I made it to the bus just on time this morning but we ended up sitting for an extra 15 minutes waiting for one guy who forgot to wake up on time. Eventually, Ryan and Robina decided that we were getting too behind schedule to keep waiting and we took off without him. I would HATE to be him today. We drove for a little over an hour and then stopped for a bathroom and coffee break. There's another clue you're in France: every so often it is absolutely typical to stop what you're doing and refuel your body with caffeine. Once on the bus again, we made the hour and a half haul to Sauvignac to tour the château La Peyrere. *A château in France could either be a castle or a winery.* While it was truly freezing cold outside (most of the leaves on the ground were crunchy with ice), we got to see some of the most beautiful landscape yet. We also learned a lot cool facts about the wine making process and about this vineyard in particular. The one fact that really surprised me the most is that they harvest all of the their grapes by hand and they only have one full-time picker per year! During the harvest, they just hire a few temporaries to get the job done. Also, this vineyard limits their production in order to produce better wine. The woman who gave us our tour said that it is possible for the vineyard to produce 60,000 bottle of wine per year but they choose to only produce 40-50,000. Why? So that the wine they do produce is stronger, more concentrated, and just tastes better overall.
From left: Chantalle, Selene, Chai (pronounced like the Greek symbol Chi), Me, Roshanna, Allie
Believe it or not, this picture happened on accident
There were two massive Pyrenean dogs who came to greet us when we got off the bus!
After a tour of the grounds, we went in some of the wine caves and one of the production rooms. I wish I knew more about wine or had more experience drinking it or something that would make me a little more fascinated by everything we learned today. I did have a great time, but I think I lack the experience to truly appreciate everything we got to hear about and see today.
This is the really good stuff (aka: most expensive)
After our tour, we were treated to an absolutely fantastic lunch and wine tasting inside a beautiful grand hall with a roaring fire to warm ourselves. It was very casually done: glasses were handed out and then 3 or 4 people would walk around with bottles to fill them up. First came the white wine and it was so so fantastic. 10 minutes or so later they came around with a chose of either a rosé or a clairet. Finally came the rouge: a Bordeaux of course! During the tasting we were free to sit on the couches by the fire, mingle by the snack table (where there were pretzel sticks, potato chips, and two different flavors of puffs- one was definitely tomato and the other I'm not sure. Although according to Roshanna it was butter flavor), or we could find a seat at one of the lunch tables. The lunch was completely delightful: there was a couscous salad, a chicken and tomato pasta, three different quiches, and bread. Cheese platters, apple tart, and coffee came out after that to finish off the meal. And lastly, I bought two bottles of wine for my parents and I to share when I get home in May. :)
My wine- A Bordeaux Clairet 2008 and a Bordeaux Superieur 2006
Can you believe this is only part one of the day? Next we hopped back on the bus to head to Bordeaux where we mostly just had free time to explore the city. I went off with the same group of girls because Roshanna has a friend, Crystal, who lives in Bordeaux after falling in love with the city during her USAC program two years ago. Crystal was able to take us to the Cathédrale Saint-André in the city and her favorite coffee shop cleverly named "French Coffee Shop." There was a carousel in the middle of a big square and the 1 euro fee to ride tempted us all to hop aboard. After that, we had what I still feel is a very San Franciscan experience: we watched a live street band, passed by a gold-painted man-statue who dances when you give him money, and pushed through a crowd who was admiring this guy as he balanced a basketball on his shin. I thought we were in France?? ;)
We ended our walk at the French Coffee Shop were I ordered hot chocolate plus caramel. Such a great choice! In my opinion now, hot chocolate should always be made with caramel. It warmed my bones just enough to make the walk back to the bus.
Lionel was kind enough to pick me up from the University when we got back and I came home to re-heated fondue, potatoes, and some more cold deli meat (all of which is still delicious the second time around). My soup was another vegetable soup but it was much lighter in color so I'm thinking cauliflower? It was late enough that I was eating by myself but I wasn't alone: Christine was on the phone with her daughter Anne-Sophie and she made sure to have that conversation at the table with me. And like a typical mom, she managed to stay engaged in her conversation AND pay attention to my meal enough to know when to take my plates, bring me more food, etc. I felt like she wanted me to have just as great a dinner as I normal have with them even though the circumstances were different. After dinner, we sat in the living room with Lionel to watch a little bit of some sort of France Has Got Talent type of show with magic acts, acrobats, and dancers. It was actually really neat to see. During the show, Michat the cat came in and jumped up on my lap. When I started scratching his ears, he pressed his head against my leg and melted into me. It was so precious and made me miss C.D. and Scamp terribly. Lionel and I have this on-going joke about all of the things that will be in my suitcase when I leave France. Every time he sees that I genuinely love something that gets added to the suitcase (so far we have coffee, raspberry jam, homemade bread, cheese, Spanish wine, and whole grain mustard). Tonight he told me that maybe Michat will find a way to sneak into my suitcase to come home with me too. :)
This was a wonderful Saturday and Bordeaux was so beautiful I am probably coming back next weekend with my group of girls.
Hope you enjoyed this rather bloated post!
Bonne nuit
