Iwan2go went...to the Loire, Bordeaux, and the Basque area
May 16th, 2025 | 01:15 PM
#1
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Iwan2go went...to the Loire, Bordeaux, and the Basque area
My husband and I had originally planned this trip in late 2023, but had to cancel due to an illness in our extended family. He and I have taken wonderful trips for 25 years, but this time he preferred to pass, so I asked my friend J to join me – and we had a wonderful time! We’re high school friends, both 76 years old, walk a lot, and have a lot of the same likes: gardens and museums, good food and beautiful ambiance, an interest in history, and a sense of adventure! Our trip included Paris (2 nights), the Loire (3), Bordeaux (3), San Sebastian (2) and St Jean de Luz (2), for a total of 12 nights, using trains and one driver to get around.
We found good pricing on Air France Business class from Los Angeles direct to Paris, leaving on Easter afternoon. We spent a few hours in the new AF lounge at LAX, which was just lovely. There was a good assortment of food, comfortable seating, and they walked around with a sign letting you know your flight was boarding soon (no announcements overhead, very relaxing!). We particularly liked the onion tarts.
View of the Air France lounge at LAX
Didn’t sleep much on the flight, but were met the next morning at CDG by our driver. I’ve used Pierre Silver several times and he and his crew are amiable and gracious. We stayed in the 6th, St Germain des Pres, at the Hotel Baume. I’d stayed there last April and thought the hotel was comfortable, the staff friendly, and the location great. We dropped off our luggage and had a quick lunch, then walked around the Marais for a few hours.
Place des Vosges
The Hotel de Sully in the Marais
I was able to get reservations for Notre Dame at 3:30pm, thank goodness. If you’re unaware of how to do this, you go on this website three days prior to the date you wish to reserve; in LA, the reservations opened between 3 and 4pm (so I got them on Friday afternoon for Monday). https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/visit/reservation/
The lines at that time were not long; even people without prior reservations were able to get in. The church is just luminous! The stones are light and bright, the paint colors in the side chapels and choir stalls are amazing. We noticed that there was a priest giving a long sermon in French, with a poster of Pope Francis at the altar. We did not realize until later that day that the Pope had died that morning. What a kind and wonderful man he was, and what a loss to the world.
A lovely side chapel
Back of the choir stalls
By that time it we were pretty exhausted, so we walked back, grabbed a sandwich at Cosi and crashed at 6:30 that night…and slept about 12 hours.
The following morning we walked over to the rue de Buci and had a delicious almond croissant and cappuccino at Maison Thevenin. The croissant was perfect – a little chewy in the middle, and large enough to hold me over for a few hours – and there were a few chairs and tables to sit on the sidewalk and relax.
https://www.maisonthevenin.fr/nos-boutiques
We walked over to the Palais Royal, where I and my family have stayed several times in a Paris Vacation Apartments place. Sat and relaxed around the fountain, then walked over to the Carnavalet, the museum of the city of Paris. My husband and I had toured it in 1999, but it’s since had a major reconstruction and it’s marvelous! It was built in the mid-16th century, and was the home of the writer Madame de Sévigné, who lived there from 1677 to 1694.
https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/en
The entrance hall of the Musee Carnavalet
After a few hours there we walked to the Marais, window shopped, and had a sidewalk lunch nearby, bought a Navigo card for the Metro, went back for a rest, and then – dinner at La Grand Cremerie, a wonderful restaurant in the 6th not far from our hotel. We were waited on by Guillaume, who was an excited new dad and showed us a photo of his month-old daughter. Our meal was extensive: Raviolis, charcuterie and cheese plate, salad, tarte citron, and 4 glasses of wine, total 153E for two – and well worth it, I’d go back! (FYI – note that all the seating is on high-top tables, in case that makes a difference to you). https://lagrandecremerie-paris.fr/en/
Yum, cheese and charcuterie!
Day three was our final day in Paris, and J wanted to do the Paris Walks tour of Montmartre, which I’d done before and enjoyed. We took the direct Metro from Odeon to Abbesses, and met our excellent and entertaining tour guide Peter there. This was the only day it rained, and thankfully we’d both come prepared with new light weight rain coats and an umbrella. The walk concentrates on the painter’s studios (Renoir, Lautrec, Picasso), the lovely streets, the vineyard and Sacre Coeur. You do need to email to reserve, then pay 25E to your guide. https://www.paris-walks.com/index_m.html
A statue of St. Denis in a park in Montmartre
We headed back to the 6th for lunch at Freddy’s, which I’d bookmarked, and had lunch. It’s all counter service with high top stools and the food is GREAT – see the photos. Freddy’s is one of four restaurants on the rue du Seine with the same owners: Cosi, Semilla, and Fish are the others. All are excellent. Cost for three items was 28E.
Went back to our hotel, picked up our luggage, and took the train from Gare Montparnasse to Tours. Next stop, the Loire!
We found good pricing on Air France Business class from Los Angeles direct to Paris, leaving on Easter afternoon. We spent a few hours in the new AF lounge at LAX, which was just lovely. There was a good assortment of food, comfortable seating, and they walked around with a sign letting you know your flight was boarding soon (no announcements overhead, very relaxing!). We particularly liked the onion tarts.
