On the road (3) A (hopefully) sunny September road trip to Spain COMPLETED - Page 11 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Sunday 5 September – part six: from electronics to wine...
We were there about 20 minutes early, but we weren’t the only ones, as a huge crowd built up. We got talking to a couple of women from Canada and it was really interesting. As the woman from Quebec City explained, their standard of English teaching isn’t great and, when compared to her friend from Montreal, the difference was very stark. Her friend now also lives in Quebec City and speaks fluent French and it was very impressive the way they changed between the two languages. Although I can understand probably about 90% of French, I just lack the confidence when it comes to speaking it.
Finally, we were told that the bus was ready, although when we got there, some people were already on it. By the time we got on board, there were only about three more sets of seats left available, so we ended up right at the back, which wasn’t ideal. It was certainly a packed bus, with only a couple of seats left free by the time everyone was on board.
We set off, with our wonderful guide Christine giving us a great commentary all the way in both French and English. Once we got out of the pedestrian area, it was a drive along the waterfront.
Another Cow Parade friend! Statues on top of the Grand Theatre Letting us out of the pedestrian area
Our journey then took us across the river Gironde, which runs through the city, and then the Dordogne river, which gives its name to the whole region.
As we got out that far, pretty much all you started to see were vineyards. It’s such a wonderful sight and something I don’t think I’d ever get sick of seeing, especially as most of them come with beautiful chateaux.
We passed through the village of Saint Emilion, but we would be stopping on the way back for a more thorough exploration. By now, we really were hurtling along, as apparently we had an appointment at the Chateau de Pressace outside Saint Emilion at 2.30pm. We had been due to leave at 1.30pm, but because we’d been waiting to see if the final person booked on our tour showed up, we didn’t get going until 1.40pm, which put our driver Jacques under quite a bit of pressure. Despite the speed, he was in the main very smooth and we did make it on time. As we pulled up towards the chateau, you could see their vineyards spread out in the valley below.
We were greeted upon our arrival by Annie-Suzette, who took us on a guided tour of the chateau, with Christine doing the English translations for her. It turns out that the chateau has passed through many different owners and, when the most recent owner bought it in 1997, it was in quite a state of disrepair and he had to do a lot of work to it. He sounded like an interesting character, as apparently he previously worked for an electronics company in Paris, so no background in wine production at all, which really surprised me.
All of the wine produced here is red, which is a shame, as it’s not exactly our tipple of choice, shall we say. Still, it was interesting to learn about the history of the place, with some wonderful views over the vineyards beneath. It’s also worth knowing that this is such a historic wine producing area that the entire Saint Emillion vineyard area was declared a World Heritage Site.
Next: is this really wine or is it impersonating paint stripper?
Finally catching up here... your tour of the cows was fun. Love the surfing one! The lack of cars sure made for some excellent photos. Your bus tour pictures are wonderful, how peaceful in the vineyards!
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The views from the Chateau de Pressace are just amazing! I agree, vineyards, and I think orchards, make for some beautiful landscapes. Driving through California from L.A. to Sacramento yesterday was a beautiful reminder of that sentiment for me.
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Just catching up with the TR!! So far it has been quite impressive, and your photos, as always, are professional quality! The next title has me a little worried... since you are at a winery.
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All caught up! Please tell me you're going to do a scrapbook page(s) of all the cows - that would be a fun layout to do!
unfortunatey not. There's not going to be a scrapbook for this trip. I'm working on the Switzerland trip right now, as we were so wowed by the scenery we saw in that, but getting paper for these trips is really tough, so I decided not to do this one or the Loire Valley. The next one I'll do will be Egypt, as there are a fair few papers I can get for that, then Disney in April and I'll definitely be doing our fall 2011 Alaskan cruise as well.
Sunday 5 September – part seven: is this really wine or is it impersonating paint stripper?
The next stage is the fermentation process, which again was interesting to hear about, although a little too technical for my French comprehension, so I had to stick with the English translation. Why vocabulary about alcohol fermentation was not on the syllabus, I have no idea... :whiste:
Inside where the fermentation takes place.... ... and the view from the outside
Our final stop before our tasting took into the area where the casks of wine are kept. They’re €700 each and all come from various forests in France. They don’t last long either, although I forget exactly how long they keep them. Let’s just say that they need a new supply on a regular basis. There was enough wine fermenting in here!
