Bordeaux or Bust

Leaving this morning feels a little odd.  We have called "Le Paradou" home for almost a month, it has been so comfortable and familiar that we are reluctant to leave.  Still, the road beckons and we must answer it's call.  This morning, we are going to visit a friend in Bessan.  We met in May of 2013, when Johanne and I, along with 4 friends from Vancouver, rented her chateaux for a week.  Marie Sofie and Johanne have become fast friends since that visit.  Along the way, we make a quick stop in Aigues-Mortes.  I spoke about this village in my last post.  Aigues Mortes sits on the banks of the Petit Rhone.  It's name comes from a Latin word or phrase meaning "dead water".  It seems that this medieval walled city has never had potable water, even today the ground water is undrinkable,  which makes the development of this place remarkable.  Living without access to fresh water must have been quite difficult.

 On this day the village is gearing up for a medieval celebration.  We caught up with a few of the participants as they were preparing for the event. Our schedule won't permit us to be around to watch the festivities.  We can't help wondering if the festival was going to replay the scandal from the 18th century, in which Italian immigrants were brutally massacred by the french locals.  It seems it all started over a battle of honour between two neighbourhoods and was fueled by false rumors.  The result was the worst immigrant massacre in modern French history.  A play named "Dirty August" was written based on the tragic events.  This village was also the prison where the Templar Knights were held during the crusades.  A storied and violent past.

We had missed our morning patisserie in Le Paradou, so we popped into a nice little bakery just off the main square.  It was lined up, a good indication that the quality is there.  Two Chocolate croissants later, we are fueled up and ready to move on.

Bessan is a small village in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. This beautiful chateau above, was our home for a week in May of 2013.  Marie Sophie is the 5th generation owner of this marvelous Victorian mansion and former vineyard.  Today it is rented out as a summer holiday location for mostly European travellers.  We were her first and only Canadian guests.  Marie Sophie had prepared a place on her patio for our visit.  Surrounded by a painter's palate of colourful flowers and the shadow of the Chateau, we couldn't have asked for a more idyllic setting for coffee and conversation.  An hour flew passed in a blink, with a long journey still to come and Marie Sophie's impending guests soon to arrive, we bid adieu looking forward to visiting Chateau d'Hortes again in the future.

The GPS tells us we have just under 5 hours to arrive in Bordeaux.  We had programmed our route to take us off the beaten path.  The slow route to be sure, but the scenery is much more interesting then the autoroute.  Well this turned out to be a poor decision.  First we got stuck in a massive traffic jam, which added 40 minutes to the trip.  Then our little computer friend took us helter skelter.  We did arrive of course, however the drive took 6 1/2 hours.  We did see some interesting scenery, but not really worth the extra time.  After a good night's sleep we introduced ourselves to Bordeaux.

This city is fantastic.  Built on the Garonne River, the left bank contains the city centre and the right bank, La Bastide.  The latter being annexed to Bordeaux in the late 1800's after the building of the Pont Pierre, also known as the Stone Bridge.  You can see the bridge in the background below.  The bridge was commissioned by Napoleon 1st., between 1810-22.  It took 4000 workers to complete the 487 metre span.  It contains 17 arches, one for each letter of Napoleon Bonaparte's name.    All this work so Napoleon's army could cross the Garrone, instead of going around, while en route to the Iberian peninsula during the War of Independence.

The bridge made a significant difference in the lives and prosperity of the people of Bordeaux.  Prior to it's construction, the only way across the powerful Garonne was via ferry.  Expensive and time consuming.  The bridge opened the doors for trade.  Business boomed and Bordeaux wines became the flavour of Kings.

We started our discovery with a walk along the Quay Louis XVIII.  Entering the city from the north end next to the "Les Hangers", a regentrified warehouse district now housing upscale condos and stores.  We are heading for the historic centre, which is about 10 minutes walk down the boardwalk.

 The streets are beautiful, with large parks and squares for pedestrian enjoyment.

Along the river front, we were met by yet another market.  This one included pop up style restaurants where vendors cooked their products for tasting.  You could buy the goods to take home too.  We had a feast of oysters served with a nice cold, crisp wine from the region.  There was so much food on offer, it was hard to choose what to have.   IF you love food, then this is the place to be!

No trip to Bordeaux would be complete without a visit to the Maison du Vin for a degustation. Upon entering, we are greeted by a gentleman who informs us he is conducting a tasting, should we wish to look around he would look after us once the current group is complete.  All in perfect English.  Johanne responds in perfect (aka Parisian) French.  He is pleased with her response.  We look around,  Chateau Margaux, Chateau Lafite, Chateau...well I think you get the picture.  All the big guns are here.  One only needs money and the cellar of your dreams can become...just that. A short time later we re-engage our new found friend, were we, or should I say, Johanne, shares our story of discovery.  The travel, the blog, you our readers.  He seems intrigued.   They talk more,   I smile and look very interested, appearing to completely understand the conversation.  I have no clue, but I know there will be drinking involve so I stay quiet.  I nod as I hear a word I recognize, smile when smiled at.  Johanne and our sommelier are getting on famously.  Finally, he says come with me.  We were lucky enough to be invited to their special tasting room, where the best Chateau wines from the area are offered to buyers from around the world.  Sweet!  Definitely not a word to be used in this tasting room.  I keep it to myself.

 6 beautiful Bordeaux's later we floated out the door.  It was very good visit.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent walking colourful historic streets, we even took the water bus from the Pont Pierre for a trip along the Garrone.  One day is not nearly enough time to spend in this fine city.

Tomorrow we are going to explore Saint Emilion, the heart of the Bordeaux wine region then head further North to explore the Loire Valley.

Be Well

Sante