. I travel pretty lightly, with just a satchel and a 21", which I checked just for the sake of not dragging it around.
DH took a large (65", is that possible?) suitcase filled with rocks. Or so it seemed. In reality, it contained a tripod; lots of clothes (he won't wear anything twice if he can help it), including a suit, dress shirt and tie, dress shoes, and a dressy raincoat; and--get this--several thick reference books, none of which I can remember him opening on the trip.
When we picked up our luggage at the baggage carousel in Paris, we saw that his suitcase had been tagged <b>Lourd/Heavy</b>, which I took to mean that everytime an AirFrance handler picked it up, they said, "Lord, this is heavy!".
1) DH said he was tired of the unpredictable, often cold and rainy, spring weather.
2) DH had a tradefair to attend in Bordeaux in June.
So, as you can probably imagine, everything that went wrong on this trip was all my husband's fault
. We spent the bulk of our trip in the Medoc, with a few nights in Paris tacked on to the end. We drove to the Medoc from CDG, making overnight stops in Amboise and La Rochelle. I'll comment on our hotels and restaurants there, but really, we did not have much time to enjoy the towns.
Some of you may remember that I was worried about our flight, because we bought tickets at a price and schedule that seemed too good to be true for the season ($475 RT , direct PHL to CDG, third and fourth week of June, tickets purchased from Delta, but a codeshare so flight was actually AirFrance).
Well, we had no problems on the outbound flight (foreshadowing moment here).
No problems except that my husband's suitcase weighed a ton. And this is <i>before</i> the trip. I travel pretty lightly, with just a satchel and a 21", which I checked just for the sake of not dragging it around.
DH took a large (65", is that possible?) suitcase filled with rocks. Or so it seemed. In reality, it contained a tripod; lots of clothes (he won't wear anything twice if he can help it), including a suit, dress shirt and tie, dress shoes, and a dressy raincoat; and--get this--several thick reference books, none of which I can remember him opening on the trip.
When we picked up our luggage at the baggage carousel in Paris, we saw that his suitcase had been tagged <b>Lourd/Heavy</b>, which I took to mean that everytime an AirFrance handler picked it up, they said, "Lord, this is heavy!".
Jul 13th, 2005, 05:33 PM
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After retrieving our bags, we went to the Europcar agency to pick up our car (booked again through the reliable and friendly folks at AutoEurope). We had requested a Renault Megane or similar, automatic and a/c, diesel, which is our usual.
The woman behind the desk seemed so thrilled to tell us that they actually had a bigger car for us; in fact, an SUV (a Hyundai Santa Fe--how European is that). We were not quite so enthusiastic. Four years ago, Europcar "upgraded" us to an SUV for our trip to Provence and we practically had to inhale everytime we drove through the narrow streets of any city or village that was more than 100 years old. Well, at least there would be enough room for Hal, as I dubbed my husband's monolith of a black suitcase.
When we had the 4x4 four years ago, we were an oddity. Now, I'm sorry to say, we saw a lot more SUVs on the road.
Saw an interesting sight on the Periphique: Red convertible, top down, young couple locked in a passionate kiss, eyes on each other, for a good 5-6 minutes, driving in the fast lane the entire time. I stayed a good distance behind them.
Jul 13th, 2005, 05:55 PM
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Driving from Roissy to Amboise seemed like a good idea at the time, but neither one of us really slept on the flight and we were dangerously exhausted. We expected the trip to take about two hours; it was closer to three. We traded back and forth with the driving, stopped for coffee several times, and even resorted to singing "Cent Bouteilles de Vin dans la Mur" just to keep ourselves awake and alive. Next time, we'll follow everyone's advice and take the train to Tours.
Arrived at Manoir les Minimes in Amboise late afternoon. DH went straight to bed; I went for a little walk around town, then came back and fell asleep.
We liked MLM a lot, and will stay there again (next year's trip may be the Loire). We had a room in the Pavilion, a sweet little outbuilding all covered with roses. Our room was quite large and nicely appointed, and the bathroom was huge. I took a long soak before my nap. And of course we enjoyed the attentions of Olga, the resident Briard.
Amboise was damp and chilly to the point where we started to worry if we had brought the right clothes. I had just one cold weather outfit with me, and I was wearing it. DH gloated over being smart enough to bring a raincoat.