View of the Air France lounge at LAX
Didn’t sleep much on the flight, but were met the next morning at CDG by our driver. I’ve used Pierre Silver several times and he and his crew are amiable and gracious. We stayed in the 6th, St Germain des Pres, at the Hotel Baume. I’d stayed there last April and thought the hotel was comfortable, the staff friendly, and the location great. We dropped off our luggage and had a quick lunch, then walked around the Marais for a few hours.
Place des Vosges
The Hotel de Sully in the Marais
I was able to get reservations for Notre Dame at 3:30pm, thank goodness. If you’re unaware of how to do this, you go on this website three days prior to the date you wish to reserve; in LA, the reservations opened between 3 and 4pm (so I got them on Friday afternoon for Monday). https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/visit/reservation/
The lines at that time were not long; even people without prior reservations were able to get in. The church is just luminous! The stones are light and bright, the paint colors in the side chapels and choir stalls are amazing. We noticed that there was a priest giving a long sermon in French, with a poster of Pope Francis at the altar. We did not realize until later that day that the Pope had died that morning. What a kind and wonderful man he was, and what a loss to the world.
A lovely side chapel
Back of the choir stalls
By that time it we were pretty exhausted, so we walked back, grabbed a sandwich at Cosi and crashed at 6:30 that night…and slept about 12 hours.
The following morning we walked over to the rue de Buci and had a delicious almond croissant and cappuccino at Maison Thevenin. The croissant was perfect – a little chewy in the middle, and large enough to hold me over for a few hours – and there were a few chairs and tables to sit on the sidewalk and relax.
https://www.maisonthevenin.fr/nos-boutiques
We walked over to the Palais Royal, where I and my family have stayed several times in a Paris Vacation Apartments place. Sat and relaxed around the fountain, then walked over to the Carnavalet, the museum of the city of Paris. My husband and I had toured it in 1999, but it’s since had a major reconstruction and it’s marvelous! It was built in the mid-16th century, and was the home of the writer Madame de Sévigné, who lived there from 1677 to 1694.
https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/en
The entrance hall of the Musee Carnavalet
After a few hours there we walked to the Marais, window shopped, and had a sidewalk lunch nearby, bought a Navigo card for the Metro, went back for a rest, and then – dinner at La Grand Cremerie, a wonderful restaurant in the 6th not far from our hotel. We were waited on by Guillaume, who was an excited new dad and showed us a photo of his month-old daughter. Our meal was extensive: Raviolis, charcuterie and cheese plate, salad, tarte citron, and 4 glasses of wine, total 153E for two – and well worth it, I’d go back! (FYI – note that all the seating is on high-top tables, in case that makes a difference to you). https://lagrandecremerie-paris.fr/en/
Yum, cheese and charcuterie!
Day three was our final day in Paris, and J wanted to do the Paris Walks tour of Montmartre, which I’d done before and enjoyed. We took the direct Metro from Odeon to Abbesses, and met our excellent and entertaining tour guide Peter there. This was the only day it rained, and thankfully we’d both come prepared with new light weight rain coats and an umbrella. The walk concentrates on the painter’s studios (Renoir, Lautrec, Picasso), the lovely streets, the vineyard and Sacre Coeur. You do need to email to reserve, then pay 25E to your guide. https://www.paris-walks.com/index_m.html
A statue of St. Denis in a park in Montmartre
We headed back to the 6th for lunch at Freddy’s, which I’d bookmarked, and had lunch. It’s all counter service with high top stools and the food is GREAT – see the photos. Freddy’s is one of four restaurants on the rue du Seine with the same owners: Cosi, Semilla, and Fish are the others. All are excellent. Cost for three items was 28E.
Went back to our hotel, picked up our luggage, and took the train from Gare Montparnasse to Tours. Next stop, the Loire!
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May 18th, 2025 | 08:38 PM
#8
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Joined: Mar 2005
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OK, on to the Loire - the valley south of Paris which is loaded with amazing chateaux. Our afternoon train from Paris Gare Montparnasse was a TGV – Train a Grande Vitesse, or Train of great speed. It is very simple to book French trains using this website: https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en/train-ticket. It’s even easier if you download their app; for the short journeys we made later, I used the app, double-clicked Apple Pay, and had the ticket on my phone and in Wallet. Technology is amazing!
We had hoped to arrive in the town of Tours at the main station, a few blocks from our next accommodations, but there had been a small fire two weeks prior and we had to exit at St-Pierre-des-Corps a few miles away. Caught a taxi to La Maison Jules, which was absolutely wonderful! https://www.lamaisonjules.com/servic...-house-france/ Our hostess, Alexandra, is a delightful, interesting and energetic person. Over the course of several days we had many conversations about ourselves and our lives, our children, the world. It’s so interesting to talk a bit with people around the world, and Alex has a respect for other’s experiences and viewpoints. A wonderful place to stay.
