Day 8 - Bordeaux

Today we went on a tour of a vineyard. We were told that it was a 12 kilometer walk through some vineyards. I was quite happy to find out when we met the tour guide that it was only a 5-6 kilometer walk-Mandy seemed dissapointed. This tour was by far the best thing we’ve done so far. We hiked through some vineyards and woods. When I say we hiked through woods, I mean, WOW we hiked through woods. The pass through the woods was so tiny that our guide missed it on our first pass. There were literally places where the pass was wide enough for your foot, but there were thorns on one side of you and a 10 foot drop on the other (no exaggeration). We all loved it! It was super exciting. Our guide, Bruno, was very informative, telling us about how the grapes are grown and cared for. It was very personal. He has travelled the world, went to school a while in the States, and then started doing these tours. I do not want you all to think this was some prepackaged tour that everyone does. He was totally playing it by ear, walking up hills, across draining ditches between vineyards, and through not well kept passes in the woods. We talked with him and he said that he, himself plans these tours, then calls the vineyards and sets it up with them and plans the walk accordingly. We definitely saw the REAL countryside.
Anyway, we stopped for lunch at a vineyard where we were given a tour of their cellar and then served in what appeared to be their kitchen. I can only compare it to eating in an old farmhouse and being served only what was grown on their land. We were served lots of duck, apricots grown on the trees outside, marmalade, bread, tea and coffee, and of course, wine. It was a really great lunch. After lunch, we headed to the next vineyard, and it was HOT. The three of us managed quite well, but one girl from New York(who was on her honeymoon) was told by her travel agent that this would be a stroll by the river; she came in flip-flops and a black dress. Her husband had jeans and a heavy cotton polo shirt. Wow! We were able to walk through several vineyards and see some of the homes in the area. We made it to the next vineyard and had another wine tasting. The group we were with was a lot of fun and really made it enjoyable. Bruno had a thing for Mandy and kept telling Matt how beautiful she was. On the ride back, he came and sat next to Mandy and told her she could stay in France and marry him!
While in Bordeaux we met a super nice Irish girl that went with us on the trip. She was on a 3 month solo trek through Europe. We had dinner with her that night and had a blast. We also met three girls from Hong Kong that were studying French. One of them inparticular was a hoot! She would talk in English and some French and ask super funny questions, like why they didn’t smash the grapes by feet (too much I Love Lucy I think). She was adorable and she had a blast (and she drank too much) and made our time that much better.

Lunch at the Vineyard.

Mandy and her future husband, Bruno.

Wine tasting

Bordeaux had lots of cow statues like Louisville has horse statues. These cows are used as a fundrasier-they will be sold in a couple of months.