Thanks again for your comments. Plenty of wine to choose from in Haro but even more in St Emilion. Opera Deb? Bit highbrow for me but well done on an opera solo. At least it was an English opera although I'm sure you could have sung in Italian if called for.
St Emilion is a town totally devoted to the wine of the area. There are probably upwards of a hundred wine shops selling different vintages from different vineyards at different prices and even if you were an expert it would be impossible to choose. The problem is you are offered unlimited tastings but after the fourth of fifth sample you really can't taste any more. Below is the cellar at one of the vineyards we visited.
Vineyards wherever you look.
The town, in the distance has a few restaurants but all quite expensive. As I'm sure you can guess I'm first in the queue if pig's intestines are on the menu and indeed Andouillette appeared everywhere. However, you have to be in the mood and we weren't. So a small restaurant offering stuffed aubergine was chosen but it was pretty average. The restaurant in the excellent campsite was better but nothing unusual. The biggest shock was that the beer was 7 euros for a half litre. Totally outrageous! The campsite had a nice boating lake, tennis and table tennis and a pool with water slide. I used to love these but they need to provide a tsunami warning when I reach the top so I stuck to swimming.
Onwards to Royan which is a spa town in the Auvergne. We again stayed halfway up a mountain which makes a nice downhill stroll into town and a real trek back.
This is an area of extinct volcanoes such as the Puy de Dome, below, but didn't attempt an ascent this time as the weather is turning hot. So mainly swimming, a game of tennis an boules was our main exercise. We managed to find an excellent logis for lunch in which we found ourselves, once again, the only customers. A market menu for 20 euros was top notch, no choice, but an amuse bouche of foie gras with a raspberry coulis was followed by a starter of cold asparagus and tomato soup, a main course of sensational beef and a pudding of a fruit compote with a bergamot ice cream and a small box of madeleines (hence the tortuous title link) which was excellent. Certainly there are less French eating out these days at lunch although at the supermarket brasserie the next day it was nearly full.
A church below was nice and simple but no bird pictures, this week Deb, but your overall sypnosis of our travels was pretty much spot on.
We will be continuing our journey northwards through France so more next week, maybe including another bird. Thanks for reading.
A bientot,
J&P
Good to see the weather is treating you well. Proust and his "involuntary memory and voluntary memory" was way beyond me. I think he should have just eaten the cakes and not talked with his mouth full!
ReplyDeleteMixed weather at home so the garden is growing like mad.
cheers, A + J
P.S. Don't lend a Greek money!
All sounding great!
ReplyDeleteWeather here is sweltering today - hottest July day ever, I think.
Our local swimming pool has a retractable roof, so I swam my mile this morning in the open air. A real treat. I've now retreated indoors and watching Wimbledon. I was successful in the lottery this year and am heading up to SW19 myself next week.
Love Deb