We entered the property through a large wooden gate and a porte cochere, with the bed and breakfast in the mansion to the front, and the home she and her husband share in the back. There were several rooms to relax, a big dining room, and we had the two largest bedrooms in the place. Mine was named Martin (after St Martin of Tours – which I, a lifelong student in Catholic schools went…duh! Never made that connection to the city before). Here are some photos of my room - I loved the separate shower and bathtub.
My huge bedroom!
...and bath
First on the agenda, as it was already 6:00pm, was – where do we eat? Alex made reservations for us at a lovely restaurant a mile or so away, La Deuvaliere, where we had the prix fixe and two glasses of wine each for 113E. Walked back, past the Cathedrale St-Gatien, beautifully illuminated in the evening.
Cathedral st-Gatien
We wanted to see several chateaux in the Loire, and tried to choose those easiest to see without a car, and “different” enough to have some variety (for lack of a better word). We decided on Villandry, with its amazing gardens, and Chenonceau, with its architecture and history, and if possible add others to the list. Prior to arriving we examined the train schedules: you can reach Chenonceau and Amboise by train, but getting from one to the other it required going back to Tours. There were some limited buses and then a train to Villandry. And although Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau were only 7 miles apart, again – you’d need to go back to Tours. So J said, “Let’s Uber”, and set it up. Go, J! GREAT idea (I need to learn how to do that).
We were picked up at La Maison Jules by a darling driver from Morocco who spoke perfect English. We discussed our families (he is a father of two, including a pre-teen daughter – he discussed how he played soccer with her, we sympathized about teenagers and shared stories of our children), and the trip was a breeze. I was sitting in the back seat and said…”We were noticing how close Vilandry is to Azay-le-Rideau, it’s too bad we would couldn’t see it in a an efficient manner”…and waited. There was a silence for a bit and then he said, “Well – I could come back and pick you up at Villandry, drive you there, and wait for you to tour before driving you home”, for what we thought was a reasonable amount. Score! J and I agreed, and off we went to see Villandry.
Villandry was originally a fortress built in the 1100s. In 1532, Jean le Breton, Minister of Finance for Francois I, razed all but the keep and built the chateau. In the 1900s Joachim Carvallo, a medical researcher from Spain, and his wife Ann Coleman (heiress to an iron works fortune) purchased the property and restored the chateau and the amazing gardens. We chose not to tour the chateau interior but focus on the gardens – and there are all kinds of gardens! A kitchen/ vegetable (“potager”) garden, an herb garden, a maze, a water garden with fountain, and an ornamental boxwood garden known as The Love Garden, representing different kinds of love (tender, tragic, fickle and passionate). (Wish I’d know that when I was there, I’d have tried to figure out which boxwood represented which. Haha).
Anyway! Here are the photos and the website. https://www.chateauvillandry.fr/?lang=en
Boxwood gardens
The water garden
A view from above
Such beautiful flowers!
Another view of Villandry
We had a quick (not great but OK) lunch in the gardens of the chateau and hopped in our carriage to get to Azay-le-Rideau, a fairy tale chateau surrounded by water. It was built during the reign of Francois I (see a trend, here?) by Giles Bertholet, a financial minister (another trend), whose career ended badly. Seems Gilles was not the only treasurer in the royal entourage to build himself an Italianate chateau; Francois suspected malfeasance and investigated, and Bertholet was stripped of his job and died soon after.
As a side note: the same thing happened during the reign of Louis IV, and it was an important event in architectural history. Nicholas Fouquet, Louis IV’s Finance Minister, built Vaux-le-Vicomte outside of Paris. His rival and fellow minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, fabricated allegations of financial irregularities and presented it to Louis IV. After hosting an elaborate banquet for the king, Fouquet was arrested and imprisoned, and Louis seized Vaux-le-Vicomte, its furnishings and art (even its orange trees). He then promptly hired the architects and landscape designers who’d worked there (Le Vau, Le Brun, and Le Notre) to remodel his small hunting lodge and palace: Versailles.
OK, back to Azay-le-Rideau. It is situated on an island in the Indre river, which gives a lovely aspect to the grounds. You can see the salamander, emblem of Francois I, throughout the interior. https://www.azay-le-rideau.fr/en/
Entry to the chateau
Flower beds
The ceiling in the staircase, featuring the salamander of Francois I
The amazing attic supporting the roof! All oak beams
View from the rear gardens
After touring the chateau and gardens, we drove back to Tours and dinner at Le Turon, a place we’d passed by. We had the Gourmand menu, which was enormous portions of a soup with boiled eggs and lardons, a main of fish or duck, and a wonderful sort of cobbler dessert. And 2 glasses of wine each. Cost 106E. When we told Alex how surprised we were at the generous portions, she explained that some of the restaurants were more “Traditional” – where people expected a longer, larger meal that was more of an event. (If I ate like that all the time I’d be a tank. Good thing it’s a "special event", right?)
