It took us a long time to decide where to go, we had the dates for a long time but no destination yet or even an idea. So we looked at flights daily, coz we want a good deal! And decided on Sicily, waited a few days and the price had gone up! Bleh! Back to the drawing board!
And voila out of nowhere Bordeaux popped up! And I've ever only heard good things about it!
We got there quite early, got a little confused at the smallest airport ever, signage is just not clear! Were surprised how cheap the bus ticket to town was and went on a hunt for food, brunch. This was quite a mission as the French eat at certain times and if you're too early then tough! So weird seeing cafes full of people but everyone's drinking their little coffees or soft drinks. Finally after wondering up and down a street that seemed to have plenty of cafes and shops we found one that was opened and served galettes :) Why aren't savoury pancakes a thing in the uk? Why?
We stayed at an airbnb really close to the city centre so everything was just a little walk away and after settling in really early we went to explore the city everyone talks sooooooooo good about... In my honest opinion I was underwhelmed... The streets didn't really caught my eye as I would've expected. Maybe I came here with too high expectations, I mean it was ok! Not bad, it was pretty, it was quaint but I felt like the je ne sais quoi was missing...
We did manage to get to Place de la Bourse at the best time - when it's dark outside and all the lights of the buildings mirror on the water in front of it. Now that is magical :) During the daytime the water switches from being a mist to a 2cm pool.
If you know me you know I have an obsession with towers and must go to the top whenever I can. I absolutely hate those narrow staircases but the view at the top is ALWAYS worth it. Don't think I've ever been disappointed... so in Bordaux we found 2 towers: Puerta de Cailhau which is more like a City Wall entrance port and Tour Pey Berland which is a standalone tower next to the Cathedrale Saint-Andre, offering amazing views.
Having heard that there is a new big museum dedicated to wine and everything to do with wine + free tasting of a wine of your choice who could say no? It's quite a walk from the city centre, especially if it starts raining (not heavy luckily) in the middle of that walk and your wearing a dress and nothing to cover your bare shoulders... The visit to the museum starts with the wine tasting and there is quite a big choice of wine to taste (not just the regional) and the barman is very knowledgable in recommending which one would be perfect for you. My taste is simple, sweet and obviously I enjoyed mine. And that is the most important thing I took from the museum, is that sweet wine is gold/yellow in colour. The museum is very interactive with sounds/stories that start playing when you step in the right spot or push the right button. There are games you can play, such as pick the right colour for the wine, aroma stations. Fun facts and stories of current vineyards and their owners. Not to mention history reenacted through humour. I do regret not taking more photos of the inside.
Our first daytrip started with a faff. My cards weren't working :D Like all 3 of them :S Hawkward... None of them were blocked though so it must be the type of card machines used. Finally after trying a few machines one card started working and worked through the end of the trip! Phew! Thanks to the faffing around we arrived at the train station with about 10 mins to spare before our train. Went to the tunnel that lead to platforms and it was closed! With a mass of people waiting to get into it and no information! Finally finally, 2 mins before our train there was news of another tunnel that was open! ARGH couldn't someone have been there guiding us towards that to make our train instead of endless "I don't know what's happened". Clearly we did not make our train. The next one was in an hour and luckily our tickets were valid for that as well :)
St. Ėmilion is a charming little village just an hour by train from Bordeaux. It has narrow winding streets, multiple height levels, monastery ruins, church, viewing platforms, restaurants, wine and vineyards surrounding it. What else could you need?
The biggest sand dune in Europe is also only a couple of hours away from Bordeaux. A little awkward to get to though as the train and bus times do not match perfectly. We had to wait an hour for the bus to take us there, which gave us a little time to explore Arcachon.
It's a HUGE pile of sand... We took full advantage of the staircase to get up to the top and the view was amazing, ocean on one side and forest on the other.
What better way to finish our wine country holiday than to go on a wine tasting tour! We visited two castles.
We stayed at an airbnb really close to the city centre so everything was just a little walk away and after settling in really early we went to explore the city everyone talks sooooooooo good about... In my honest opinion I was underwhelmed... The streets didn't really caught my eye as I would've expected. Maybe I came here with too high expectations, I mean it was ok! Not bad, it was pretty, it was quaint but I felt like the je ne sais quoi was missing...
We did manage to get to Place de la Bourse at the best time - when it's dark outside and all the lights of the buildings mirror on the water in front of it. Now that is magical :) During the daytime the water switches from being a mist to a 2cm pool.
If you know me you know I have an obsession with towers and must go to the top whenever I can. I absolutely hate those narrow staircases but the view at the top is ALWAYS worth it. Don't think I've ever been disappointed... so in Bordaux we found 2 towers: Puerta de Cailhau which is more like a City Wall entrance port and Tour Pey Berland which is a standalone tower next to the Cathedrale Saint-Andre, offering amazing views.
Having heard that there is a new big museum dedicated to wine and everything to do with wine + free tasting of a wine of your choice who could say no? It's quite a walk from the city centre, especially if it starts raining (not heavy luckily) in the middle of that walk and your wearing a dress and nothing to cover your bare shoulders... The visit to the museum starts with the wine tasting and there is quite a big choice of wine to taste (not just the regional) and the barman is very knowledgable in recommending which one would be perfect for you. My taste is simple, sweet and obviously I enjoyed mine. And that is the most important thing I took from the museum, is that sweet wine is gold/yellow in colour. The museum is very interactive with sounds/stories that start playing when you step in the right spot or push the right button. There are games you can play, such as pick the right colour for the wine, aroma stations. Fun facts and stories of current vineyards and their owners. Not to mention history reenacted through humour. I do regret not taking more photos of the inside.
Snails (tasted like dirt imho)
Frog legs (hardly any taste to them imho)
Our first daytrip started with a faff. My cards weren't working :D Like all 3 of them :S Hawkward... None of them were blocked though so it must be the type of card machines used. Finally after trying a few machines one card started working and worked through the end of the trip! Phew! Thanks to the faffing around we arrived at the train station with about 10 mins to spare before our train. Went to the tunnel that lead to platforms and it was closed! With a mass of people waiting to get into it and no information! Finally finally, 2 mins before our train there was news of another tunnel that was open! ARGH couldn't someone have been there guiding us towards that to make our train instead of endless "I don't know what's happened". Clearly we did not make our train. The next one was in an hour and luckily our tickets were valid for that as well :)
St. Ėmilion is a charming little village just an hour by train from Bordeaux. It has narrow winding streets, multiple height levels, monastery ruins, church, viewing platforms, restaurants, wine and vineyards surrounding it. What else could you need?
What's up pussycat
The biggest sand dune in Europe is also only a couple of hours away from Bordeaux. A little awkward to get to though as the train and bus times do not match perfectly. We had to wait an hour for the bus to take us there, which gave us a little time to explore Arcachon.
It's a HUGE pile of sand... We took full advantage of the staircase to get up to the top and the view was amazing, ocean on one side and forest on the other.
What better way to finish our wine country holiday than to go on a wine tasting tour! We visited two castles.
Horses!
There were the most annoying American/Canadian girls sitting behind us on the bus!
Last meal of the trip was sushi!!!! Because I can't get any in my own little town...
Ttyl ;)
Jazzz...
