May 2022 – Page 2 – Darden Travels

Walking Bordeaux – 1.0

May 2, 2022 by ginnyinshanghai

Here’s a quick round-up of some of the sites seen during our time in Bordeaux…………

There are a number of city gates in Bordeaux. Some we had put on our ‘list of places to see’ and others we unexpectedly found as we turned a corner. Of Bordeaux’s original city gates, only six remain today. We ran across four of those that were within walking distance.

One of the most famous was La Grosse Cloche (15th century). It was one of the remaining gates from the Medieval walls. And at one one time was the belfry of the old Town hall.

A close-up of some of the finer detailing.

This view would have been seen from outside of the gates. At one time the building was also a prison.

Porte Cailhau gate or the Palace Gate served as both a defensive door and a triumphal arch. Constructed in the 15th century it was the main entrance to the city from the port.

Porte Dijeaux gate was originally one of the fourteen doors of the Roman enclosure of Bordeaux in the 4th century. The current gate is the third rendition.

Aquitaine Gate‘s construction began in 1748 and was made of St Macaire stone that becomes hard and pink. After the Second World War, it took the name of Victory Gate.

After walking through this gate, these copper turtles munching on grapes caught our eye.

I thought someone had vandalized the baby turtle until I got closer. The smaller turtle had the wine-growing regions engraved on its shell. That’s pretty cool.

Adrienne had this idea………………..she wanted to push the little kids off but I held her back.

We continued to walk near this monument throughout the week and finally detoured to see it up close. It was a monument dedicated to the Girondins – burgeois businessman who strove to promote the interests of their land. It was all for naught as they all met with violent deaths.

Totally loved the fountains at the bottom. The details in the animals were intricate and coupled with the spraying water, made this spell-binding. I took lots more photos but pared it down to these two for the blog. Didn’t want to bore you too much. 🙂

How did we finish one of our evenings……………going back to Michel’s. You know it had to be good because Eric n.e.v.e.r and I mean n.e.v.e.r repeats a restaurant on vacation.

Ginny

St. Emilion Wine Country

May 2, 2022May 2, 2022 by ginnyinshanghai

Can you come to Bordeaux and not visit a winery? You could, but you would be missing out on some major history of the area. Their history for the region goes back 35,000 year- nope that is not a typo. Their history with wine is credited to the Romans who planted vineyards in the 2nd century.

We were headed to the dark purple/blue lavender region east of the city.

While not renting a car on this trip, we found a wine tour with very high ratings, originating out of Bordeaux – sold.

Located 35 km from Bordeaux there was only a short car ride and we were walking the streets of the city of St Emilion, a well-preserved medieval village.

Our guide, Julie, pointed out one of the most important places in the community, the place where all the latest gossip was heard and shared and the most important decisions made………..the local washing hole. 🙂 A spring was directed into the square and continued to flow out at the bottom always ensuring fresh water for washing.

Walking through the cobbled streets we reached the main attraction, the monastery.

The original monastery was carved from a limestone cliff and named after a Breton monk, Emilion, who settled into the hermitage. Eventually, morel buildings were added to the complex as can be seen above.

I found this next story interesting. Notice how the entranceway (on the left photo below) was lower than the terrace? The ground level of the square was gradually raised as tombs were layered on top of each other in the 2th century. Ballast from docking ships had to be placed somewhere………..so the terrace was born.

Reaching the top we were greeted with this ‘wow’ view over the valley.

We came across this crypt and after asking who was buried, they have only speculation as no one has been identified. They believe it was some of the fighters from a far-off war. They were held in high esteem and would have warranted a burial in these crypts.

Follwing the crypts was the entrance to their church on top of the plateau. So beautiful and ornate even back in olden times.

As with most churches, coins can be dropped and candles lit to honor and pray for others. While that was an option, there was also this – a local tree trunk and brass tacks. For 1 euro you could be part of the ‘masterpiece’. I left my mark on the side of the trunk.

Our last stop before leaving the village was unexpected but very sweet.

Not only did we get a sweet taste……………..

………….but we also walked into their kitchen and saw the process.

Molding the dough tops with a bit of sugar.

Now is the time for wine. This tour included visits to three wineries.

All wines tasted were red, not really my thing but I dutifully sipped everything pour I was given. Eric had a LOT of wine to drink – just saying.

JUST in case you wanted to start your own vineyard, here were a few plants for sale.

One of the best surprises was our picnic lunch. O.M.G. Our tour guide was sitting this up on a nearby outdoor eating area while we were tasting the wines.

Besides the local cheeses and meats, we had a chicken & beet salad (right bowl) and cheesecake (left bowl) for dessert. Waaaaay to much food for me. Oh, and red wine to drink.

The surrounding hills and valley were a great photo spot before heading back to Bordeaux.

Ginny

Cathedral Saint-Andre Bordeaux France

May 1, 2022 by ginnyinshanghai

We’ve always enjoyed walking through the old churches of Europe, admiring the centuries of work that has gone into them. Bordeaux has several, but the Cathedral of Saint-Andre can be easily seen no matter where we walked in the old city.

The statue below represents the man instrumental in getting Bordeaux cleaned up, renovating yet preserving the centuries old architecture while infusing some needed funding for the work as visitation increased with both locals and tourists. He was the mayor of Bordeaux and eventually the Prime Minister, Jacques Chaban Delmas.

Approaching the cathedral we came across this bronze artwork in a small nearby square having a book market. They took some artistic license with the building – the real spires are not leaning.

Approaching the entrance, we came across closed doors – they had modified their hours but not updated their website. Rats! We had planned our day based upon the morning visit. Now what? Let me see if we can find a silver-lining.

As it didn’t open until 2pm we walked around the cathedral, capturing these shots.

Really cool spires – just saying.

Finding these blooming trees along the back side of the cathedral which we believe are blooming chestnut trees – not common in the US.

Ultimately coming upon their bell tower, named Pey-Berland Tower for the man who had the vision for the structure.

It is a separate building from the cathedral which led to me to ask why. I discovered that originally the cathedral was built upon marshy land and showed signs of weakness in the foundation fairly soon. The vibration from the bells would have further weakened the structure. Hence, it was built separate.

What needs to happen when you come across this fine structure……………….climb it of course! That was our silver-lining!

Walking in we were told we needed on-line reservations. One gentleman (in reality all 3) offered (in English) to assist with downloading the app and making the reservation. Once that was complete, we waited less than 15 minutes for the prior group to ascend ourselves. Score!

Ascend really means walking up the stairs………………233 to be exact. There was no room to meet anyone going the opposite way so everyone needed to come down before the next group could go up.

I stopped to admire (nope, not to catch my breath or rest my legs) the wooden structure within which held some of the first bells. Although work began on the building in 1440 and was completed……….there were no bells until 1853. The building had several uses (dwellings and a shop) before being re-purchased by the church and bells finally added.

I captured some fabulous shots!

Look at those flying buttresses. This was their solution for foundation issues to shore up the building.

The highest pinnacle is a copper sculpture of the Madonna holding infant Jesus faced towards the direction of Pey Berland’s birthplace.

The narrow opening was the last barrier to reaching the highest level. I had to shimmy through sideways to reach the highest level for viewing.

Notice the gargoyles? They are nothing like the ones on Notre Dame in Paris (my favorite by the way) but charming none the less. They had their own style.