Beautiful and calm restaurant - we had a table in the window area, loved it
Eggs in a sauce for first course
J’s beef main (maybe it was duck, I’m not sure
My fish main
Dessert
The following day we took the train to Chateau de Chenonceau. https://www.chenonceau.com/en/
It has an interesting history: It was built on the pilings of a mill in the early 1500s by Thomas Bohier, Finance Minister in Normandy, confiscated from his son for unpayment of debts by Francois I in 1535, and then inherited by Henri II. Henri presented it to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who extended the chateau with a bridge over the river Cher and built the gardens. When Henri died, his widow Catherine de Medici threw Diane de Poitier out by forcing her to exchange Chenonceau for another chateau and built a grand gallery over the bridge so that one could “take exercise” in safety. It was later owned by Louise Dupin, who held meetings of intellectuals including Rousseau and Voltaire in her literary salon. In 1913 it was purchased by the Munier family (who were chocolatiers) and is still owned by that family. In the WWI the gallery was used as a hospital, and in WWII it played a pivotal role in politics – the river Cher was the crossing between Nazi-occupied France on one side of the riverbank and the Free Zone on the other side.
The chateau has a lovely entry allee of trees, a formal garden, and a separate guard house. When we were there, there were incredible floral displays throughout – we asked, and there is a team of florists who make these arrangements.
The allee of trees leading to Chenonceau
The guard house and front of the chateau
Floor tiles
A view from the front entrance
Portrait of Catherine de Medici. Note the H and C on the mantel for Henri and Catherine
The gallery over the river Cher
Just one of the floral arrangements
An idea for your next spring/ Easter table!
...or maybe this one
Fireplace
View from a window
OK, just one more of the florals. They were simply amazing.
A view from the other shore, showing the gallery over the Cher
After touring the chateau we walked a short distance into the little town of the same name and had a lovely lunch at Edith Art’Broc Cafe (named after Edith Piaf). The owner was delightful and her husband was the chef. We had an absolutely delicious croque monsieur made with focaccia bread and a salad.
Lunch at Edith - walk over there, it’s worth it
Walked over to catch the train to the hotel, and decided to walk around Tours a bit rather than taking another journey to Amboise. We stopped at the art museum, shopped a bit, and saw the cathedral.
the charming town of Tours
After that we rested then went to dinner at L’Aupepine, where we had asparagus soup, fish, beef, and an amazing architectural dessert with hazelnuts. Really good, nice ambiance, cost 101E including 3 glasses of wine.
Asparagus first course
Main
My fish main
Yummy dessert
And off to bed - in the morning, we train to Bordeaux!
We had hoped to arrive in the town of Tours at the main station, a few blocks from our next accommodations, but there had been a small fire two weeks prior and we had to exit at St-Pierre-des-Corps a few miles away. Caught a taxi to La Maison Jules, which was absolutely wonderful! https://www.lamaisonjules.com/servic...-house-france/ Our hostess, Alexandra, is a delightful, interesting and energetic person. Over the course of several days we had many conversations about ourselves and our lives, our children, the world. It’s so interesting to talk a bit with people around the world, and Alex has a respect for other’s experiences and viewpoints. A wonderful place to stay.
We entered the property through a large wooden gate and a porte cochere, with the bed and breakfast in the mansion to the front, and the home she and her husband share in the back. There were several rooms to relax, a big dining room, and we had the two largest bedrooms in the place. Mine was named Martin (after St Martin of Tours – which I, a lifelong student in Catholic schools went…duh! Never made that connection to the city before). Here are some photos of my room - I loved the separate shower and bathtub.
My huge bedroom!
...and bath
First on the agenda, as it was already 6:00pm, was – where do we eat? Alex made reservations for us at a lovely restaurant a mile or so away, La Deuvaliere, where we had the prix fixe and two glasses of wine each for 113E. Walked back, past the Cathedrale St-Gatien, beautifully illuminated in the evening.
Cathedral st-Gatien
We wanted to see several chateaux in the Loire, and tried to choose those easiest to see without a car, and “different” enough to have some variety (for lack of a better word). We decided on Villandry, with its amazing gardens, and Chenonceau, with its architecture and history, and if possible add others to the list. Prior to arriving we examined the train schedules: you can reach Chenonceau and Amboise by train, but getting from one to the other it required going back to Tours. There were some limited buses and then a train to Villandry. And although Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau were only 7 miles apart, again – you’d need to go back to Tours. So J said, “Let’s Uber”, and set it up. Go, J! GREAT idea (I need to learn how to do that).
We were picked up at La Maison Jules by a darling driver from Morocco who spoke perfect English. We discussed our families (he is a father of two, including a pre-teen daughter – he discussed how he played soccer with her, we sympathized about teenagers and shared stories of our children), and the trip was a breeze. I was sitting in the back seat and said…”We were noticing how close Vilandry is to Azay-le-Rideau, it’s too bad we would couldn’t see it in a an efficient manner”…and waited. There was a silence for a bit and then he said, “Well – I could come back and pick you up at Villandry, drive you there, and wait for you to tour before driving you home”, for what we thought was a reasonable amount. Score! J and I agreed, and off we went to see Villandry.
