Day 10 - To France (Saint Emilion)
On the way out from Burgos we mainly took the motorway, which drove through landscapes of mountains and yellow valleys with hundred of wind turbines. We took some photos of the passes and tunnel entrances, all through Navarra and País Vasco, but they do not show the scenic heights that surrounded us. One thing is for sure: thanks EU fund for these roads which are speeding our route!
Then, joy of joys, we drove into our favourite road and landscape... the frickin bloody Landes, with dryness and pines. Look, "un pin!, deux pins, trois pins, un pin, un autre pin, otro pino, another pine and another friggin pine!" Why oh why is the pine landscape just so disheartening?
Anyhoo... we slowly crawled out of Les Landes to find landscapes of sunflowers - looking burned, tired and forlorn - and eventually of vine rows, around Bordeaux, each row starting with a pretty little red plant (from geraniums to poppies)... just very pleasant to see not pines but vineyards heavy with grapes and lovely winding roads shadowed with trees on the sides - shall I repeat that these were, thankfully, not pines. After some hours, and after quite a long drive, on the top of a slope, we finally could see Saint Emilion, in white stone, surrounded by miles of greenery, "les vignobles".
What a funky little village, with not a single house out of tonality or out of date (how could they be untouched by the errors of the seventies?), with a couple of churches (well, maybe one church + one tower), lots of little wine shops and restaurants with character and a wealth of hotels (of course, wine and tourists come hand in hand). Surrounded by walls, our hotel, L'Auberge de la Commanderie, was accessible through one of the medieval doors in the ramparts and then over-viewing the roofs of the town. Spot on, very central, lovely façade, clean inside... just crap design in the interior and bog quality of the French "systeme hotelier".
Someone had tried hard to dress the room iwth a "wine" and vineyard themed wooden pannel covering the wardrobes and header of the bed, but the plastic chairs and table in the rather small room, joined with the crap fitted bathroom, made it all lack the lustre such a location should deserve (what did I say about the seventies? we found them just in our room!). Our price, around 75€... same room, during the wine festivities would be charged at 120€ There, that's 2 (French) stars for you. The accueil was nice enough and I have to acknowledge that the brekkie was lovely with lots of French goodness and croissants (yum yum!).
Late that night, we walked around taking photos of the town in the sunset and discovering some quirky shops that we pinpointed for the following day (antique bookshop and fabrics place), and dined in a great looking tavern with jardin ombragé (I think it was "L'envers du decor"). With the heat, eating outside in the garden, a lovely secluded location in the shadow of a church and a big fig tree, was the best option. The waiters, "English spoken with French accent" (as per the sign on the door), took their time in serving but we were just relaxed and enjoying the night.
We tasted some of the local wines, admired the designs of the owner's wine bottles - specially "l'ours fou", of which we took a print the next day -, and ate a most lovely duck breast with carrot souffle and duc confit (heavenly). Desserts... I had creme brulee, and Phil "envie de chocolat", like a brownie which just killed him... death by chocolate!
Then, joy of joys, we drove into our favourite road and landscape... the frickin bloody Landes, with dryness and pines. Look, "un pin!, deux pins, trois pins, un pin, un autre pin, otro pino, another pine and another friggin pine!" Why oh why is the pine landscape just so disheartening?
Anyhoo... we slowly crawled out of Les Landes to find landscapes of sunflowers - looking burned, tired and forlorn - and eventually of vine rows, around Bordeaux, each row starting with a pretty little red plant (from geraniums to poppies)... just very pleasant to see not pines but vineyards heavy with grapes and lovely winding roads shadowed with trees on the sides - shall I repeat that these were, thankfully, not pines. After some hours, and after quite a long drive, on the top of a slope, we finally could see Saint Emilion, in white stone, surrounded by miles of greenery, "les vignobles".
What a funky little village, with not a single house out of tonality or out of date (how could they be untouched by the errors of the seventies?), with a couple of churches (well, maybe one church + one tower), lots of little wine shops and restaurants with character and a wealth of hotels (of course, wine and tourists come hand in hand). Surrounded by walls, our hotel, L'Auberge de la Commanderie, was accessible through one of the medieval doors in the ramparts and then over-viewing the roofs of the town. Spot on, very central, lovely façade, clean inside... just crap design in the interior and bog quality of the French "systeme hotelier".
Someone had tried hard to dress the room iwth a "wine" and vineyard themed wooden pannel covering the wardrobes and header of the bed, but the plastic chairs and table in the rather small room, joined with the crap fitted bathroom, made it all lack the lustre such a location should deserve (what did I say about the seventies? we found them just in our room!). Our price, around 75€... same room, during the wine festivities would be charged at 120€ There, that's 2 (French) stars for you. The accueil was nice enough and I have to acknowledge that the brekkie was lovely with lots of French goodness and croissants (yum yum!).
Late that night, we walked around taking photos of the town in the sunset and discovering some quirky shops that we pinpointed for the following day (antique bookshop and fabrics place), and dined in a great looking tavern with jardin ombragé (I think it was "L'envers du decor"). With the heat, eating outside in the garden, a lovely secluded location in the shadow of a church and a big fig tree, was the best option. The waiters, "English spoken with French accent" (as per the sign on the door), took their time in serving but we were just relaxed and enjoying the night.
We tasted some of the local wines, admired the designs of the owner's wine bottles - specially "l'ours fou", of which we took a print the next day -, and ate a most lovely duck breast with carrot souffle and duc confit (heavenly). Desserts... I had creme brulee, and Phil "envie de chocolat", like a brownie which just killed him... death by chocolate!
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