We flew Vueling Airlines from Barcelona to Bordeaux. Took the Navette Shuttle from the airport to the train station in downtown Bordeaux, 30 minute ride, 7€ each. We took the train to Saintes, 1hr 45min, 43€ each.
Calvin picked us up from the train station in Saintes in his new Peugeot and we drove to his house in Gemozac, arriving at 8:33pm. We left our Barcelona hostel at 1:30pm and arrived at the chalet at 9:15pm.
Gemozac is a small village in the Bordeaux region. The wine near the town is fantastic and cheap but the main exports around are Cognac and pigneau, which is a sweet wine with a hint of cognac.
We grabbed a goat cheese, chorizo and veggie pizza from Hasta La Pizza and ate a late dinner at home. The next day we had lunch at Le Lion d’Or, where I had the smoked rainbow trout salad and beef tartar. After we walked around town to check it out. We stopped at a flower market behind the house where we bought an heirloom tomato. Then on to La Caravelle for wine and beer. We drove just down the road to the Gemozac Super U, the local areas miniature Walmart. There were rows of wine from all over the area, including decent local wine in 1 Liter plastic bottles for 1€.
After dinner grocery shopping Nick and I took a drive to Pons, the nearest liveliest neighborhood. We had hot chocolate and drinks at Le Cafe du Donjon,a local cafe right across from the medieval tower in the center of the town. Here we met two women from the local womens Rose Club, who meet every Wednesday for drinks. We quickly discovered that one of the two ladies was Dutch and owned another local restaurant, and already knew Calvin. Our conversation flew from there. We sat and chatted with Ingrid (Dutch) and Gloria (Brutus) for about two hours before driving home.
The following morning we woke up and went to one of the three town patisseries where we bought a corn baguette and croisants. We then drove to Cafe de la Paix for lunch- the Dutch woman’s restaurant. We both had the spaghetti bolognese, which was topped with shredded Gruyère just like I love it.
After lunch Calvin, Nick and I drove 30 minutes west to Cognac. We walked through the old town square, had hot chocolate at Salle de Restaurant A L’Etage, then did a Cognac tour at Chateau de Cognac. I discovered I actually liked this cognac compared to Courvoisier which is too strong for me.
Dinner we went to Rest’O Delices in town for goat cheese hamburgers.
Friday mornings are Gemozac’s Market days in the town square around the church. We bought oysters, fish and vegetables for dinner, as well as my first clear umbrella.
Post-market we drove west to Royan, a large Atlantic beach town. We grabbed lunch at Aux Delices des Crêpes overlooking the beach. We got a scallop crepe which had the coral meat still attached. I personally wasn’t the biggest fan. After we briefly walked on the beach in our boots. It was chilly and breezy, but that didn’t stop sail boats from heading out in the surf.
After Royan Nick and I drove toVignoble Chauraud winery in St. Léger, which produces pineau, cognac, wine and cocktail spirits. We sampled a few of the spirits and chatted with J-Paul Chauraud, the owner and wine maker. We bought a white, rose, red, and Provençal salt mix for 15€ total. We then opened the red and had a glass of wine on at the vineyard before driving home to oysters.
Saturday morning we woke up and headed out for Bordeaux. We had lunch in central Bordeaux at La P’tite Brasserie, which is highly recommended online. It’s a very cute French bistro with hospitable staff. The bartender spoke Spanish with Nick and the waitress English and French with all of us. She even tried to get Nick to practice his French. We were the only customers served a glass of pineau after our meal on the house. 15€ for an entree and plate.
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Next time we want to see the town of Talmont on the water.
MICHAEL FAMILY 