Wallet: Day 26
BLOODY HOT!
Christina and Alice’s apartment is pretty well described by the as a windowless hole. Ventilation is not easy to come by so everyone was up early, awoken by the morning heat. We all got ready to move and headed to a food place down the street called The Wrap. After a delicious brunch Loyd and Christina headed back to sleep a bit more and Alice and I headed to a massive park about 20 minutes walking away.
The city architecture of Madrid is truly amazing. I took pictures of nearly every building we walked by. The park did not disappoint either. We walked by a huge pool full of row boats and found a nice shade spot. I laid down & passed out instantly. We sat in the shadow a massive Glass Palace, an impressive structure made entire of – you guessed it – glass.
I woke up feeling great and started reading Barack Obama’s book. Alice and I started a great political conversation that took a good few hours. Just as we finished our conversation the chapter I began was exactly on what we spoke about – I shared it with her. Loyd and Christina arrived shortly thereafter and we hung out for a few hours. Next thing we knew it was 8 PM and none of had eaten since noon. We headed back in the direction of their place and stopped on the way at a restaurant called Arabia. The food served was a lot of the ethnic cuisine my mom makes so well. We dined on humus, couscous, and chicken straight out of the Tajeen. Incredible.
One home we showered and headed out at a relatively early hour of 1 AM. It is truly awesome how the city only starts to wake up at midnight. We spent time at a bar called Comedia, enjoying the Air Conditioning and the Hip-Hop. After that bar unexpectedly closed at 3 AM we met up with a few other NU students living and working in Madrid. Loyd and Christina headed home while the rest of us continued to a club called Sweet. In between hardcore house tracks the DJ played an uninterrupted track of Gangster’s Paradise. I was in Paradise!
Alice and I made it home around 6:30 AM. Yikes. There is a bullfight tomorrow – that should be a serious experience. Andale!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Familiar Faces 8/1/08
Wallet: Day 25
Shorts and T-shirt
We awoke in our deserted hostel. Such a weird feeling being in a building with so many beds yet no one sleeping in them. It was an early morning wake up as people in Lisbon feel the need to honk their horns incessantly at 8 AM. We got ready and headed out to do some touring of the city. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 2 so we had few hours to walk around.
The city of Lisbon is quite beautiful, with the Atlantic Ocean lining it shores. The Ocean air can be smelt at all times. The streets are as narrow as possible, often without room for people and cars to go down together. As we walked around the windy streets and up the hills, we became tired quickly. Even in the early hours of the morning the heat is intense. We snapped our last few pictures from the top of the hills and headed down towards the internet café. We surfed and made a few more arrangements for our trip. Loyd managed to piss off the manager, as he was trying to hack the system to use the internet free. Classic.
Once we packed all our stuff we headed towards the bus station to catch our ride to the airport. The ride went smoothly, with a local lady telling me to get on a different bus than we planned because it had less stops. We checked in to our flights and headed towards security. That’s where the adventure began. As soon as our packs were checked in and were out of our possession, Loyd remembered that he had his wine key from Bordeaux still in his backpack. He also had 2 lighters sitting in the front pocket. I tossed the lighters into the trash we decided to try to sneak the wine key through security. It’s Europe, I thought – What do they care?!
I went through security first and was stopped immediately. As they opened my bag they found the 2 leftover beers we had from the previous night. Our plan was to drink them before we got on the flight so I apologized and explained. The security guard was young and laughed when he saw my expression. He said in his best English “Can you drink them fast?!” I answered with of course I can, so I started drinking. He said I had until his supervisor saw so I was moving quickly. I didn’t want to drink Loyd’s so I wanted a bit. His security check was taking forever, I watched as they opened his backpack and took everything out piece by piece. Within a few minutes the supervisor saw me with the beer and ordered me to throw it away – damn. Loyd was still getting searched at that point so it was getting ridiculous. I started laughing when he shot me this WTF look.
Finally, the lady scanned everything for the 2nd time, all separately, and found the wine key. They allowed Loyd to mail it to the US, thankfully. As we walked towards our gate Loyd told me the full story of how he tried to hide the wine key in his pocket during the inspection only to have second thoughts and put it back in the pack as she was ravaging through it. Hilarious.