Villandry was originally a fortress built in the 1100s. In 1532, Jean le Breton, Minister of Finance for Francois I, razed all but the keep and built the chateau. In the 1900s Joachim Carvallo, a medical researcher from Spain, and his wife Ann Coleman (heiress to an iron works fortune) purchased the property and restored the chateau and the amazing gardens. We chose not to tour the chateau interior but focus on the gardens – and there are all kinds of gardens! A kitchen/ vegetable (“potager”) garden, an herb garden, a maze, a water garden with fountain, and an ornamental boxwood garden known as The Love Garden, representing different kinds of love (tender, tragic, fickle and passionate). (Wish I’d know that when I was there, I’d have tried to figure out which boxwood represented which. Haha).
Anyway! Here are the photos and the website. https://www.chateauvillandry.fr/?lang=en
Boxwood gardens
The water garden
A view from above
Such beautiful flowers!
Another view of Villandry
We had a quick (not great but OK) lunch in the gardens of the chateau and hopped in our carriage to get to Azay-le-Rideau, a fairy tale chateau surrounded by water. It was built during the reign of Francois I (see a trend, here?) by Giles Bertholet, a financial minister (another trend), whose career ended badly. Seems Gilles was not the only treasurer in the royal entourage to build himself an Italianate chateau; Francois suspected malfeasance and investigated, and Bertholet was stripped of his job and died soon after.
As a side note: the same thing happened during the reign of Louis IV, and it was an important event in architectural history. Nicholas Fouquet, Louis IV’s Finance Minister, built Vaux-le-Vicomte outside of Paris. His rival and fellow minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, fabricated allegations of financial irregularities and presented it to Louis IV. After hosting an elaborate banquet for the king, Fouquet was arrested and imprisoned, and Louis seized Vaux-le-Vicomte, its furnishings and art (even its orange trees). He then promptly hired the architects and landscape designers who’d worked there (Le Vau, Le Brun, and Le Notre) to remodel his small hunting lodge and palace: Versailles.
OK, back to Azay-le-Rideau. It is situated on an island in the Indre river, which gives a lovely aspect to the grounds. You can see the salamander, emblem of Francois I, throughout the interior. https://www.azay-le-rideau.fr/en/
Entry to the chateau
Flower beds
The ceiling in the staircase, featuring the salamander of Francois I
The amazing attic supporting the roof! All oak beams
View from the rear gardens
After touring the chateau and gardens, we drove back to Tours and dinner at Le Turon, a place we’d passed by. We had the Gourmand menu, which was enormous portions of a soup with boiled eggs and lardons, a main of fish or duck, and a wonderful sort of cobbler dessert. And 2 glasses of wine each. Cost 106E. When we told Alex how surprised we were at the generous portions, she explained that some of the restaurants were more “Traditional” – where people expected a longer, larger meal that was more of an event. (If I ate like that all the time I’d be a tank. Good thing it’s a "special event", right?)
Beautiful and calm restaurant - we had a table in the window area, loved it
Eggs in a sauce for first course
J’s beef main (maybe it was duck, I’m not sure
My fish main
Dessert
The following day we took the train to Chateau de Chenonceau. https://www.chenonceau.com/en/
It has an interesting history: It was built on the pilings of a mill in the early 1500s by Thomas Bohier, Finance Minister in Normandy, confiscated from his son for unpayment of debts by Francois I in 1535, and then inherited by Henri II. Henri presented it to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who extended the chateau with a bridge over the river Cher and built the gardens. When Henri died, his widow Catherine de Medici threw Diane de Poitier out by forcing her to exchange Chenonceau for another chateau and built a grand gallery over the bridge so that one could “take exercise” in safety. It was later owned by Louise Dupin, who held meetings of intellectuals including Rousseau and Voltaire in her literary salon. In 1913 it was purchased by the Munier family (who were chocolatiers) and is still owned by that family. In the WWI the gallery was used as a hospital, and in WWII it played a pivotal role in politics – the river Cher was the crossing between Nazi-occupied France on one side of the riverbank and the Free Zone on the other side.
The chateau has a lovely entry allee of trees, a formal garden, and a separate guard house. When we were there, there were incredible floral displays throughout – we asked, and there is a team of florists who make these arrangements.
The allee of trees leading to Chenonceau
The guard house and front of the chateau
Floor tiles
A view from the front entrance
Portrait of Catherine de Medici. Note the H and C on the mantel for Henri and Catherine
The gallery over the river Cher
Just one of the floral arrangements
An idea for your next spring/ Easter table!
...or maybe this one
Fireplace
View from a window
OK, just one more of the florals. They were simply amazing.
A view from the other shore, showing the gallery over the Cher
After touring the chateau we walked a short distance into the little town of the same name and had a lovely lunch at Edith Art’Broc Cafe (named after Edith Piaf). The owner was delightful and her husband was the chef. We had an absolutely delicious croque monsieur made with focaccia bread and a salad.
Lunch at Edith - walk over there, it’s worth it
Walked over to catch the train to the hotel, and decided to walk around Tours a bit rather than taking another journey to Amboise. We stopped at the art museum, shopped a bit, and saw the cathedral.
the charming town of Tours
After that we rested then went to dinner at L’Aupepine, where we had asparagus soup, fish, beef, and an amazing architectural dessert with hazelnuts. Really good, nice ambiance, cost 101E including 3 glasses of wine.