We asked the manager for advice on a restaurant and he recommended the rather rustic L'Epicier. It was quite good and very affordable, had a nice atmosphere with stone walls and exposed beams, and a French clientele. We had also stopped for an apero in a wine bar across from the chateau, where we bought a bottle of fraise liqueur and a bottle of wine from the owner's vineyard.
On our walk back to the hotel, we saw bats and owls around the chateau. We slept very, very well in M-les-M's comfortable bed, furnished with nice linens.
Arrived at Manoir les Minimes in Amboise late afternoon. DH went straight to bed; I went for a little walk around town, then came back and fell asleep.
We liked MLM a lot, and will stay there again (next year's trip may be the Loire). We had a room in the Pavilion, a sweet little outbuilding all covered with roses. Our room was quite large and nicely appointed, and the bathroom was huge. I took a long soak before my nap. And of course we enjoyed the attentions of Olga, the resident Briard.
Amboise was damp and chilly to the point where we started to worry if we had brought the right clothes. I had just one cold weather outfit with me, and I was wearing it. DH gloated over being smart enough to bring a raincoat.
We asked the manager for advice on a restaurant and he recommended the rather rustic L'Epicier. It was quite good and very affordable, had a nice atmosphere with stone walls and exposed beams, and a French clientele. We had also stopped for an apero in a wine bar across from the chateau, where we bought a bottle of fraise liqueur and a bottle of wine from the owner's vineyard.
On our walk back to the hotel, we saw bats and owls around the chateau. We slept very, very well in M-les-M's comfortable bed, furnished with nice linens.
Jul 13th, 2005, 07:05 PM
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Glad to see someone else got to pet Olga and enjoyed their stay. Our room on the third floor looked across to the little rose-covered room. Was your aperitif at Le Shaker?
I had to laugh at the books. It's so hard for me not to take books on a trip. What ends up happening is that I BUY books to take home.
Will be looking forward to hearing more.
I had to laugh at the books. It's so hard for me not to take books on a trip. What ends up happening is that I BUY books to take home.
Will be looking forward to hearing more.
Jul 14th, 2005, 05:40 AM
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This comes at the right time as we'll be at M-le-M next week (I've got dog cookies packed..literally).
As to the "heavy" tags on the luggage...I amconvinced that what that really means is if you see a piece of luggage with this tag on it please pick it up as high as you possibly can and then drop it.
Looking forward to more, more, more....
As to the "heavy" tags on the luggage...I amconvinced that what that really means is if you see a piece of luggage with this tag on it please pick it up as high as you possibly can and then drop it.
Looking forward to more, more, more....
Jul 14th, 2005, 04:49 PM
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Next day. . .
Had breakfast at MLM before starting off. Coffee was very weak; not what we had hoped for as our first morning cup in France!
The weather was gorgeous--neither as chilly as the day before, nor as dreadfully hot as the days to come. We walked around Amboise a bit, stopping in Bigot to buy some excellent chocolates.
DH wanted to stop in Montlouis to visit some wineries. Most of the small vingernons were not around, so we wound up at the cave cooperative, which is dug into the cliffside, like so many buildings in the Loire region. We did a degustation, bought an okay bottle of their sparkling wine. DH also bought a 7-euro corkscrew that he professes is better than any other corkscrew he owns, even the expensive ones.
My book for this trip was <i>Eleanor of Aquitaine</i> by Alison Weir. It seemed a good choice, not only because we'd be traveling through her lands, but because there's an Anglo-Norman line in my family rumored to have been linked to the Plantagenets (I did find mention of someone with my ancestor's surname in the book, the Chamberlain to Henry II). Perhaps that's why I have always been drawn to this region (when I was a teenager, I studied in Angers).
But I knew nothing of Montlouis--unlike Chambord or Chenonceaux, it had no acclaimed chateau. The wines are not as well-known or esteemed as nearby Vouvray or Cheverny. It was just a pleasant little town. We found a cafe in the heart of town--Le Bugatti--for lunch. As we sat there eating omelets and drinking the local rose on this picture perfect day, I thumbed through my book and learned of the Treaty of Montlouis, an agreement reached between Henry II and his sons Henry the Young King and Richard (aka the Lion-hearted). So I may have been treading the same ground as my ancestor in 1174. Mind-boggling.
We chatted a bit with our waitress, who had a son living and studying in Geneva, New York, then said good-bye to the beautiful Loire Valley.