We waited for plane to arrive and the line began to form for boarding a good 30 minutes before our scheduled departure. On EasyJet there are no seat assignments so people are always thinking about where they are going to sit. Loyd wanted to get up immediately but I told him to just chill out, since we were sitting so close to the gate. Just as they opened up Section B of boarding, which we had been assigned to – I slipped into the front of the line. We were the first two people on from our section. As we stood waiting for Section A to finish boarding we took a fake picture of us – while actually taking a picture of the huge line behind us.
As the plane started to take off my heart began to race, it had been almost a month since I had left the ground. It was strange to travel so far in Europe without ever using a plane. The flight was so quick there was barely enough time for me to read 5 pages in my book.
We were entertained on the flight by a couple in front of us who couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other…gross. We touched down in Madrid a short 55 minutes after we took off. We grabbed our packs and headed towards Christina & Alice’s.
The subway ride to their area of town took longer than our flight. We dropped our stuff after Alice came to found us after we got ourselves completely lost in their neighborhood. The girls offered us their apartment for however long we wanted, you have to love fellow NU students!
We hung out until Christina came back from her last day at work. She was pumped to be finished so all four of us walked down to the Sol neighborhood and grabbed a great dinner. Around midnight we got moving in terms of night plans. We headed to another NU student’s apartment and pregamed for a big night. We made it to a club called Pacha around 3 AM and partied it up 6, when our bodies started to give out. The party was still raging but I felt finished. As we arrived home and after a little discussion both Loyd and I agreed that we couldn’t only stay for one night so we might as well stay for 3 so we can see a bullfight on Sunday! So from Madrid – ADIOS!
Shorts and T-shirt
We awoke in our deserted hostel. Such a weird feeling being in a building with so many beds yet no one sleeping in them. It was an early morning wake up as people in Lisbon feel the need to honk their horns incessantly at 8 AM. We got ready and headed out to do some touring of the city. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 2 so we had few hours to walk around.
The city of Lisbon is quite beautiful, with the Atlantic Ocean lining it shores. The Ocean air can be smelt at all times. The streets are as narrow as possible, often without room for people and cars to go down together. As we walked around the windy streets and up the hills, we became tired quickly. Even in the early hours of the morning the heat is intense. We snapped our last few pictures from the top of the hills and headed down towards the internet café. We surfed and made a few more arrangements for our trip. Loyd managed to piss off the manager, as he was trying to hack the system to use the internet free. Classic.
Once we packed all our stuff we headed towards the bus station to catch our ride to the airport. The ride went smoothly, with a local lady telling me to get on a different bus than we planned because it had less stops. We checked in to our flights and headed towards security. That’s where the adventure began. As soon as our packs were checked in and were out of our possession, Loyd remembered that he had his wine key from Bordeaux still in his backpack. He also had 2 lighters sitting in the front pocket. I tossed the lighters into the trash we decided to try to sneak the wine key through security. It’s Europe, I thought – What do they care?!
I went through security first and was stopped immediately. As they opened my bag they found the 2 leftover beers we had from the previous night. Our plan was to drink them before we got on the flight so I apologized and explained. The security guard was young and laughed when he saw my expression. He said in his best English “Can you drink them fast?!” I answered with of course I can, so I started drinking. He said I had until his supervisor saw so I was moving quickly. I didn’t want to drink Loyd’s so I wanted a bit. His security check was taking forever, I watched as they opened his backpack and took everything out piece by piece. Within a few minutes the supervisor saw me with the beer and ordered me to throw it away – damn. Loyd was still getting searched at that point so it was getting ridiculous. I started laughing when he shot me this WTF look.
Finally, the lady scanned everything for the 2nd time, all separately, and found the wine key. They allowed Loyd to mail it to the US, thankfully. As we walked towards our gate Loyd told me the full story of how he tried to hide the wine key in his pocket during the inspection only to have second thoughts and put it back in the pack as she was ravaging through it. Hilarious.