Asparagus first course
Main
My fish main
Yummy dessert
And off to bed - in the morning, we train to Bordeaux!
May 19th, 2025 | 10:44 AM
#14
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,333
Likes: 0
We arrived in Bordeaux around noon and taxied to our hotel, Villas Foch. We’d reserved the smallest rooms up under the rooftop and they were just charming. Mine had a separate toilet room and shower with sink, a closet for hanging items, and sufficient shelves and a drawer for clothing. In the entry area, a small refrigerator and Nespresso machine. The location was excellent – the tram was a block away, and it was a relatively quiet street – and all of the staff was young and eager to help. We bought a 72 hour tram and bus pass to be prepared for our stay.
My cozy bedroom
Large shower and sink
Lovely breakfast room
Breakfast room
The hotel made a lunch reservation for us a few blocks away at Le 1925, a charming brasserie. https://le1925.fr/en/ We had a window seat and enjoyed a Trilogy of Heirloom tomatoes with burratina, escargots, and a plate of cheeses. 44E and perfect. The rest of the first day was spent walking around Bordeaux, resting, and then a dinner at Le Loup. Since we were going to be in Bordeaux on a Saturday night, I’d wanted to book dinner ahead of time. I looked at the menu at Le Loup a few weeks prior and saw several offerings that sounded delicious. Unfortunately, the menu changed just before we ate there – and there weren’t enough things on the menu that J and I were particularly looking forward to. It’s a charming place, wonderful wait staff and a talented chef; it’s just that the menu was not to our taste. The best dish was an asparagus risotto. The others were a sea bream ceviche with pickles and something else. Again, I was at fault for not checking the menu before booking, and they do have good reviews from others. Live and learn. Cost was 30E per person, so reasonable. And when accidentally left a shopping bag there, the waiter ran down the street to give it to us – which was so, so kind.
The following morning, after a buffet breakfast in the hotel, we had a three hour walking tour with Sophia of The Bordelais. https://thebordelais.com She was wonderful! We walked all around the city, saw the cathedral, stopped and had a “Dunes Blanches” (a kind of puff pastry which was delicious!), had a canelé (a dessert specialty of Bordeaux), and saw the medieval gates and bell tower. We ended in her section of the city, St Michel, a vibrant area with a mix of cultures and ethnicities.
Many of you already know this, but for those who don’t – Bordeaux was called “The Sleeping Beauty”. The buildings of the city are made of limestone, which is extremely porous and pollution stained, the Garonne riverside was lined with abandoned warehouses, and traffic made it difficult to get around. In 1995, mayor Alain Juppe began a major restoration project, making major parts of the city pedestrian friendly, modernizing a tram system, and adding parks and walking paths along the riverfront. Facing the Bourse is The Water Mirror, a reflecting pool with little spurts of water (we could see families enjoying it). The city also attacked the problem of pollution, cleaning the limestone facades. All of this was paid for with the approval of increased taxes. Looks like it paid off – the city is welcoming more businesses and tourists, and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. It was very beautiful.
Breakfast (well, any time) treats!
Dune blanches - delicious
St Andre Cathedral
The Cathedral
This darling lady in red was waving from her window
The bell tower
You can see the difference in the cleaned and polluted buildings
The Bourse (stock exchange). The Water Mirror is on the other side of the tram tracks
Sophia recommended a darling café for lunch, Michel, which was very popular! We enjoyed sitting outside and had a reprise of a melted wheel of Camembert, green salad, and a huge onion soup with an unusual pastry topping which J said was very good. Soft drinks and lemonade, and the total bill was 40E for two.
Melted Camembert with a side salad
Onion soup!
Cafe Michel's
We decided to see the northern area of the city, Chartrons, which Sophia had described as a lovely area. In the 17th and 18th centuries, wealthy English, Dutch and Irish wine merchants built their homes there. Sounds good, let’s stroll around there and maybe see the Cite de Vin (a large building which offers a wine experience and a history of wine). We hopped on tram and watched for the beautiful buildings to appear….oops, took the wrong tram. A gentleman on the tram helped direct us to get to the right place (get off here, take the B Bus, get off and transfer to this tram/ this direction). He was so nice! Did that, and exited to see the Cite de Vin.
We decided not to take the tour of the facility, but just browsed in the gift store then set out walking. We found a lovely, quiet pedestrian neighborhood and strolled for a while. Walked back to the hotel then to dinner at an Italian restaurant, Boccaccia, in St Michel district, took the tram back and called it a day. Tomorrow, St Emilion!
My cozy bedroom
Large shower and sink
Lovely breakfast room
Breakfast room
The hotel made a lunch reservation for us a few blocks away at Le 1925, a charming brasserie. https://le1925.fr/en/ We had a window seat and enjoyed a Trilogy of Heirloom tomatoes with burratina, escargots, and a plate of cheeses. 44E and perfect. The rest of the first day was spent walking around Bordeaux, resting, and then a dinner at Le Loup. Since we were going to be in Bordeaux on a Saturday night, I’d wanted to book dinner ahead of time. I looked at the menu at Le Loup a few weeks prior and saw several offerings that sounded delicious. Unfortunately, the menu changed just before we ate there – and there weren’t enough things on the menu that J and I were particularly looking forward to. It’s a charming place, wonderful wait staff and a talented chef; it’s just that the menu was not to our taste. The best dish was an asparagus risotto. The others were a sea bream ceviche with pickles and something else. Again, I was at fault for not checking the menu before booking, and they do have good reviews from others. Live and learn. Cost was 30E per person, so reasonable. And when accidentally left a shopping bag there, the waiter ran down the street to give it to us – which was so, so kind.