On the way to La Rochelle, we stopped to pick up water and snacks at a stop on the Autoroute and saw some interesting devices for sale. One was a coffee maker for your car that you plug into the outlet or cigarette lighter. This actually seemed like a cool idea. The other was frightening--a computer tray that hooked over the steering wheel so that you could actually work on your laptop while driving. When we got back on the road, I kept checking the other cars to see if anyone was surfing the Internet while driving.
Next: La Rochelle
Had breakfast at MLM before starting off. Coffee was very weak; not what we had hoped for as our first morning cup in France!
The weather was gorgeous--neither as chilly as the day before, nor as dreadfully hot as the days to come. We walked around Amboise a bit, stopping in Bigot to buy some excellent chocolates.
DH wanted to stop in Montlouis to visit some wineries. Most of the small vingernons were not around, so we wound up at the cave cooperative, which is dug into the cliffside, like so many buildings in the Loire region. We did a degustation, bought an okay bottle of their sparkling wine. DH also bought a 7-euro corkscrew that he professes is better than any other corkscrew he owns, even the expensive ones.
My book for this trip was <i>Eleanor of Aquitaine</i> by Alison Weir. It seemed a good choice, not only because we'd be traveling through her lands, but because there's an Anglo-Norman line in my family rumored to have been linked to the Plantagenets (I did find mention of someone with my ancestor's surname in the book, the Chamberlain to Henry II). Perhaps that's why I have always been drawn to this region (when I was a teenager, I studied in Angers).
But I knew nothing of Montlouis--unlike Chambord or Chenonceaux, it had no acclaimed chateau. The wines are not as well-known or esteemed as nearby Vouvray or Cheverny. It was just a pleasant little town. We found a cafe in the heart of town--Le Bugatti--for lunch. As we sat there eating omelets and drinking the local rose on this picture perfect day, I thumbed through my book and learned of the Treaty of Montlouis, an agreement reached between Henry II and his sons Henry the Young King and Richard (aka the Lion-hearted). So I may have been treading the same ground as my ancestor in 1174. Mind-boggling.
We chatted a bit with our waitress, who had a son living and studying in Geneva, New York, then said good-bye to the beautiful Loire Valley.
On the way to La Rochelle, we stopped to pick up water and snacks at a stop on the Autoroute and saw some interesting devices for sale. One was a coffee maker for your car that you plug into the outlet or cigarette lighter. This actually seemed like a cool idea. The other was frightening--a computer tray that hooked over the steering wheel so that you could actually work on your laptop while driving. When we got back on the road, I kept checking the other cars to see if anyone was surfing the Internet while driving.
Next: La Rochelle
Jul 14th, 2005, 06:08 PM
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Thanks, indy. I tried to follow your advice and stay at the Hotel France et Angleterre in La Rochelle, but it was completely booked. In fact, we had a tough time finding a hotel anywhere in the city.
We ended up at Hotel Les Brises, an architecturally undistinguished six-story concrete block (think Fort Lauderdale circa 1970) right on the water. The room was fine; nothing special, but we had a balcony overlooking the water where we had a glass of wine and watched the boats (and windsurfers) come in. We actually had a bidet, the first one I've seen in France in 20 years.
Inspired by Mimi's (cigalechanta) recommendation, we made dinner reservations at Les Flots. It was an excellent choice, but La Rochelle really impressed me as a restaurant town. I think it would be difficult to eat poorly there.
We had some time before dinner, so we walked around the Cour des Dames area a bit. A woman outside a very touristy-looking shop tried to coax us to come in for a degustation. I hesitated, because it didn't look very promising, but DH gave in.
She wanted us to try the specialty of the region, which was a caramel and fleur de sel liqueur. It sounded dreadful to me, but <i>mon Dieu</i> was it good! Creamy. Salty. Sweet. We bought a bottle, along with two bottles of Pineau des Charentes.
Dinner at Les Flots was excellent. We both had the menu with the Breton lobster and we ordered a bottle of 1996 Jacquesson Champagne. Service was really terrific, too. We had a seat on the terrace, which gave us a front row seat when the lights went on in the towers flanking the port.
When we returned to the car, DH realized that he had left the bag with the three bottles back at the restaurant. As we headed back to pick them up, a fight broke out at one of the clubs on the way. A couple came rolling out the front door, and bystanders and bouncers had to separate them. The smaller one was practically rabid and as soon as the bouncers loosened their grip, she (yes, <i>she</i
broke away and tried to attack the man she had been fighting with.