We waited for plane to arrive and the line began to form for boarding a good 30 minutes before our scheduled departure. On EasyJet there are no seat assignments so people are always thinking about where they are going to sit. Loyd wanted to get up immediately but I told him to just chill out, since we were sitting so close to the gate. Just as they opened up Section B of boarding, which we had been assigned to – I slipped into the front of the line. We were the first two people on from our section. As we stood waiting for Section A to finish boarding we took a fake picture of us – while actually taking a picture of the huge line behind us.
As the plane started to take off my heart began to race, it had been almost a month since I had left the ground. It was strange to travel so far in Europe without ever using a plane. The flight was so quick there was barely enough time for me to read 5 pages in my book.
We were entertained on the flight by a couple in front of us who couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other…gross. We touched down in Madrid a short 55 minutes after we took off. We grabbed our packs and headed towards Christina & Alice’s.
The subway ride to their area of town took longer than our flight. We dropped our stuff after Alice came to found us after we got ourselves completely lost in their neighborhood. The girls offered us their apartment for however long we wanted, you have to love fellow NU students!
We hung out until Christina came back from her last day at work. She was pumped to be finished so all four of us walked down to the Sol neighborhood and grabbed a great dinner. Around midnight we got moving in terms of night plans. We headed to another NU student’s apartment and pregamed for a big night. We made it to a club called Pacha around 3 AM and partied it up 6, when our bodies started to give out. The party was still raging but I felt finished. As we arrived home and after a little discussion both Loyd and I agreed that we couldn’t only stay for one night so we might as well stay for 3 so we can see a bullfight on Sunday! So from Madrid – ADIOS!
Are we there yet? 7/31/08
Wallet: Day 24
Same outfit as yesterday…unfortunately
I was in an out of consciousness from about 10 PM when the bus left until around noon. That’s just how exhausted I was. I got a legitimate amount of sleep considering the comfort of the hardly-reclining seats. We stopped one last time at a café for 3 minutes. I took the opportunity to brush my teeth and wash my face.
About an hour later we rolled into Lisbon. We grabbed our bas and hopped on a #28 bus like the directions the Lazy Crow Hostel sent us. We arrived at what looked like a small apartment after climbing what felt like Mount Everest, completely with our full packs.
I pounded on the door of the building and ran the bell, to no avail. We looked through the mail slot and saw a kitchen with full of pots and pans. The lights were out so we were unsure what to do. To top it off, there was no sign outside indicating it was a Hostel – so we weren’t even sure if we were at the right place. Confused, we sat in the shade and tried to call the hostel, again to no avail. We both stayed calm and sat down to relax. I really needed a shower after overexerting myself on the climb up there.
After about 30 minutes a guy strolled up to the door and unlocked it, completely nonchalant. I jumped up and asked if we were at the Lazy Crow and he responded yes but looked bewildered. “We are not open for business yet” he said. WHAT? I said I had made a reservation online and he asked for my name. When I said Aviad he suddenly remembered. He told us that the hostel was not opening for another until the weekend but it was no problem, we could just stay here by ourselves. To top it off, the only reason he came back to the hostel was because he left something behind – he didn’t expect to come back for a few days otherwise. Yikes.
We dropped our things off, took turns showering and passed out for a good few hours. It was nice to sleep in something other than a bus chair. I woke up a few hours later with my mind racing. The website for this hostel made it seem as if it was spring break in Lisbon and now we were the only 2 guests in a hostel that was a grand total of two rooms. I looked through our hostel book from where I got the review and saw that the address listed in the book was different from that of where we were staying. But, honestly, how many hostels can have the name Lazy Crow?! I was determined to either get us another place in Lisbon or stay for a little time as possible.
Once Loyd awoke we talked to Paulo, the guy who made our reservation and seemed a little too excited to have us, where we could find an internet café. The second we found the café I started looking for flights to Madrid. Lisbon seemed so incredibly dead, with very few people walking around. Also, Lisbon is somewhat of a dead end for traveling by train, if we wanted to go south for a few days we would have to backtrack all the way to Lisbon to go into Spain. So we decided to just ditch Portugal after 1 day and get our butts to Spain. Flights on EasyJet were only 88 Euros so we bought them. The advantage of flying also allowed us to get another night in Madrid, since the only train from Lisbon to Madrid is an overnighter.
