2 Days and 9 Photos From Bordeaux

When I checked out of my hotel in Langon, and told the desk guy I was headed north to Libourne, he went like this: Up and down motions with his hand. Like waves. Or a rollercoaster.

“It is all hills,” he said. “It is all up and then down.”

He was right … and then some more ups and downs.

But it was worth it. I’m seven days and 352 miles into my Bordeaux extravaganza. Here are the last two days in photos.

The climb started immediately, up and up to Ste Croix du-Mont where there’s a great view down from whence I came (I’ve always wanted to use the word “whence.”). And a WWI memorial with quite the intimidating figure on top…

I mean, come on: This is one angry, muscular and intimidating fighting rooster. The “Coq Sportif” is the national symbol and you may remember seeing one on the jerseys of the French team that won the most recent World Cup.

Then it was up and down a few more hills on the way to Cadillac. And, every time I saw a sign for Cadillac … I started singing Springsteen’s “Cadillac Ranch.” I like to sing when I ride. Sometimes in my head, out loud every once in a while. Especially going up hills. It helps. Cadillac is an old, walled city and here’s the view through one of the medieval entrances. And yes, it was market day.

These guys were hanging out at the cathedral in the town of Castelviel … which is a million years old!

Here’s my reward for a long, hard and beautiful day of riding…

Today was all about the red wines of the St-Emilion, such as…

Everything here is all about the wine … it’s one vineyard and chateau after another. Endless vineyards. Miles and miles of vineyards of red grapes. And when they say chateau, they don’t exactly mean castle, although some are quite castle-like. The chateaux here refer to the maisons of each individual winery. And, because there are so many, and I imagine it’s quite competitive, you need to have quite the fancy and ornate chateau/tasting center in order to create your brand and sell your wine for exorbitant prices. Here’s the entrance to one of the more elaborate chateau…

Here’s the view from the little town of Montagne.

And the view a few kilometers later and back and up to Montagne.

Tomorrow it’s back to St-Emilion, the epicenter for tourism in this area. I was able to get a hotel, for one night, maybe two, and am determined to do some wine tasting. I’ll let you know how it goes if I’m able to write/blog.