The following morning, after a buffet breakfast in the hotel, we had a three hour walking tour with Sophia of The Bordelais. https://thebordelais.com She was wonderful! We walked all around the city, saw the cathedral, stopped and had a “Dunes Blanches” (a kind of puff pastry which was delicious!), had a canelé (a dessert specialty of Bordeaux), and saw the medieval gates and bell tower. We ended in her section of the city, St Michel, a vibrant area with a mix of cultures and ethnicities.
Many of you already know this, but for those who don’t – Bordeaux was called “The Sleeping Beauty”. The buildings of the city are made of limestone, which is extremely porous and pollution stained, the Garonne riverside was lined with abandoned warehouses, and traffic made it difficult to get around. In 1995, mayor Alain Juppe began a major restoration project, making major parts of the city pedestrian friendly, modernizing a tram system, and adding parks and walking paths along the riverfront. Facing the Bourse is The Water Mirror, a reflecting pool with little spurts of water (we could see families enjoying it). The city also attacked the problem of pollution, cleaning the limestone facades. All of this was paid for with the approval of increased taxes. Looks like it paid off – the city is welcoming more businesses and tourists, and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. It was very beautiful.
Breakfast (well, any time) treats!
Dune blanches - delicious
St Andre Cathedral
The Cathedral
This darling lady in red was waving from her window
The bell tower
You can see the difference in the cleaned and polluted buildings
The Bourse (stock exchange). The Water Mirror is on the other side of the tram tracks
Sophia recommended a darling café for lunch, Michel, which was very popular! We enjoyed sitting outside and had a reprise of a melted wheel of Camembert, green salad, and a huge onion soup with an unusual pastry topping which J said was very good. Soft drinks and lemonade, and the total bill was 40E for two.
Melted Camembert with a side salad
Onion soup!
Cafe Michel's
We decided to see the northern area of the city, Chartrons, which Sophia had described as a lovely area. In the 17th and 18th centuries, wealthy English, Dutch and Irish wine merchants built their homes there. Sounds good, let’s stroll around there and maybe see the Cite de Vin (a large building which offers a wine experience and a history of wine). We hopped on tram and watched for the beautiful buildings to appear….oops, took the wrong tram. A gentleman on the tram helped direct us to get to the right place (get off here, take the B Bus, get off and transfer to this tram/ this direction). He was so nice! Did that, and exited to see the Cite de Vin.
We decided not to take the tour of the facility, but just browsed in the gift store then set out walking. We found a lovely, quiet pedestrian neighborhood and strolled for a while. Walked back to the hotel then to dinner at an Italian restaurant, Boccaccia, in St Michel district, took the tram back and called it a day. Tomorrow, St Emilion!
May 19th, 2025 | 07:35 PM
#17
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2005
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The following morning we went to St Emilion. Used the SNCF app to get a ticket, took the tram to Gare St Jean, and off we went.
Well, this day was an adventure.
I hadn’t realized that St Emilion is a hilltop town. We exited the train and saw a young woman with a tuk tuk – a kind of long, six seated motorized golf cart. Sounds like a plan (and it WAS – a very good plan). We wound our way up the hill to Cloitre des Cordeliers – a former cloister with a store selling wine and local handmade products. Walked around the town and stopped in some stores. Went into the Collegiate Church at the top of the hill, with a cloister, and stopped up there to take a photo. I did not realize that there is also a Monolithic Church below, dug out of the limestone, with a 45 minute guided tour - if you go to St. Emilion you may be interested in it.
The church - on the upper level
Inside the church
The church interior
Interesting art inside the church
Cloister
A view from the church above. We walked from this height down to the square.
Church bell tower from the square below
Then decided, let’s see what’s down this walkway, from the church above to the square below (you can see the height distance in the photos above).
Well. It was made of large, uneven, slippery stones. I named it the Staircase of Death (though it wasn’t a staircase per se, but the “Slope of Death” doesn’t have the same ring to it).
Short digression. I tripped a few years ago on a walk in my neighborhood and got a compression fracture in my arm. No displacement, just had to wear a sling for a while, but now I am cautious – I do not want to break anything, particularly on a vacation – so I use a walking stick pretty much everywhere. (It’s actually very helpful on buses and trains, as people see it and assume I have trouble walking, and offer me their seat. They don’t know I walk like, 6 - 8 miles a day on vacation and I’m fine. But hey, who am I to disabuse them of their impression, right?). Anyway. J and I are mincing down this slope, holding on to any railing, and praying we get down to the bottom without trouble. Did it! Decided, that’s enough a that – let’s get lunch.