Happy with my work I suggested we head back to the hostel to eat some of our food we still had from our bus odyssey and drink another bottle of wine from Château La Riviere. We met up with our friend we made at the Internet Café, Griffith. We spotted what looks like a Golden Gate Bridge along the river and walked down to relax as the sun was setting. We walked around a few squares in the area and killed a few hours. Around 11 we headed back to the hostel and crashed. We had every intention of going out but had no idea where to go. I woke up at 3 AM and realized both Loyd and I were sleeping on top of our beds fully clothed. So it’s off to Madrid tomorrow – SWEET!
Same outfit as yesterday…unfortunately
I was in an out of consciousness from about 10 PM when the bus left until around noon. That’s just how exhausted I was. I got a legitimate amount of sleep considering the comfort of the hardly-reclining seats. We stopped one last time at a café for 3 minutes. I took the opportunity to brush my teeth and wash my face.
About an hour later we rolled into Lisbon. We grabbed our bas and hopped on a #28 bus like the directions the Lazy Crow Hostel sent us. We arrived at what looked like a small apartment after climbing what felt like Mount Everest, completely with our full packs.
I pounded on the door of the building and ran the bell, to no avail. We looked through the mail slot and saw a kitchen with full of pots and pans. The lights were out so we were unsure what to do. To top it off, there was no sign outside indicating it was a Hostel – so we weren’t even sure if we were at the right place. Confused, we sat in the shade and tried to call the hostel, again to no avail. We both stayed calm and sat down to relax. I really needed a shower after overexerting myself on the climb up there.
After about 30 minutes a guy strolled up to the door and unlocked it, completely nonchalant. I jumped up and asked if we were at the Lazy Crow and he responded yes but looked bewildered. “We are not open for business yet” he said. WHAT? I said I had made a reservation online and he asked for my name. When I said Aviad he suddenly remembered. He told us that the hostel was not opening for another until the weekend but it was no problem, we could just stay here by ourselves. To top it off, the only reason he came back to the hostel was because he left something behind – he didn’t expect to come back for a few days otherwise. Yikes.
We dropped our things off, took turns showering and passed out for a good few hours. It was nice to sleep in something other than a bus chair. I woke up a few hours later with my mind racing. The website for this hostel made it seem as if it was spring break in Lisbon and now we were the only 2 guests in a hostel that was a grand total of two rooms. I looked through our hostel book from where I got the review and saw that the address listed in the book was different from that of where we were staying. But, honestly, how many hostels can have the name Lazy Crow?! I was determined to either get us another place in Lisbon or stay for a little time as possible.
Once Loyd awoke we talked to Paulo, the guy who made our reservation and seemed a little too excited to have us, where we could find an internet café. The second we found the café I started looking for flights to Madrid. Lisbon seemed so incredibly dead, with very few people walking around. Also, Lisbon is somewhat of a dead end for traveling by train, if we wanted to go south for a few days we would have to backtrack all the way to Lisbon to go into Spain. So we decided to just ditch Portugal after 1 day and get our butts to Spain. Flights on EasyJet were only 88 Euros so we bought them. The advantage of flying also allowed us to get another night in Madrid, since the only train from Lisbon to Madrid is an overnighter.
Happy with my work I suggested we head back to the hostel to eat some of our food we still had from our bus odyssey and drink another bottle of wine from Château La Riviere. We met up with our friend we made at the Internet Café, Griffith. We spotted what looks like a Golden Gate Bridge along the river and walked down to relax as the sun was setting. We walked around a few squares in the area and killed a few hours. Around 11 we headed back to the hostel and crashed. We had every intention of going out but had no idea where to go. I woke up at 3 AM and realized both Loyd and I were sleeping on top of our beds fully clothed. So it’s off to Madrid tomorrow – SWEET!
A Day of Goodbyes 7/30/08
Wallet: Day 23
Shorts and T-shirt
Waking up at 11 has become all but standard over past week in France. We dined on deliciously fresh croissants and tea, per usual. Lauren has to catch a flight to Paris this morning so Coco, Ryan and Loyd went to drop her off. I stayed back to blog a bit. A few hours later it was Ryan’s turn o leave so I joined that trip to the airport. We nearly ran out of gas on the way but somehow made it. Once we left Coco went to fill up the tank. 100 Euro later, it was full, YIKES!