We returned to Les Brises, where the front desk clerk started oohing and aahing over our Hyundai. I told him my theory--that they had given us the SUV because we're American and they thought all Americans liked big cars. He was surpised to find out that we were American, which tickled me just a little bit. Then he gave us a card and told us to present it at another Gregory Coutanceau restaurant--Comptoir des Voyages--and they'd take 50% off the bill. Lot of good it did us, as we were leaving the next morning.
We thought it would be delightful to keep the balcony doors open and fall asleep listening to the surf. But at some point in the night, a bug flew in so DH got up and--leaving the doors open--pulled down the metal shutters. A practical and innocent enough act, but not without consequences. . .
We ended up at Hotel Les Brises, an architecturally undistinguished six-story concrete block (think Fort Lauderdale circa 1970) right on the water. The room was fine; nothing special, but we had a balcony overlooking the water where we had a glass of wine and watched the boats (and windsurfers) come in. We actually had a bidet, the first one I've seen in France in 20 years.
Inspired by Mimi's (cigalechanta) recommendation, we made dinner reservations at Les Flots. It was an excellent choice, but La Rochelle really impressed me as a restaurant town. I think it would be difficult to eat poorly there.
We had some time before dinner, so we walked around the Cour des Dames area a bit. A woman outside a very touristy-looking shop tried to coax us to come in for a degustation. I hesitated, because it didn't look very promising, but DH gave in.
She wanted us to try the specialty of the region, which was a caramel and fleur de sel liqueur. It sounded dreadful to me, but <i>mon Dieu</i> was it good! Creamy. Salty. Sweet. We bought a bottle, along with two bottles of Pineau des Charentes.
Dinner at Les Flots was excellent. We both had the menu with the Breton lobster and we ordered a bottle of 1996 Jacquesson Champagne. Service was really terrific, too. We had a seat on the terrace, which gave us a front row seat when the lights went on in the towers flanking the port.
When we returned to the car, DH realized that he had left the bag with the three bottles back at the restaurant. As we headed back to pick them up, a fight broke out at one of the clubs on the way. A couple came rolling out the front door, and bystanders and bouncers had to separate them. The smaller one was practically rabid and as soon as the bouncers loosened their grip, she (yes, <i>she</i
broke away and tried to attack the man she had been fighting with. We returned to Les Brises, where the front desk clerk started oohing and aahing over our Hyundai. I told him my theory--that they had given us the SUV because we're American and they thought all Americans liked big cars. He was surpised to find out that we were American, which tickled me just a little bit. Then he gave us a card and told us to present it at another Gregory Coutanceau restaurant--Comptoir des Voyages--and they'd take 50% off the bill. Lot of good it did us, as we were leaving the next morning.
We thought it would be delightful to keep the balcony doors open and fall asleep listening to the surf. But at some point in the night, a bug flew in so DH got up and--leaving the doors open--pulled down the metal shutters. A practical and innocent enough act, but not without consequences. . .
Jul 14th, 2005, 07:11 PM
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Loving this, and waiting with bated breath for the next installment, but tell me that's a typo with regard to the 65" suitcase. Is that a steamer trunk?
Glad you like L'Epicier in Amboise. I do, too.
Isn't it amazing how many more SUVs there are in France now? I'm so glad the mayor of Paris has banned them from the city - it's a bad trend.
Agree wholeheartedly that La Rochelle is a grand place to eat great food - and a pretty town with lots of interesting sites as well. And then there's the Ile de Ré, which is well worth a visit.
Looking forward to the next installment!
Glad you like L'Epicier in Amboise. I do, too.
Isn't it amazing how many more SUVs there are in France now? I'm so glad the mayor of Paris has banned them from the city - it's a bad trend.
Agree wholeheartedly that La Rochelle is a grand place to eat great food - and a pretty town with lots of interesting sites as well. And then there's the Ile de Ré, which is well worth a visit.
Looking forward to the next installment!
Jul 14th, 2005, 07:33 PM
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Hi elle, I'm really enjoying your report. Since I'm planning a trip to Italy in Sept, I haven't had time to read too many of the reports on France, but once I started yours, I was sucked right in! Looking forward to more...
Jul 15th, 2005, 07:35 AM
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Hi Elle,
Having fun with your trip report.
Yes, wasn't the weather in June in France weird? We were in Paris, and a day in Chenonceau (with stops in Orelans and Blois): was hot and steamy one minute, then raining, then quite cold the next...
