Pont de Pierre in Bordeaux
After a chill week in Vias, we hopped on a very hot train, without AC, to head north to Bordeaux for a few nights. This is the first place that we used AirBnB to book a private room. Choosing the private room instead of renting the entire apartment helped us save a few bucks, but we were a little uncertain of what it would be like to share an apartment with a stranger. Luckily we were pleasantly surprised by how great an experience we had thanks to our friendly host, Geraldine.
Place de la Comédie
Inside Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux
While we were only in town for two days, we managed to cover a lot of ground and saw some of the attractions that Bordeaux has to offer. We strolled along the crescent-shaped Garonne River which runs through the city. In doing so, we saw our 4th UNESCO site (“Port of the Moon”). Declared a World Heritage site in 2007, the port city is recognized for its cultural significance and outstanding architecture.
Peeking through an archway in St. Emilion
Panorama of St. Emilion
We spent half a day in Saint-Émilion which is where a ton of the wine in the region is produced. As soon as you step off the train, there are grape vines as far as the eye can see in every direction. This seems to be the case in a lot of France based on our train rides so far. We took a tour of the Chateau Villemaurine which included walking through the vineyards, visiting the production rooms, meandering through the underground caves, and, of course, a tasting at the end. The jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion itself is also considered a UNESCO World Heritage site thanks to its historic vineyards that have remained intact. This makes 5 sites visited so far for us.
Vineyards at Chateau Villemaurine
Barrels of Wine at Chateau Villemaurine – St. Emilion
Next up on the itinerary: spending 8 days WWOOFing on a goat farm in Cognac. Stay tuned for details!
-The Morts