Coco’s mom fed us one last dinner and we bought a few groceries so we would have food for our 18 hour trek. Around 8 Coco took us to the Chateau where they buy their jugs of wine. We got a free tour even though Coco had never been. Inside they had HUGE containers of wine & valve that let out a liter of wine every 2 seconds. Powerful stuff.
Shortly thereafter we were on our to the “bus stop”, if you can call it that. What it was was more like a mass of disorganized people with luggage, just sitting around. A bus rolls up the curb, people flock towards it and then learn if it is the bus going where they need to go. From what I saw, at least 10 different destinations are served from this one corner. Twice, a bus would roll up, we would wait in line and find out it wasn’t going to Lisbon. Finally, our bus arrived – a full hour and a half late. We put our bags under the bus and boarded the packed, humid beast. Within minutes, both Loyd and I were asleep. So it’s off to Lisbon, where we will roll in around 3 PM tomorrow, a total of 18 hours of travel. So here is to it.
Shorts and T-shirt
Waking up at 11 has become all but standard over past week in France. We dined on deliciously fresh croissants and tea, per usual. Lauren has to catch a flight to Paris this morning so Coco, Ryan and Loyd went to drop her off. I stayed back to blog a bit. A few hours later it was Ryan’s turn o leave so I joined that trip to the airport. We nearly ran out of gas on the way but somehow made it. Once we left Coco went to fill up the tank. 100 Euro later, it was full, YIKES!
Coco’s mom fed us one last dinner and we bought a few groceries so we would have food for our 18 hour trek. Around 8 Coco took us to the Chateau where they buy their jugs of wine. We got a free tour even though Coco had never been. Inside they had HUGE containers of wine & valve that let out a liter of wine every 2 seconds. Powerful stuff.
Shortly thereafter we were on our to the “bus stop”, if you can call it that. What it was was more like a mass of disorganized people with luggage, just sitting around. A bus rolls up the curb, people flock towards it and then learn if it is the bus going where they need to go. From what I saw, at least 10 different destinations are served from this one corner. Twice, a bus would roll up, we would wait in line and find out it wasn’t going to Lisbon. Finally, our bus arrived – a full hour and a half late. We put our bags under the bus and boarded the packed, humid beast. Within minutes, both Loyd and I were asleep. So it’s off to Lisbon, where we will roll in around 3 PM tomorrow, a total of 18 hours of travel. So here is to it.
1st Beach Day of the trip! 7/29/08
No wallet today
Boardshorts and T-shirt…obviously
I couldn’t be more excited this morning. We are heading to a beach an hour away from Coco’s house. Early this morning Kim nearly missed her flight back to Dublin. Close call. The rest of us are looking forward to getting some much needed sleep while sunbathing.
On our ride to the beach we heard our Bordeaux theme song at least twice, Amy McDonald – This is the life. It just says summer to us. We jammed out and next thing we knew, where were at the beach. The summer heat smacked us the second we got out of the car. To say I am pumped to sit on the sand get into the ocean is an absolute understatement.
The second my bare feet touched the soft Southern France sand, I knew summer had arrived. The waves at the beach were nothing short of epic, they were massive. All I wanted to do was rent a surfboard and ride them. First things first, set up the towel and get into that water.
The ocean can never be described as truly warm but this water looked so blue and clear, it didn’t matter. Loyd recorded – on his waterproof camera – our dash into the water. Within a few minutes of absorbing these beasts of waves, I was exhausted. I body surfed one of the biggest ones onto the beach. What a rush.
The moment my head met the towel on the warm sand, I was out. A few hours later I awoke to the sound of French being spoken. Coco’s friend Camille had come and joined us at the beach. Once everyone was awake, we ate our lunch. I felt myself really starting to like the Goose Pâté, it’s a new thing for me to eat meat out of a jar. We sipped on the Rose we bought at the Château yesterday. Basically, life is good.
We sat for a few more hours before the clouds gathered and the temperature at the beach went down significantly. We took a few more pictures by the water, jumped in one last time and left. The plan was to rise off and head to the restaurant where Camille works for dinner.
