Travel Diary Pt 4

Spent the last couple of days in Bordeaux. What a delightful city! Has a great feel and charm to it.  From what I understand, Bordeaux did not suffer during WWII and therefore all of its downtown area is intact.

Lovely Boulevards stretch in both directions at many intersections. Trees line the centre portions of the roadway and in the open parks, are used for shelter and shade by people just eating or chatting or as we saw putting on street performances. The one in the photos is the first time I have seen something like that. A large rubber strip, pulled tight between two trees and used as a tight rope and bouncing tool. This guy could walk along it, bounce off it on his feet, turn flips on it, land on his stomach or back and then back to his feet. Much like jumping on a 50mm wide trampoline with extra bounce!

The main street of Bordeaux appears to be Saint Catherine which runs from the Centre Square bordered on one side by the Hotel Central. On another by the Carousel and large sandstone buildings from the 17^th and 18^th centuries on the rest. The tramway runs through it and only a few cars as they are diverted and discouraged from using it. So people roam all over or sit in groups on building steps. Smoking, talking, relaxing or waiting – the usual stuff people do when time is on their hands.

We looked up at one stage upon hearing a large shouted “Voila” by a group of young men. They were about 20 of them with adult chaperones, not doing much chaperoning! The youngsters were about 14 or 15 and full of youth, enthusiasm and boisterousness. They were all from a rugby team. I couldn’t discover what the occasion was but every 20 meters or so, another scrum was formed complete with calls and pushing or a lineout, with 4 or 5 in it. Lifts made, ball caught and a maul formed with all of them piling in.

This playfulness attracted a lot of attention and smiles from observing men and bewilderment from the women who I suspect had no idea of what was going on it being a rugby thing. I chatted with a local about it and rugby in general and discovered that Bordeaux once had a very good rugby team but was in the doldrums know. Staide Nationale (the team Dan Carter plays in) was down here last Saturday night and they played a game at the local Sports Stadium out near the camp ground. If I had known, I would have re arranged the itinerary and gone along to see that!! Would have been fun.

We had arrived at the campground the previous afternoon. Found out it had 60 campervan sites and yes we could have one for 3 nights. It was about 3.30pm when we got settled and got stuck into the washing. An hour later we hung it out on our makeshift clothes line strung between the van and the hedge bordering our site. The sun doesn’t set here until 8.00’ish at night and it was beautiful day, still very warm and it all dried in a couple of hours. So that packed and sorted I decided to wander around the campground.

The first thing I noticed was how from about 3.30pm onwards, that more and more vans arrived and booked in. When we had arrived, we had the pick of about 35 or 40 sites. By the next morning when I counted at sunrise, there were only 6 vacant sites left. So it would seem arriving early afternoon may help us avoid the lack of bookings.

It has been interesting as well to chat with other campers and find out from them about which campsite is good to use and swap address of them etc. We have got one for near Biarritz, our next stop, and one for further on. Like campers back home, people enjoy sharing where they have been, what to do and where to go and so on. So we have been quick to take advantage of this. Particularly being the new boys on the block.

I was surprised about the number of beggars on the street. Mostly sitting cross-legged on the pavement, holding a sign saying “help me please. I am hungry” written in French. Even more surprising was that nearly every had one or two dogs who were obviously in good health and as Kerrie asked, if they are so poor they have to beg, how can they afford to keep dogs? Most of them seem to be of North African descent, somewhere like Tunisia or Algiers I suspect and I too began to wonder if, like in other countries there is not something a bit organised about it. Firstly, the locals ignore them and secondly one can’t help but wonder when you see one of them pack up his rags, go into a nice little boutique, buy something and walk away with the purchase in a fancy bag with a “label” written on the outside!

There are also a higher number of Africans living and working here than we have seen in other cities. Probably due to the fact Bordeaux is further south than we have been and closer to the Mediterranean. Most of them seem to be well to do. Particularly the younger female ones. Well dressed, amazing hair styles and chatting away in French as good as the locals. I looked at one girl who had hair braided into long rope like strands and it was so think. Each braid and there were dozens of them, was about 400mm long and about 12mm thick. So much hair! Until Kerrie said to me that it wasn’t hers!! Mmmm … how was I to know!!

