Category: Europe Fall 2021

We have had a lot of rainy days on this trip but today we were lucky. It was an absolutely beautiful fall day. We went canoeing 19 kilometers down the Dordogne River from the Grolejac Bridge to the Vézac bridge. The company we rented the canoe from was called Canoe sans Frontière.

The river was high and flowing quite fast so we didn’t have to paddle much. We only saw one other canoe. It was a peaceful and relaxing trip. We saw three large chateaus towering over the river as we paddled by.

About two hours into our trip we stopped to stretch and have a snack at La Roque Gageac, a village right next to the river.

The owner of the canoes told us to call him as we were leaving the village and he would meet us after the second bridge about thirty minutes later. the second chateau of the trip appeared as we went around the next curve in the river.

The final chateau was overlooking the spot where we took the canoe out of the water.

As the owner drove us back to the start in his van we got to practice our French as he told us when each chateau was built, how many fish are in the river and how high the water is because of all the rain.

Tuesday was somewhat of a rest day. It rained most of our drive south. The countryside is verdant. We saw lots of apple orchards.

We couldn’t check in until three so we had a light lunch on the Main Street.

Our room at Les Cordeliers overlooks the main square.

Surlat is a lovely medieval town. We are in the middle of the Dordogne region known for foie gras and for nuts. For dinner at L’Addresse we had foie gras to start and nut pie to end.

The weather today was beautiful. We wandered around St-Emilion for a while until we found a place for coffee. The sun coming up and shining on the yellow stone buildings was pretty spectacular.

We broke up the drive to St-Junien with a picnic lunch.

We arrived in St-Junien too early to check in to our Hôtes Chambres. The reason for our stop in St-Junien is to visit the nearby martyred village of Oradour sur Glane. On June 10, 1944 the Nazi SS murdered the entire village, men women and children, 643 people. The village has been preserved as a memorial exactly as it was in 1944. Allison and I visited Oradour in 2004 but Duke hadn’t been there before. It is a disturbing place to visit but a powerful and very necessary place to visit.

We are staying at Le Clos de la Muse a Chambres de Hôtes. The mural on the wall is Monet inspired. The building was built in the eighteenth century.

This morning it was pouring rain when we went out for breakfast. First we went to see the Porte Cailhau, one of the gateways of the city then we found a place for breakfast.

Then it was back to the hotel, pack up and walk to the car park. Thank goodness we have good raincoats.

We drove to the Cité du Vin museum. It was a perfect day to learn more about wine and wine history.

At the top of the museum we gat a taste of wine and a wonderful view.

The drive from Bordeaux to Saint-Emilion took less than an hour. Saint-Emilion is a picturesque old village full of wine shops. We are staying in a very nice chambre de hôtes over a wine shop, Hôtes de Saint-Emilion.

We ate at L’Huitrier Pie a gourmet restaurant right next door to where we are staying. It is a Michelin listed restaurant so it is difficult to compare it to other restaurants where we have eaten. Each dish was a work of art, the taste combinations in each bite were complex and the service was perfect.

Way back in August when we were planning this trip I searched for a winery near Bordeaux that we could visit for a tour and tasting. I found Château Sainte Barbe, made a reservation and we went there today.

We decided to take public transportation instead of hassling with driving. First we walked across the Garonne to the Stalingrad bus stop.

Then we took a bus about thirty minutes north along the river.

Château Sainte Barbe winery has been making wine since 1650. We were the only ones on our tour and got to ask lots of questions about how the grapes are grown and how the wine is made.

After our tour and tasting we took the bus back into Bordeaux.

For dinner we ate at Le Comptoir Fromage. I often order things on the menu that I can’t quite translate. My starter was Pastèque snackèe, feta fumée Maison, vinaigrette pistachio, grenade de tequila. It was very good and now I know that pastèque is watermelon.

My main fish was Coquillettes au Gouda truffle et jambon. I didn’t know until it arrived that it would be macaroni and cheese with ham!

Le Comtoir Fromage was right across the street from Bistro Réno.