We woke up this morning to the slight smell of smoke. The temperature was 28 degrees Fahrenheit and we had been warned that there would be smoke among the vines to protect them from the freezing temperature. We also saw and heard helicopters flying over the vineyards stirring up the air.

The breakfast at Chsteau Fombrauge where we were staying was wonderful.

The Bed and Breakfasts that we stay at in rural France don’t usually allow check in until 4 or 5pm. So although we had a relatively short drive today we took a circuitous route. We stopped for a picnic lunch.

The park had a pizza machine that could provide a cold pizza in 30 seconds or a hot pizza in 3 minutes.

France has the first round of their presidential elections this Sunday. It is interesting to see the election signs. As I understand it, there are strict rules to ensure fairnes, so all the signs are the same size.

We still had time to kill when we got to our B and B so we saw an abbey not too far away and parked there to read and nap while we waited for our check in time.

Our Landlady where we are staying, Les Cuves, gave us a list of nearby restaurants. We chose one and drove into Saintes for dinner. It was a small restaurant called Les Repaire des Artistes. We had an excellent meal and there was no problem corking the leftover wine to take with us.

Sunday morning we walked around Bordeaux a bit to find some breakfast pastries. Later we walked to a bus stop and took a bus to the airport where we picked up the rental car that we will drive to Paris.

We drove to Saint-Emilion. Duke and I stayed in Saint-Emilion last year. On that trip we stayed above a wine shop and regretted the fact that they were closed when we left so we weren’t able to buy wine. This time we went straight to the wine shop we visited last time, tasted some wine and ordered some to ship home. It makes a perfect souvenir.

We are staying a couple of miles outside of Saint-Emilion at a chateau surrounded by vineyards. It’s called Château Fombrauge.

For dinner we went to Camille & Soufiane the Michelin restaurant we ate at last year. It was a wonderful dining experience. The flavors and presentation of the food were perfect.

Today was a bit of a rest day. It snowed last night in the mountains we came through yesterday.

Today we spent a lot of time exploring between and during the rain squalls. At times the sun was shining and at other times it was raining or hailing.

Our room was on the top floor in the picture below. It was a nice place to take a bit of a rest and watch the weather change.

For dinner we went out to have pintxos again. There are so many places that are full in spite of the winter weather. We went to 3 places tonight. We started with the place we really enjoyed last night and had the grilled goat cheese again.

The weather for our entire trip has been grayer, wetter and colder than is normal for this time of year on the Iberian peninsula. It hasn’t stopped us from having a great time but still….

Thursday we headed north to Donastia/San Sebastián. Although it was cold and cloudy for most of the day it was a beautiful drive. We needed to do Duke’s review of the rental car (the fifth of the trip) because we would be returning it in Donastia/San Sebastián. Here is a link if you would like to watch Duke’s Review of the SEAT Ibiza.

We went over Lizarraga pass and stopped at this viewpoint.

In Donastia/San Sebastián we checked into our hotel, then drove to the shopping center where we dropped off the car. We had a coffee while we waited for the rain outside to stop.

Then we walked back to the hotel.

When we went out to find pintxos (tapas) for dinner the wind between the buildings along the waterfront was like we were in a wind tunnel.

We enjoyed our beer and pintxos.