We left Angers to head to Perigueux to see the French Family before moving onto Bordeaux.

On the way we stopped to visit Fontevraud Royal Abby. It was founded in 1101 to house a community of men and women and later it became Europe’s biggest community of Nuns.

The French Revolution put an end to 700 years of Monastic life when the building became the Property of the State and on Napoleons orders it was converted to a Prison. Eleonore of Aquitane, Queen of France chose the Abby for her Family Necropolis . She is buried there along with hubby Henry II and her son Richard the Lionheart! It is quite a tomb!

The Cloisters were rebuilt in the late 15th Century and in it’s penal era it was divided into 2 prison yards. The frescoes in the Chapter room were pretty stunning.

The 12th Century Romanesque kitchen was quite a weird building!

During our drive to Périgueux after visiting the Abbey , it was time to think of a name for our car. We have had so many cars it was difficult to come up with something. All we could think of was that it was a W.hite C.itreon, hence WC but didn’t think that was appropriate. the French word for toilet/WC is toilette and that didn’t work but as we are heading to Spain, we looked up the Spanish word and it was “bano” , hence Barney was christened! It did occupy us for some of the driving time.

We arrived at our French Family’s home and it was not just Jean and Francoise. ALL the family were there, as our visit coincided with Jeans 75th birthday. We had Jean and Francoise, their 3 children with their partners and the 6 grand daughters. What a mad house but it was a lot of fun , lots of laughs, big headache for Rhonda trying to speak in french, a great time! It was great to see them ALL again.

Jean and Francoise took us out for lunch to a water mill in the country. Entrees were asparagus panna cotta (yes you read correctly) Greg had a “fish mornay thing”. Mains were steak and chips for Greg and Rhonda had (for the first time) Guinea Fowl (Pintade in French) and it was bloody good. Francoise MADE Rhonda have a Cafe Gourmand, A coffee with an array of small desserts! We really enjoyed ourselves.

After 3 nights we left Périgueux and headed to Bordeaux. Bordeaux has been a major port since pre Roman times and underwent a radical transformation in the 18th Century with grand boulevards , lovely squares and magnificent buildings. The main centre is UNESCO listed and we understand why.

We did our “usual” self guided Bordeaux Heritage Trail walk. The lovely Hotel de Ville, built in 1771 to 1784 was originally the Archbishops palace of Bordeaux. The Cathedral Saint Andre was built from the 12th to 15th Century. A 13 year old Elenore of Aquitane (remember she was buried at the Abby!) married her first husband here, Louis VII . He was 17 years old and the marriage was annulled 2 years later because she couldn’t produce an heir to the throne. Didn’t give her much time! Ironic as she ended up having 10 children to other blokes.

The Gross Cloche or “big Bell” was the cities Belfry and the only remaining part of the 13th defensive gate. It was quite impressive. The Porte Cailhau built between 1493 and 1496 , for 2 centuries was the main entrance to the city from the river.

The Place de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Square) is a beautiful square and played a major role in the cities trade, development and reputation. It was built in the 18th century by Louis XV. It is stunning!

Le Miroir d’Eau (The mirror of water) is 130 metre long and 42 metre wide set of granite slabs. It is the largest reflecting pool in the world. It works on a cycle of dry slabs, then a thick fog appears and then it is covered with 2 cms of clear water. The kids had a ball running and splashing through the water and the reflections were amazing.

After doing quite a few steps , it was time to re hydrate. We chose a lovely spot with a view of the Grand Theatre built in 1780.

We then proceeded to Entrocote for lunch. This restaurant is an “institution” in Bordeaux. One needs to queue (we did for 45 minutes) as they do not take reservations. The restaurant offers one menu, a walnut salad to begin, followed by thinly sliced sirloin steak with fries (as many you want, it is a bottomless plate) and a secret sauce that no one has been able to copy or match for over 60 years. This was all washed down with a bottle of their own Bordeaux red! YUM!

So after nearly 14 kms of walking, Greg’s knees said it was time to go home, so home we went to rest up for the following day.

The next day we decided to visit La Cite du Vin ,( the town of Wine), a museum of wine.

The purpose of this museum is to create a space where sensory experiences are centered wholly around wine. The building is fully dedicated to this “nectar”.

As you can see by the middle photo, Australia was mentioned numerous times however it was Barossa Valley that got mentioned more rather than the Yarra Valley!!!! It was fun sniffing, and looking but the best part was the tasting of a glass of Bordeaux wine at the end, on the 8th floor with great views.

After our tour , we went to the Halles de Bacalan, a market place for lunch and a cleansing beer and aperol spritz. Of course we had to have a “canele” a typical cake from the region.

Last day today in Bordeaux but still had a little time to walk across the Pont de Pierre. It was the first stone bridge ever built in Bordeaux and it was commissioned by Napoleon in 1822. The bridge has 17 spans, the exact number of letters in the name of Napoleon Bonaparte! Go figure, a coincidence or not. We think not!

We have enjoyed wandering around the streets of Bordeaux , stopping for drinks, every now and then, and admiring the buildings and street scapes.

So it’s that time, time to pack and tomorrow head off to Spain!The weather will warm up in Spain, tomorrow it’s going to be 34 degrees! Sangria time!!! We will be meeting up with Julie, Greg’s cousin, who will be our travelling companion for the next couple of weeks. Hope Julie will keep up the pace!!!!

A bientot

Lots of love

Greg and Rhonda

xx