Mirambeau - July 2, 2010

Pyla Dune

Today we ventured to the Atlantic ocean to see Pyla Dune. 150 steps to climb to the top and you still have a ways to go in the sand to reach the top. We went down the other side all the way to the ocean and then had to climb back out. As soon as we got back to the staircase, it started to rain with thunder and lightening! After a very hot week, it was nice to have the storm come through to break the heat and bring in cooler temperatures.

This was our last night so we decided to eat poolside again and relax while packing and getting ready to leave.

The next morning, we headed back to Barcelona, driving through Andorra and the Pyranees rather than down to the coast. Spectacular drive with ever-changing scenery - fog, sun, rain. We spent our last night in Barcelona before flying back to the US.

Mirambeau - July 1, 2010

Riviere

Ladies Baths

After a slow start and a stop at the patisserie, we followed the recommendation of someone we met in town to visit Riviere winery in the Fronsac area on our way back to Bordeaux and the train station. The property is nestled in the hillside, has natural springs on property so access to water is not an issue for them, and stores their wine in caves adapted after many years of stone excavation to supply stone for renovating several significant buildings in Bordeaux and Paris including Sacre Coeur. The ladies bath area was particularly beautiful. The highlight of our tasting was the clairet.

After dropping Melanie off at the train station to head home, we figured out how to park in the center of Bordeaux amongst the tiny, one-way, cobblestone streets and found a cafe along the river where we enjoyed charcuterie, fantastic calamari and little pizza bites. Late night by the time we got home.

Mirambeau - June 30, 2010

Pomorol region

St Emilion

This morning, we drove down to Bordeaux to walk around a bit and meet Melanie at the train station. She came down from Cologne, Germany for a two day visit which was fantastic. We hadn't seen each other for ten years. Her train ended up being quite delayed but we finally found each other and decided to spend the afternoon in the St. Emilion area of Bordeaux. We visited Chateau Dourthe and then went on to the Pomorol area and visited Chateau Tourfeille. In both cases, we saw different ways of making and storing wines in quite picturesque settings. From there, we visisted the town of St. Emilion.

Dinner poolside

For dinner, we decided to return to the farmhouse and dine poolside with the sun setting. Perfect!

Mirambeau - June 29, 2010

Patisserie

Hennessy in Cognac

Tuesday began with a leisurely trip into town to stop at the patisserie for breakfast. Well situated in town, we watched french life go by as we enjoyed our tasty treats. From there, we headed to Cognac and visited the local museum where we learned how cognac is made (2 distillations) only in this region. Hennessy offered an indepth tour complete with a tasting.

After a slow drive back to the house and a dip in the pool, we headed to Jonzac for dinner where we found a petit grill and stumbled through our french to order a lovely meal.

Mirambeau - June 28, 2010

Monday morning, we decided to spend the day driving around the wineries. We drove up to Medoc on the left bank of the Gironde river and then set the GPS to meander through wine country. We ended up at Chateau Loudenne where we had a nice tour and tasting. With the distance and midday break when everything is closed, we didn't manage to get to another winery for a tour/tasting. We found a nice spot for dinner in a small town on the way home and got back just as it got dark around 10 pm.

Mirambeau - June 26-27, 2010

Le Grand Bois - Farmhouse outside of Mirambeau

After traveling to London and Barcelona for work, it was finally time for vacation. Julie flew into Barcelona on Saturday morning, we rented a car and drove 7 hours to Mirambeau, about an hour north of Bordeaux. Our goal was to arrive before dark which we achieved. We rented this lovely old farmhouse with cornfields out front and a welcoming pool out back. After emptying the car, we wandered into town and found a quaint restaurant for dinner.

Sunday, we navigated the grocery store, took a drive to Jonzac (nearby town), relaxed by the pool and cooked dinner. We enjoyed meeting our neighbor and fumbled through communicating with high school-level french. All in all, we were very pleased with our home for the week.