Now we love wine. Mostly white, but we, when pushed, will also imbibe a red wine or three. But here we are, parked in the middle of French wine country, particularly RED wine country. Now, you may ask, how did we get in the MIDDLE of wine country on a boat!? Well, the Garonne River is really like a big inlet from the Atlantic Ocean that becomes a winding river past Bordeaux. And because it is deep but also a tidal river, boats can get in -- and may have trouble getting out, depending on the direction of the tide when they leave. In fact, they told us the tide can make a difference of 20 to 25 feet! They even have a tidal wave that is sometimes ridden by surfers!!! Enough of that. So we are here two days, waiting for the tide to do its thing -- with 2 gangplanks out, one for low tide and one for high tide!
So yesterday we got in our walking. You see, we have side trips we can choose to take off the ship, which you have to sign up for. We signed up for "Bordeaux City Highlights" with a drawing of "one little man walking". Each trip shows you how much walking. The designations are: "sitting man", "one walking man", or "two walking men". You get it. Well, "one walking man" was our tour designation. So the bus took us to the farthest end of the old town and dropped us off, saying we would meet there to go back to the bus. The cute little French guide also had a cute little (emphasize "little") voice. So noone except those nearest her, could hear or understand her. The town is darling, all limestone front. And, from what we could understand, these three story limestone buildings were occupied by wine merchants in the 1700's, stores on the first floor, flats above for the families. The wine merchants came from an unlikely place: Holland. Because this area was all swampland and the Dutch knew how to drain the swamps. And they stayed to plant grape vines and learn the wine trade. In fact, UNESCO has named Bordeaux as a World Heritage Site, like Bath, because of these uniformly beautiful buildings. Anyway, we walked and walked all over. I had Bos taking pictures of the people as well as the buildings, because the families were also interesting. See, it was Sunday. And what do French families do on Sunday? Unlike the U.S., all the stores are closed up. So they don't shop. They WALK. Everywhere. With dogs, kids, parents, bicycles, skate boards, roller skates, etc. They are definitely out and about.
We saw the Sunday people first when our boat was docking. You see, the waterfront is really a couple mile long park, with lots of concrete walkways, little gardens, wading pools, fountains, statues. And they really need traffic signals in the park to handle the crowds on Sunday. Imagine how fascinating a huge cruise ship coming up their river and parking downtown on their waterfront is to them!! They just stared and waited for the ship to stop. And then they sat on the grass and watched us, while we were watching them!
Anyhow, our little French guide walked us from the drop off point beyond the city walls down to the waterfront -- where we could see the boat. It was there. Big, but RIGHT THERE! Maybe a mile away from us. And then she turned and was going to walk us back to the bus wayyyyy backkkkk. So, a few of us, with tired feet, opted to walk that beautiful mile, with all those French people, to the boat a mile away. And a lovely walk it was, just ambling. Stopping for gelati. Watching the Frenchies' dogs poop and frowning when they just left it! But it was a French feeling afternoon.
So...next. Evening. We got all gussied up in our finest for this. Next was a trip to the Medoc region to a chateau with its winery, where we were to have dinner. I must say our Nappa and Sonoma valleys are much prettier than the French wine country, which looks dusty and hot with lots of rocks. And they specialize in cabernet and merlot, both reds. But the tour was interesting and the dinner in the chateau was adequate. The wine? Well, suffice it to say we will be getting our wines from California!!!
Today? Well, we are taking the day off. I am having a manicure. And we took our kindles up on deck to enjoy the beautiful weather and the sun. We'll be ready for tomorrow when we get to the Basque Country, that area between France and Spain, that is unique to itself. Now, off to a nap (Bos is already snoring...)
Now we love wine. Mostly white, but we, when pushed, will also imbibe a red wine or three. But here we are, parked in the middle of French wine country, particularly RED wine country. Now, you may ask, how did we get in the MIDDLE of wine country on a boat!? Well, the Garonne River is really like a big inlet from the Atlantic Ocean that becomes a winding river past Bordeaux. And because it is deep but also a tidal river, boats can get in -- and may have trouble getting out, depending on the direction of the tide when they leave. In fact, they told us the tide can make a difference of 20 to 25 feet! They even have a tidal wave that is sometimes ridden by surfers!!! Enough of that. So we are here two days, waiting for the tide to do its thing -- with 2 gangplanks out, one for low tide and one for high tide!
So yesterday we got in our walking. You see, we have side trips we can choose to take off the ship, which you have to sign up for. We signed up for "Bordeaux City Highlights" with a drawing of "one little man walking". Each trip shows you how much walking. The designations are: "sitting man", "one walking man", or "two walking men". You get it. Well, "one walking man" was our tour designation. So the bus took us to the farthest end of the old town and dropped us off, saying we would meet there to go back to the bus. The cute little French guide also had a cute little (emphasize "little") voice. So noone except those nearest her, could hear or understand her. The town is darling, all limestone front. And, from what we could understand, these three story limestone buildings were occupied by wine merchants in the 1700's, stores on the first floor, flats above for the families. The wine merchants came from an unlikely place: Holland. Because this area was all swampland and the Dutch knew how to drain the swamps. And they stayed to plant grape vines and learn the wine trade. In fact, UNESCO has named Bordeaux as a World Heritage Site, like Bath, because of these uniformly beautiful buildings. Anyway, we walked and walked all over. I had Bos taking pictures of the people as well as the buildings, because the families were also interesting. See, it was Sunday. And what do French families do on Sunday? Unlike the U.S., all the stores are closed up. So they don't shop. They WALK. Everywhere. With dogs, kids, parents, bicycles, skate boards, roller skates, etc. They are definitely out and about. 
Anyhow, our little French guide walked us from the drop off point beyond the city walls down to the waterfront -- where we could see the boat. It was there. Big, but RIGHT THERE! Maybe a mile away from us. And then she turned and was going to walk us back to the bus wayyyyy backkkkk. So, a few of us, with tired feet, opted to walk that beautiful mile, with all those French people, to the boat a mile away. And a lovely walk it was, just ambling. Stopping for gelati. Watching the Frenchies' dogs poop and frowning when they just left it! But it was a French feeling afternoon.
So...next. Evening. We got all gussied up in our finest for this. Next was a trip to the Medoc region to a chateau with its winery, where we were to have dinner. I must say our Nappa and Sonoma valleys are much prettier than the French wine country, which looks dusty and hot with lots of rocks. And they specialize in cabernet and merlot, both reds. But the tour was interesting and the dinner in the chateau was adequate. The wine? Well, suffice it to say we will be getting our wines from California!!!
Your days sound divine!! A nice Sunday stroll, gelato, a wine tour, and dinner... sigh. :) And then a relaxing day on the boat with a kindle and a nap. I am really quite jealous! We had thunder storms rolling through, interspersed with just enough sunshine to make one hopeful. No Gelato. No cruise ship. No nap. *pout*
ReplyDeleteSounds lovely. Especially the gelato. I'd like gelato. Instead, I got strained bananas thrown at me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we could all learn a lesson from the French and learn to sit back and enjoy life! Everything here is always so hectic!
ReplyDeleteI love how European guides and cruise descriptions talk about a gentle stroll when what they really mean is "walk as fast as you can if you hope to keep up with the group or learn anything from the guide." Or at least that has been out experience. Sounds like you two are doing a good job of balancing the busy tour days and the quiet "me" days.
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