Our journey continues from La Rochelle to Bordeaux and then back north to St. Emilion

Bordeaux is reached on a Sunday in midsummer. The city is dead. There are hardly any cars on the streets. All French obviously went on vacation. So we have the city to explore for us almost alone, which we exploit extensively in the next two days.

The Partisserien offer delicious little delicacies, which you can not resist in fact. The French have an independent philosophy of life for such pleasures. Between the main tangents of the major thoroughfares we find winding narrow streets where you can rest in shady places. The Opera of Bordeaux is located in the middle of the city in an exposed location. We explore the city on foot and walk through narrow footpaths of the old town. Again and again, the shady narrow streets open and expand into large open spaces that invite you to linger.

We make it the Frenchman and enjoy the sunny warm day and let the soul in one of the many shady restaurants. The restaurant we have chosen has few guests but excellent food. We are serving a fresh seafood plate with oysters, various types of mussels and shrimp. The maitre brings us a bottle of well-cooled white wine and the obligatory French baguette. We take all the time in the world. The service is perfect and we enjoy the wonderful day to the fullest. The next day we head north again.

St. Emilion is a small but famous wine town with a lot of charisma. From this counter comes the eponymous famous French St. Emilion red wine. The city has about 3000 inhabitants and has to handle a multiple of it in the high season to visitors. Early in the morning, the first tourist streams in buses fall over the city.

In the late afternoon, the locals have their city for themselves again. There are only a few guests who stay overnight here. Since we have rented a small hotel in the city, we enjoy the tranquility in the early evening and explore the sights. The cityscape is characterized by winding narrow streets.

There are some gourmet shops offering the homely products. Of course you get all sorts of pies, cakes and all sorts of cheese. There is no shortage of opportunities to stock up on the best regional wines. In the many small wine shops mainly the local wines are offered. In addition, you also get many other little things about the product wine, such as carafes, books and corkscrew in a variety of variants. A treasure trove for many a collector’s heart.

In the evening we follow the recommendation of our concierge and reserve a table in the restaurant Francis Goullee. The restaurant has only five tables, but has an excellent kitchen. Here the chef cooks himself. After the three-hour menu with eight courses, it is hard to say goodbye and we promise to come back next year.

Narrow, narrow streets and cobbled streets dominate the image of St. Emilion. A bit away from the city center, we find the remains of old historic buildings that have fallen into ruins. A beautiful backdrop, which we use for a series of photos and film shots.