Western France

Bordeaux is amazing.  So in the past 5 days of forecasted rain we actually had super weather, around Bordeaux it rains a lot but when we would go to go somewhere it always cleared up.  On Wednesday we visited the lake and the city.  The lake is one of the biggest in Europe and it has dunes which remind me of Michigan.  I would say Bordeaux is the San Francisco of a France although not quite as hippie; it's weather is similar, it has a tram, a bridge, a Napa Valley, its a port town and similar style.  I liked it immediately, the people are calmer than in Provence and it has a more Scandinavian feel.  We took the tram, strolled around went to a broquante (type of flea market) and walked by the Gironde.  

Thursday they had a big family get together and we ate tartiflette aka scalloped potatoes with ham and lots of reblochon cheese.  Then we all went to see the ocean which is nearby.  They live in a little town called Hourtin which is next to the other town called Hourtin-Plage which is a little beachy town, there were all these surfers walking around in wetsuits and people catching the wind with parachutes and old men going around with metal detectors.  The beach didn't have seashells but it had lots of interesting rocks.  

Friday we went to see Martine's sister in her other sisters old house who had recently died, they are still organizing all of her possessions.  The house is from the 1800's and it's beautiful.  In town Rolande had me stop and smell a ancient variety of rose growing on a wall, it smelled so good!  There are lots of roses around here.  We went to a nearby winery called Chateau de la croix, which was closed but we called the owner who lived nearby and she gave us a tour and a tasting.  They are a Cru Bourgeoise, 5th  generation winery in a small town called Plautignan.  In Bordeaux the wine is mostly made up of three grapes Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet-Franc, and in le Médoc north of Bordeaux where we were it is primarily Merlot.  Which means it's not as fruity as other red wines like what is grown in the region by Avignon (which I stand beside).  It makes the Bordeaux darker, dry and smooth with more of a taste of vanilla than berry.  I tried out their wine and got my gift for Les Mouton.  We also went to a nearby hazelnut specialty shop.  I tried out foie gras and we had entrecôte for dinner, yum.

Saturday I went to work on their bikes cleaning them up, maintenance and figuring out the problem with two of them.  We had Martine's famous Pakistani chicken and I biked to the beach (about 20 km).  The trails take you through the pine tree forests and the yellow flower in the area called genêt was blooming.  Sunday morning we left and we took the long route by all the famous chateaux wineries in like Pauillac, Saint Jullien and Margaux.  It was gorgeous.  We took the bridge over Bordeaux and made our trip back home.  Meanwhile we were in a traffic jam for an extra hour, the car stalled and we got a running start from a group of gypsies.  Back home now