One we were all cleaned up we drove down to A Boulan. Camille’s restaurant specializes in two things, Oysters and Pâté. I’ve never tired Oysters but this trip is all about trying new things so bring it on. We ordered 36 for Coco, Ryan, Loyd and me. It seemed like a ton to me. The plate came out and I tried my first Oyster. Slightly slimy and salty, I wasn’t sure what the rave was all about. After about 3 of them and mixing it with buttered bread ad lemon. Suddenly, I found myself starting to like these strange creatures. We took some funny pictures and a video of Lauren trying her first Oyster.
We chilled and watched the sunset from the table which sat at the edge of a marina and low tide. It was cool to see all the sailboats resting at their side due to the lack of water.
Once Camille finished up her shift and closed up the restaurant we headed to her co-workers. We sipped more wine and enjoyed some French pizza. We then walked down to a local bar in the fisherman’s village. We absolutely took over the place. The evening was full of jokes and stories. Eventually, we headed back to Coco’s and the only two people who managed to stay awake were Coco and Loyd. Once we got home everyone crashed, it was another exhausting day in wine country. We’re off to Lisbon tomorrow night on an 18 hour bus, somehow I’m not really looking forward to that…
Boardshorts and T-shirt…obviously
I couldn’t be more excited this morning. We are heading to a beach an hour away from Coco’s house. Early this morning Kim nearly missed her flight back to Dublin. Close call. The rest of us are looking forward to getting some much needed sleep while sunbathing.
On our ride to the beach we heard our Bordeaux theme song at least twice, Amy McDonald – This is the life. It just says summer to us. We jammed out and next thing we knew, where were at the beach. The summer heat smacked us the second we got out of the car. To say I am pumped to sit on the sand get into the ocean is an absolute understatement.
The second my bare feet touched the soft Southern France sand, I knew summer had arrived. The waves at the beach were nothing short of epic, they were massive. All I wanted to do was rent a surfboard and ride them. First things first, set up the towel and get into that water.
The ocean can never be described as truly warm but this water looked so blue and clear, it didn’t matter. Loyd recorded – on his waterproof camera – our dash into the water. Within a few minutes of absorbing these beasts of waves, I was exhausted. I body surfed one of the biggest ones onto the beach. What a rush.
The moment my head met the towel on the warm sand, I was out. A few hours later I awoke to the sound of French being spoken. Coco’s friend Camille had come and joined us at the beach. Once everyone was awake, we ate our lunch. I felt myself really starting to like the Goose Pâté, it’s a new thing for me to eat meat out of a jar. We sipped on the Rose we bought at the Château yesterday. Basically, life is good.
We sat for a few more hours before the clouds gathered and the temperature at the beach went down significantly. We took a few more pictures by the water, jumped in one last time and left. The plan was to rise off and head to the restaurant where Camille works for dinner.
One we were all cleaned up we drove down to A Boulan. Camille’s restaurant specializes in two things, Oysters and Pâté. I’ve never tired Oysters but this trip is all about trying new things so bring it on. We ordered 36 for Coco, Ryan, Loyd and me. It seemed like a ton to me. The plate came out and I tried my first Oyster. Slightly slimy and salty, I wasn’t sure what the rave was all about. After about 3 of them and mixing it with buttered bread ad lemon. Suddenly, I found myself starting to like these strange creatures. We took some funny pictures and a video of Lauren trying her first Oyster.
We chilled and watched the sunset from the table which sat at the edge of a marina and low tide. It was cool to see all the sailboats resting at their side due to the lack of water.
Once Camille finished up her shift and closed up the restaurant we headed to her co-workers. We sipped more wine and enjoyed some French pizza. We then walked down to a local bar in the fisherman’s village. We absolutely took over the place. The evening was full of jokes and stories. Eventually, we headed back to Coco’s and the only two people who managed to stay awake were Coco and Loyd. Once we got home everyone crashed, it was another exhausting day in wine country. We’re off to Lisbon tomorrow night on an 18 hour bus, somehow I’m not really looking forward to that…
A Lesson in Classic Wine Making and Tasting 7/28/08
Wallet: Day 22
Shorts and T-Shirt
I woke up to crashing lightning and thunder from outside. Bordeaux is so humid they regularly have the lightning and thunder storms Boston is known for. We clearly were not heading to the beach so we got ready for a day of wine tasting.