One of the large buildings next door to the central St Catherine’s Cathedral which is HUGE, is a building that is called a Palace. It is 4 stories high, about 80m long. It has two arms enclosing a courtyard on three yards with the 4^th side a decorative wall and main entrance. The courtyard would be approximately four or five thousand square meters. A massive constructive overall. And what’s interesting is that it was built early 17^th century for an Archbishop. His home! A magnificent building but what a waste on one person. Fortunately, today Archbishops live elsewhere and the former home is now the Bordeaux Town Hall. Must have had a Protestant City Council at some point I guess!

We found a little café/pub on the corner of a couple of streets just off the main drag and as it had some seats in the sun and some in the shade we decided to stop and have some lunch. The standard fare seemed to be salad and salmon and looked really nice. Everyone who was eating had a plate of the stuff and was hooking into it!

I went inside and asked for a table outside and got waived to wherever we wanted. So we chose one and plonked ourselves down. Eating in places like this is not for those who wish any privacy! Tables consist of a top of about 500mm square and two chairs. The tables alongside are about 450mm away just enough room to squeeze by as you go to your own one. Two people at each table and if your group is bigger, then push the tables together. Everyone chatting away or on their phones calling their mates or doing business. You can tell the men who doing business because they hold themselves in a way that says how important they are while their girlfriends sit opposite in total boredom.

After about 15 mins I went inside to order and got told “No sit down someone will serve you”.

I said “No I’d like two glasses of Sauvignon Blanc please”. But ended up with two glasses of vin blanc sec as no sauvignon blanc sold. Still it was just as good as a good Savblanc and followed the lettuce and salmon down well.

Unfortunately, Kerrie discovered some grit and other stuff on her lettuce. Not washed properly! So she wouldn’t eat it and then eventually gave up on the salmon. I just crunched my way through the lot and then what was left of hers as I was pretty hungry and thought I’ve eaten worse! Luckily there was some more vin blanc sec and a second glass of that brighten things up again.

We climbed up the spiralling staircase inside to use the loo and then paid about E28 for the wine and food and wandered off again in the mid afternoon sunshine.

Our Wi-Fi access from Orange had run out and the previous night I had spent a long time trying to get the free campsite wi-fi working. It just wouldn’t and this is the second campsite where we have had this problem. So we were without internet access until we could recharge the Orange one. But couldn’t do that as we couldn’t do that without internet access!  I tried ringing them but because there was an international code in from of their number and Orange France only deals with France subscribers, they wouldn’t answer me. So next stop is tomorrow at the local Orange shop – see if they’ll do it for me.

We found the local Orange shop at 93 St Catherine Street and after a muddled explanation of what we wanted, the door guy handed us over to the sales guy who spoke passable English and we started again. He cottoned on immediately and with 15 mins we were E25 lighter but had one month and 3Gig of data to use. Should be enough for France but in a few days will be in Spain and will need to visit Vodafone for a new SIM card for the router! Mustn’t forget to keep the French one for when we hit France again!!

After the Wi-Fi fix, went to the local Tourist Bureau to wait for the visit to St Emilion to begin. We had booked this the day before and were going in a Minivan, maximum of 8 people and a multi lingual driver. It included a visit and tour complete with wine tasting at an upmarket Chateau, a drive and visit to other Chateaux, more wine tasting at a wine shop in the village and then back again. Cost E75/person.

We had chosen that one as we found out that one cannot just rock up to a winery like you do in Australia and expect to be welcomed with open arms and to do some wine tasting. Tastings are arranged by appointment only and you pay for the privilege and then only if they feel like having you. So, it was no wine tasting or this tour. Not much of choice really!  

St Emilion is a town about 30 odd Kms from Bordeaux. I have no recollection of the trip there as I fell asleep in the warmth of the van and didn’t wake up until Kerrie nudged me awake and told me I was snoring. Bit rude while the driver was telling us all about the wonders of the local area!

