Up at 8am, we were breakfasted at our lovely hotel breakfast, packed and off to market early. WE split up to buy more fruit, cheese, salad fixings and more important - 4 dozen oysters to take on our way. Good thing we decided not to tail o ne another as we hit a huge traffic jam en route to Bordeaux. I consulted the map and decided to head across country. Later Liz texted me to say that's what they were doing. We didn't take the freeway so got there a bit later BUT we had travelled slowly through the Graves and Sauternes area, past famous chateaux and beautiful vineyards.
Amazingly, villages were silent, it was lunch hour and France closes from 12 to 2:30. We just could not believe it.
AFter a nice lunch together at "our" house in the bastide village of Monsegur (thanks Greg!) we set off to the village square and butcher, where Liz found lamb chops to BBQ and I found lamb kidneys. Along with cream, cognac and butter, they made a nice supper that evening. The boys got the BBQ up and running and our amazing oyster shucker (Clive) got started on the first of 3 feasts we would make of them.
Cheeses, eclairs from the local patisserie and my special meringues found for me in Arcachon finished us off nicely for the first of 7 great days of touring, eating and drinking.
May I add that you can drink well for E4 a bottle here if you stay home.
Ted became our man for the morning run to whichever bakery he could find with fresh pain au chocolate and croissants. And bread.
Our first day Liz got out the map and then expertly navigated us around the whole region for the week. Clive and I just sat in the back and were taken from one marvellous site or cafe or restaurant to another. Ted was on his own side of the road anyway and calmly got us everywhere in one piece too.
We returned to the nice basyide of Issigeac for a picnic by the river, to also watch a game of petanque (boules0 across from us which resulted in fisticuffs for a while after a fair quantity of wine had been consumed no doubt. WE discovered that there is a set of boules in the ca but we never got around to using them.
Amazingly, villages were silent, it was lunch hour and France closes from 12 to 2:30. We just could not believe it.
AFter a nice lunch together at "our" house in the bastide village of Monsegur (thanks Greg!) we set off to the village square and butcher, where Liz found lamb chops to BBQ and I found lamb kidneys. Along with cream, cognac and butter, they made a nice supper that evening. The boys got the BBQ up and running and our amazing oyster shucker (Clive) got started on the first of 3 feasts we would make of them.
Cheeses, eclairs from the local patisserie and my special meringues found for me in Arcachon finished us off nicely for the first of 7 great days of touring, eating and drinking.
May I add that you can drink well for E4 a bottle here if you stay home.
Ted became our man for the morning run to whichever bakery he could find with fresh pain au chocolate and croissants. And bread.
Our first day Liz got out the map and then expertly navigated us around the whole region for the week. Clive and I just sat in the back and were taken from one marvellous site or cafe or restaurant to another. Ted was on his own side of the road anyway and calmly got us everywhere in one piece too.
We returned to the nice basyide of Issigeac for a picnic by the river, to also watch a game of petanque (boules0 across from us which resulted in fisticuffs for a while after a fair quantity of wine had been consumed no doubt. WE discovered that there is a set of boules in the ca but we never got around to using them.
No comments:
Post a Comment