I love the Loire Valley too -- I'm just a magnet to these gorgeous castles and chateaux.
Cheers from NYC!
Having fun with your trip report.
Yes, wasn't the weather in June in France weird? We were in Paris, and a day in Chenonceau (with stops in Orelans and Blois): was hot and steamy one minute, then raining, then quite cold the next...
I love the Loire Valley too -- I'm just a magnet to these gorgeous castles and chateaux.
Cheers from NYC!
Jul 15th, 2005, 07:35 AM
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Thanks, everybody. St. Cirq, you were the person who put La Rochelle in my mind and on our itinerary. So thanks!
Funny thing about those shutters. While they did let in some of the ocean breezes, somehow, they didn't let any light filter through.
When I woke up, the room was totally dark. I tried to make out the time on my watch--it looked like it was about a quarter to five. Oh great, I'm wide awake; DH is still asleep. So I turned on my bedside lamp to read for a while.
And then the phone rang. DH and I both jumped up, startled. I fumbled in the dark for the phone--it was the front desk, wanting to know if were going to be eating breakfast at the hotel. I said no, but thought, how odd--I've never stayed anywhere where they called you two hours before breakfast to see if you would be eating.
Something told me to put my hand on the metal shutters. I immediately pulled it back--they were extremely hot to the touch. We rolled them up. It was awfully bright and sunny for five o'clock in the morning.
I looked at my watch again. It said 11:15!!! My watch has no numbers, just dots and I had been holding it upside down in the dark. I called the front desk and learned that we had just forty-five minutes until check-out time.
We have never showered and packed so quickly. I was starving by then and breakfast was over, so we went back to the Vieux Port area and ate at a creperie, still slightly shocked at our sleep-in and the fact that we had lost half a day. (DH says he's going to buy me a digital watch).
I wish we could have stayed longer in La Rochelle and gotten out to the Ile de Re. And I would have loved to visit the Museum of Perfume Flacons! On another family history note (my mother's a genealogist, can you tell?), we had another branch of my father's mother's family who were French Protestants--like many Huguenots, they probably left France for England from this very port.
La Rochelle certainly has a casual, beach town vibe. Lots of shorts seen here on just about every nationality, age, gender, body type. Still saw people very dressed up, some even wearing black in the bright sunlight. And no, they were not American. One of DH's business associates was surprised to hear that we visited La Rochelle; he didn't think Americans had ever heard of it (although there were certainly plenty of British tourist there, which is quite fitting, considering the city's geography and history).
I
Funny thing about those shutters. While they did let in some of the ocean breezes, somehow, they didn't let any light filter through.
When I woke up, the room was totally dark. I tried to make out the time on my watch--it looked like it was about a quarter to five. Oh great, I'm wide awake; DH is still asleep. So I turned on my bedside lamp to read for a while.
And then the phone rang. DH and I both jumped up, startled. I fumbled in the dark for the phone--it was the front desk, wanting to know if were going to be eating breakfast at the hotel. I said no, but thought, how odd--I've never stayed anywhere where they called you two hours before breakfast to see if you would be eating.
Something told me to put my hand on the metal shutters. I immediately pulled it back--they were extremely hot to the touch. We rolled them up. It was awfully bright and sunny for five o'clock in the morning.
I looked at my watch again. It said 11:15!!! My watch has no numbers, just dots and I had been holding it upside down in the dark. I called the front desk and learned that we had just forty-five minutes until check-out time.
We have never showered and packed so quickly. I was starving by then and breakfast was over, so we went back to the Vieux Port area and ate at a creperie, still slightly shocked at our sleep-in and the fact that we had lost half a day. (DH says he's going to buy me a digital watch).
I wish we could have stayed longer in La Rochelle and gotten out to the Ile de Re. And I would have loved to visit the Museum of Perfume Flacons! On another family history note (my mother's a genealogist, can you tell?), we had another branch of my father's mother's family who were French Protestants--like many Huguenots, they probably left France for England from this very port.
La Rochelle certainly has a casual, beach town vibe. Lots of shorts seen here on just about every nationality, age, gender, body type. Still saw people very dressed up, some even wearing black in the bright sunlight. And no, they were not American. One of DH's business associates was surprised to hear that we visited La Rochelle; he didn't think Americans had ever heard of it (although there were certainly plenty of British tourist there, which is quite fitting, considering the city's geography and history).