The first place we visited was a Chateau which had been built in the 16^th Century and was recently restored. The new owner, who is a friend of the King of Spain, had obtained the Chateau along with 11 hectares of land, some with vines planted, and apparently some very ancient wine making equipment.

Today it is a modern winery. Even the tanks or vats are made from concrete with a lining to keep the juice uncontaminated. Apparently concrete keeps a constant temperature better than stainless steel. The renovated Chateau and other buildings looked a picture. Clean, tidy with 6 guest rooms a restaurant and lounging facilities as there was nothing else to do as a guest. But we were told it was expensive to stay there. Something I have no doubt about!

The Chateau overlooked a small valley and the new owner had organised terraces to be put in down the hillside, some old unwanted varieties in other areas to be pulled out and replaced and work was still going on over the estate. Some of the terraces are yet to be planted. Still there were enough vines to produce some wine to justify it being called a winery.

I’m looking at it all and trying to guess at the financial outlay and realised that the biggest expense was the land. I asked how much a hectare, the answer was jaw dropping. E11,000,000/hectare! So, that’s E33,000,000 just for the land let along the Chateau etc. All up I’d say around E50-60million for the lot. On top of that the cost of terracing, renovations, new vines, equipment replacement and so on, I can’t see much change out E90-100 Million.

Here’s the thing. Locally they only want to end up with one bottle per vine in order to enhance and concentrate the juice. Secondly, they are not allowed legally to water any vines. The only water the grapes is what falls from the sky. So some dry years it can get fairly lean as the average rainfall around here is not that high to begin with. They had around 500 barrels of juice and some of that is lost to evaporation as well.

Not a big return on your money is it!

But when we were shown another Chateau owned by Channel, we were informed that a lot of big companies bought and did them up simply because the can. They put fabulous guest rooms in the and use them as much for corporate entertainment as a wine making venture. Well, at the prices going around, I can understand that!

St Emillion is spread over a regional area about the size of say a smallish country town in Australia. The residential population is approximately 2,000 but swells during picking time with students and gypsies boosting that number for a month. However, they get 2,000,000 visitors every year. So well done to the local council and tourism department! They got their marketing right.

Interestingly, the only wine made under this Appellation is Merlot with between 5% and 20% Cabernet Franc blended in. No other grape varieties are allowed to be used. Although we were told some exception to this is being considered due to climate change.

And the wine is delightful! I’ve never been much of a fan of Merlot, but this is in a class of its own! The Appellation consists of a Committee of 8 people who set the rules about what can or can’t be done and who gets to put on their label what classification they are. There are 4 classification starting with the bottom range which is allowed to print St Emillion or Product of St Emillion. Grande Cru, Grande Cru Classe and Grande Cru Classe A. It takes years and years for a Chateau to move up the scale. The other thing is that as each Chateau is very distinctive due to their finished product they do not list the wine blend on the labels. It is so unnecessary to astute buyers you see! 

We attended a second wine tasting and information session within St Emillion itself at a wine shop. Very well done out as you can expect and nothing under about E19 per bottle. Average I would suggest about E50 - 60.00. Most expensive we saw was E4,800 for one bottle. Bit beyond my pocket I can tell you.

The thing I learnt was that we are not snobs. In fact, because we buy reds which are nice to drink from the Supermarket at E2-4 per bottle, we are quite unsophisticated and unknowledgeable. But we can put up with that in order to keep the budget under control. I must admit though; you can easily tell the difference in taste etc.!! 

I enquired about shipping back to Australia. Apparently Australia has a 45% import tax for French wine. But the wine shop man was getting around that somehow. Or only paying the tax on some of the cost. Even then, the average St Emillion wine would be priced out of most people’s reach. Pity that!

The last of the tour consisted of a drive through the village, a photo opportunity overlooking the valley and back to the Tourist Office by 7.00pm. At which point, we grabbed a tram back to the bus depot. Only to discover the next bus was longer away than it would take for us to walk the couple of kms back to the camp ground. Back to a couple of glasses of our supermarket reds, a small bite to eat and into bed.