Voyage sur la route = "road trip" in French
Heading back north toward Belgium, we decided to stay at a B and B/winery called Chateau de Crecy.
This is the main house where we had a very nice dinner on our arrival, prepared by the owners. They even served their own wine which was very good. We bought a couple of bottles to take home.
This was our room. I failed to take any photos inside, but it was cozy. The area is definitely remote. Their wifi really only worked in their office so I stood in the parking lot at the office door just to send a text!
This is the distillery in the background surrounded, of course, by a vineyard.
The owners were very nice and there was one other couple staying there that night. They were from the Normandy area and spoke only French. Not a word of English. Fortunately the owners spoke a bit of English, but at dinner and breakfast the next morning, it was more or less, only French spoken. We realized once again what a disadvantage it is to not understand another language. Not to speak it. Just to be able to know what they are conversing about. At least if it had been Dutch we would have understood a good portion of it. I told Ross I sure wish he had been there to translate for us!
The owners of the B and B suggested we visit a small town nearby on our way out so we did.
I like this map because it shows all the different wine regions of France as well as showing all the countries that border France for those of us challenged by geography :)
You can see the Bordeaux region on the map - an area nearly 400 square miles.
These are a few photos I took on our drive through the vineyards.
It is impossible to take pictures that show the beauty and vastness of the landscape.
Every different vineyard along the road has a nice house (some have VERY nice houses) and I can imagine how nice it would be to live here! Just looking out from your castle at all those grapes. Ha.
It's impossible to tell, but those are all grapevines.
Here's a map showing the little town we visited next . . .
Here's a map showing the little town we visited next . . .
This is the town of Saint-Emilion, France, population 2000. The Romans planted vineyards here as early as the 2nd century. It is one of the four major Bordeaux wine regions.
In our travels with Ross, Randi, Josh and the kids, we've coined the phrase "quaintness cubed" and no doubt, Saint-Emilion fills the bill.
This is the Office of Tourism. I have no idea what this building once was, but it made for a very nice tourism office.
Saint Emilion, who settled here in the 8th century, brought monks and started wine production. Monks and abbeys - where all the great beer and wine originated. Those catholics . . .
This is what is now the monolithic (one big rock) church where Saint Emilion originally settled.
We sat here in this square to have a glass of the local wine. More on that later. The day was beautiful and the temperature perfect.
Our hosts at the B and B warned us not to buy the wine as it was quite expensive. Of course, this sign represents some very special vintages, but 12,000 euros for one bottle is pretty steep.
They only produce red wine here . . . as it should be :)
The entire town is very hilly with these steep, narrow streets.
In the event you want to start your own vineyard . . . it will cost you only 3 euros.
One of the numerous quaint wine shops.
I liked this photo because this elderly woman is a local - not a tourist . . . like us :)
Nice drinking fountain for the hondje.
Adorable little patio restaurants around every corner . . .
Like this one tucked under this hill.
Another nice wine shop.
I think I could live here!
We decided to stop in one of the many wine shops and chose this one.
The owner was a family member of the vineyard that produces this wine and she was very nice. Of course we bought a couple of bottles - nothing expensive!
Speaking of expensive . . . this is the local wine we tried at that cute cafe in the square. Only 7 euros per glass with each glass holding about 1/3 of a cup. Ridiculous, of course, but that's what you do on vacation! Plus, we were in France. Not land-of-bargains-Spain anymore!
We decided to go ahead and open one of those bottles! We went to a little market and got some picnic items to go with it.
Saint-Émilion, France
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