I
Jul 15th, 2005, 04:58 PM
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Unfortunately, our extra hours of slumber meant that we needed to rethink our plan for the day. Because we had to be at our hotel in the Medoc by 7 p.m. and DH wanted to explore the northern Medoc, we were not able to stop in Rochefort to see the Hermione project.
Again, I owe some thanks to Fodorites. Ira and St. Cirq filled me in on the ferries that cross the Gironde, saving us about two hours of driving time. The Royan ferry was boarding just as we arrived; we drove on and she pulled out. No waiting at all. Fare was 26 euros for car and driver plus one passenger (good thing they couldn't see Hal).
Royan is a totally modern town. In 1944 and 1945, Nazi troops withdrawing from southwest France bunkered down here. French forces bombarded the town and almost totally destroyed it. The Germans surrendered just three weeks before the armistice.
No sooner had we finished having coffee on the upper deck than it was time to disembark. We saw the Phare de Cordouan, the hybrid Louis XVI-style lighthouse guarding the approach to the Gironde (France's oldest lighthouse, I believe).
DH couldn't wait to get to some vineyards, so we headed in the direction of Jau, the northernmost wine growing area on the peninsula. The Medoc reminded me a lot of the Camargue (and also of New Jersey)--flat lands and sandy soil as far as the eye can see. The name derives from the Latin <i>in medio aquae</i>, "in the midst of the waters". Guess the name "Entre-deux-mers" was already taken.
DH was all excited about seeing the polders. Apparently, this area used to be a desolate and marshy land, plaqued by malaria (the disease was actually called <i>le Medoquine</i>, according to one of my guide books). In the 17th century, the Duke of Epernon, after visiting Holland, commissioned Dutch and Flemish engineers to dig canals and bank up the land into polders in an effort to reclaim the land. The drained marshes became known as <i>le Polder de Hollande</i>, and are today used for growing grapes.
We visited a small, family-run winery in Jau and tasted some very nice wines. We bought a few bottles and then headed out in search of the polders. The D102E supposedly ran straight through the Polder de Hollande. I'm not sure what DH was expecting to see--he kept saying, "where are the polders, where are the polders", even when we were right in the middle of them. I think he envisioned something more dramatic.
We arrived at our hotel, Chateau Pomys on the outskirts of Saint Estephe, just at the stroke of seven.
Again, I owe some thanks to Fodorites. Ira and St. Cirq filled me in on the ferries that cross the Gironde, saving us about two hours of driving time. The Royan ferry was boarding just as we arrived; we drove on and she pulled out. No waiting at all. Fare was 26 euros for car and driver plus one passenger (good thing they couldn't see Hal).
Royan is a totally modern town. In 1944 and 1945, Nazi troops withdrawing from southwest France bunkered down here. French forces bombarded the town and almost totally destroyed it. The Germans surrendered just three weeks before the armistice.
No sooner had we finished having coffee on the upper deck than it was time to disembark. We saw the Phare de Cordouan, the hybrid Louis XVI-style lighthouse guarding the approach to the Gironde (France's oldest lighthouse, I believe).
DH couldn't wait to get to some vineyards, so we headed in the direction of Jau, the northernmost wine growing area on the peninsula. The Medoc reminded me a lot of the Camargue (and also of New Jersey)--flat lands and sandy soil as far as the eye can see. The name derives from the Latin <i>in medio aquae</i>, "in the midst of the waters". Guess the name "Entre-deux-mers" was already taken.
DH was all excited about seeing the polders. Apparently, this area used to be a desolate and marshy land, plaqued by malaria (the disease was actually called <i>le Medoquine</i>, according to one of my guide books). In the 17th century, the Duke of Epernon, after visiting Holland, commissioned Dutch and Flemish engineers to dig canals and bank up the land into polders in an effort to reclaim the land. The drained marshes became known as <i>le Polder de Hollande</i>, and are today used for growing grapes.
We visited a small, family-run winery in Jau and tasted some very nice wines. We bought a few bottles and then headed out in search of the polders. The D102E supposedly ran straight through the Polder de Hollande. I'm not sure what DH was expecting to see--he kept saying, "where are the polders, where are the polders", even when we were right in the middle of them. I think he envisioned something more dramatic.
We arrived at our hotel, Chateau Pomys on the outskirts of Saint Estephe, just at the stroke of seven.