Our drive out to the Chateaus was substantially more comfortable considering we had slightly bigger car and no luggage. The drive winded through what seemed like endless vineyards, it was incredible. We stopped by an amazing Chateau and took a few pictures. The landscape of this area of France is truly amazing.
We made it to a small town called Saint-Emilion, made up of cobble stone streets and more wine stores than you could count. The narrow streets reminded me of pictures I have seen of Italy, something I will hopefully get a chance to see later in this trip.
We ate lunch in the town where Coco looked through a tourism book and spotted a Chateau about 20 minutes away. The picture in the book made it look like massive castle. Coco called and reserved us spots on the tour a few hours away. Once done with lunch, we made our way to Chateau de La Riviere. The setting of this Chateau was nothing short of epic, sitting atop a hill, overlooking the vineyards where the grapes come from. It has all the making of a castle, complete with towers. We started the tour and learn that the Chateau has 6 acres of wine cellars beneath the castle. The guide led us down to the old stone quarry where over 1 million bottles are stored, dating back all the way to 1962. They have barrels ad bottles ranging up to 15 liters! The bottles were MASSIVE. The cool and moist atmosphere down in the quarry led to some mushroom growth on the bottles. The guide informed us that it doesn’t affect the wine but it was a little unnerving.
Next, of course, was the wine tasting. We tried the incredible wines they produced right there and felt the need to buy a few bottles for ourselves. Just as we were set to leave the rain and lightning began. It was amazing to watch the lightning in the valley from atop the hill. On our way home, everyone passed out except Coco, she was stuck driving. We got home and we were all treated to another amazing meal consisting of rabbit and fresh mashed potatoes. No one had any leftovers on their plates. We took a few more 5 liter jugs of wine out and polished them off. The champagne got bought out around 4 AM. What a crazy night it became, full of amazing laughs. So hopefully, it is off to the beach tomorrow.
Shorts and T-Shirt
I woke up to crashing lightning and thunder from outside. Bordeaux is so humid they regularly have the lightning and thunder storms Boston is known for. We clearly were not heading to the beach so we got ready for a day of wine tasting.
Our drive out to the Chateaus was substantially more comfortable considering we had slightly bigger car and no luggage. The drive winded through what seemed like endless vineyards, it was incredible. We stopped by an amazing Chateau and took a few pictures. The landscape of this area of France is truly amazing.
We made it to a small town called Saint-Emilion, made up of cobble stone streets and more wine stores than you could count. The narrow streets reminded me of pictures I have seen of Italy, something I will hopefully get a chance to see later in this trip.
We ate lunch in the town where Coco looked through a tourism book and spotted a Chateau about 20 minutes away. The picture in the book made it look like massive castle. Coco called and reserved us spots on the tour a few hours away. Once done with lunch, we made our way to Chateau de La Riviere. The setting of this Chateau was nothing short of epic, sitting atop a hill, overlooking the vineyards where the grapes come from. It has all the making of a castle, complete with towers. We started the tour and learn that the Chateau has 6 acres of wine cellars beneath the castle. The guide led us down to the old stone quarry where over 1 million bottles are stored, dating back all the way to 1962. They have barrels ad bottles ranging up to 15 liters! The bottles were MASSIVE. The cool and moist atmosphere down in the quarry led to some mushroom growth on the bottles. The guide informed us that it doesn’t affect the wine but it was a little unnerving.
Next, of course, was the wine tasting. We tried the incredible wines they produced right there and felt the need to buy a few bottles for ourselves. Just as we were set to leave the rain and lightning began. It was amazing to watch the lightning in the valley from atop the hill. On our way home, everyone passed out except Coco, she was stuck driving. We got home and we were all treated to another amazing meal consisting of rabbit and fresh mashed potatoes. No one had any leftovers on their plates. We took a few more 5 liter jugs of wine out and polished them off. The champagne got bought out around 4 AM. What a crazy night it became, full of amazing laughs. So hopefully, it is off to the beach tomorrow.
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