Slight view of the bottom of the Slope of Death. It keeps going, way way up there. Trust me.
OK, back to food. I’d bookmarked Le Tertre restaurant, so we walked back up part of The Slope and had the BEST meal of the trip. https://restaurantletertre.com It’s a small place, maybe 30 covers, with a few tables outside on little platforms. (How the wait staff did their job is a mystery, I’d have had broken crockery all over the stones). We had white asparagus soup, a cod ravioli with mushrooms, and a strawberry pavlova with crunchy meringue. Cost was 190E including several glasses of wine each – and absolutely excellent!!! The woman who waited on us was one of the owners, and her husband the chef.
White asparagus soup
Cod ravioli
Strawberry pavlova
Anyway. We sat down at 12:15 when they opened, and called to see if we could get the tuk tuk back down the hill (it’s a little over a mile to the train). No luck. We asked the woman if she could help us book a taxi, and though she was harried, she was SO kind and did so. Our train was at 1:48. She informed us that the taxi would meet us down in the square at 1:45. Hummm… that sounds (A BIT!!) tight – perhaps a little earlier? Like, 1:30, we’re thinking. “Oh no, you’ll be fine, it’s not far at all”.
“And it is important to relax and take the time to enjoy your meal”.
Ahh, France.
Nothing to do about it, so we “enjoyed our meal”. Got the cab, drove down the hill...and waved as the 1:48 train passed by in the distance. Sat down there and got the next train. And laughed. Hey, it’s vacation.
View from the train station
Got back to Bordeaux, walked a bit, walked over to an antique and brocante fair a block from our hotel at Place des Quinconces, and had dinner at Le 1925 again. Which was delicious. Tomorrow - San Sebastian!
Well, this day was an adventure.
I hadn’t realized that St Emilion is a hilltop town. We exited the train and saw a young woman with a tuk tuk – a kind of long, six seated motorized golf cart. Sounds like a plan (and it WAS – a very good plan). We wound our way up the hill to Cloitre des Cordeliers – a former cloister with a store selling wine and local handmade products. Walked around the town and stopped in some stores. Went into the Collegiate Church at the top of the hill, with a cloister, and stopped up there to take a photo. I did not realize that there is also a Monolithic Church below, dug out of the limestone, with a 45 minute guided tour - if you go to St. Emilion you may be interested in it.
The church - on the upper level
Inside the church
The church interior
Interesting art inside the church
Cloister
A view from the church above. We walked from this height down to the square.
Church bell tower from the square below
Then decided, let’s see what’s down this walkway, from the church above to the square below (you can see the height distance in the photos above).
Well. It was made of large, uneven, slippery stones. I named it the Staircase of Death (though it wasn’t a staircase per se, but the “Slope of Death” doesn’t have the same ring to it).
Short digression. I tripped a few years ago on a walk in my neighborhood and got a compression fracture in my arm. No displacement, just had to wear a sling for a while, but now I am cautious – I do not want to break anything, particularly on a vacation – so I use a walking stick pretty much everywhere. (It’s actually very helpful on buses and trains, as people see it and assume I have trouble walking, and offer me their seat. They don’t know I walk like, 6 - 8 miles a day on vacation and I’m fine. But hey, who am I to disabuse them of their impression, right?). Anyway. J and I are mincing down this slope, holding on to any railing, and praying we get down to the bottom without trouble. Did it! Decided, that’s enough a that – let’s get lunch.
Slight view of the bottom of the Slope of Death. It keeps going, way way up there. Trust me.
OK, back to food. I’d bookmarked Le Tertre restaurant, so we walked back up part of The Slope and had the BEST meal of the trip. https://restaurantletertre.com It’s a small place, maybe 30 covers, with a few tables outside on little platforms. (How the wait staff did their job is a mystery, I’d have had broken crockery all over the stones). We had white asparagus soup, a cod ravioli with mushrooms, and a strawberry pavlova with crunchy meringue. Cost was 190E including several glasses of wine each – and absolutely excellent!!! The woman who waited on us was one of the owners, and her husband the chef.
White asparagus soup
Cod ravioli
Strawberry pavlova
Anyway. We sat down at 12:15 when they opened, and called to see if we could get the tuk tuk back down the hill (it’s a little over a mile to the train). No luck. We asked the woman if she could help us book a taxi, and though she was harried, she was SO kind and did so. Our train was at 1:48. She informed us that the taxi would meet us down in the square at 1:45. Hummm… that sounds (A BIT!!) tight – perhaps a little earlier? Like, 1:30, we’re thinking. “Oh no, you’ll be fine, it’s not far at all”.
“And it is important to relax and take the time to enjoy your meal”.
Ahh, France.
Nothing to do about it, so we “enjoyed our meal”. Got the cab, drove down the hill...and waved as the 1:48 train passed by in the distance. Sat down there and got the next train. And laughed. Hey, it’s vacation.
View from the train station
Got back to Bordeaux, walked a bit, walked over to an antique and brocante fair a block from our hotel at Place des Quinconces, and had dinner at Le 1925 again. Which was delicious. Tomorrow - San Sebastian!