Then we were on to tasting the final product, which I was looking forward to, even if it was red wine. We ended up trying two, one a Clos du Chapelain from 2002, if that means anything to anyone (it didn’t to us, don’t worry : ), which was €19 and the other a Saint Emilion Grrand Cru Chateau de Pressac 2002, which was €24. Of the two, I thought the latter was much better, although I think it’s fair to say that Mark thought both resembled paint stripper! Certainly, there was no way we were buying either and we weren’t alone. We ended up on a table full of French and none of them were impressed with either, so it wasn’t just us. :
The table Mark eagerly awaiting his wine... ... and not so eager once he’s tasted it!
It was time to head back to the coach, but I was very glad when the lady from Quebec, who we’d been chatting to earlier on, ask where the toilets were. Once she knew, I followed her lead and we were first in there. When I came out and saw the line outside, I was glad I’d moved that quickly. Once back on the bus, we were able to move seats, as some hadn’t been “saved” with people’s bags, but that didn’t bother one couple, who selected a seat with a bag on it and just stood there, saying “whose bag is there?” I was a little shocked at that!
It was a short journey back to Saint Emilion, during which Christine explained that there would be an optional tour of the underground church, which people didn’t have to attend, but everyone did. It was quite a hike to get there, probably about a five minute walk only, but by now, it was mid afternoon and the heat was unbearable. The weather forecast had turned out to be right, which was a shame, as it was forecast to be in the low 90s today, which was not good for us. It ended up being a bit of a rout march as well, as Christina told us that we were on a schedule. All very well, but sometimes you have to work around what’s happening, and in the heat, people just don’t move as fast as usual. We weren’t the only ones to experience that. :
Finally we got to our destination and Christina went off to get the keys for the underground church and told us to have a look over the terrace to the town below. It was a breathtaking sight, although as it was in the full blazing sun, we didn’t stay there any longer than we needed to.
Trying to keep out of the heat
Saint Emilion dates from the 8th century and was set up by a hermit called Emilion, who was actually named by the King of England. Monasteries and chapels were then added throughout the Middle Ages and today it’s a beautiful village with lots of narrow, charming pedestrian roads, weaving their way through the place. In that respect, it reminded me of Mont St. Michel, which we had visited in June, although fortunately, it was a heck of a lot quieter than that had been.
She handed out maps on her return, which was very handy, then we backtracked a little way to head down a cobbled slope. Oh my goodness! All I can say is that I was very glad to have trainers (tennis shoes) on today. A lot of the women, our guide included, had to take their shoes off, as they didn’t give enough grip and just walk down the slope in their bare feet, it was that steep. I clung on to the rail down the middle for grim life, as the last thing I wanted to do was damage my ankle any further and fortunately I was fine.
Bummer about the wine tasting. But the photos are fantastic! Despite the heat, the sunshine sure looks inviting.
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
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unfortunatey not. There's not going to be a scrapbook for this trip. I'm working on the Switzerland trip right now, as we were so wowed by the scenery we saw in that, but getting paper for these trips is really tough, so I decided not to do this one or the Loire Valley. The next one I'll do will be Egypt, as there are a fair few papers I can get for that, then Disney in April and I'll definitely be doing our fall 2011 Alaskan cruise as well. 
: ), which was €19 and the other a Saint Emilion Grrand Cru Chateau de Pressac 2002, which was €24. Of the two, I thought the latter was much better, although I think it’s fair to say that Mark thought both resembled paint stripper! 
Once back on the bus, we were able to move seats, as some hadn’t been “saved” with people’s bags, but that didn’t bother one couple, who selected a seat with a bag on it and just stood there, saying “whose bag is there?” 
All I can say is that I was very glad to have trainers (tennis shoes) on today. A lot of the women, our guide included, had to take their shoes off, as they didn’t give enough grip and just walk down the slope in their bare feet, it was that steep. I clung on to the rail down the middle for grim life, as the last thing I wanted to do was damage my ankle any further and fortunately I was fine. 
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