France Days 17-20: Wining and D(a)ining

After all the busy days in the Dordogne region we went west a bit toward Bordeaux which is big time Wine Country (unlike the rest of France which is just wine country).

There are grape fields as far as the eyes can see for at least an hour of driving, it's crazy. And cute little tractors that fit between the grape rows!

We went to Saint-Emilion which is a cool old town with a monolithic church (carved into the side of a cliff in the 12th century). It was still hot so we did most of an audio tour but then ended up eating anchovy pizza at a place with big misty fans.

Then we figured we should try some of the region's famous wine. I didn't think it could possibly be as good as the Scuppernong wine from back home, but turns out these grapes might even be better. Chateau de Reignac had a cool greenhouse and a dovecote where you could do tastings. 

Circular dovecote including beautiful dove

The description online called the tasting "hedonistic" but it was basically just red stuff in cups, I think the translation may have been a bit off.

Greenhouse designed by Eiffel himself

The next day we headed north toward Saumur but had to make a stop to see Eleanor of Aquitaine on the way (Cris' fav person in history). If you've never heard of her you should definitely look her up, she was queen of France and then England so she's a pretty big deal. Her burial site is in the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud which is just huge. 

There's four people buried there but we only care about Eleanor. There were some art installations set up all over the abbey which were in the way at times but overall it was a really impressive place.

Cris spent quite a bit of time communing and reading with Eleanor

She was even buried reading her fav Twilight novel

Guess what this building is for (it starts with K and rhymes with itchin'). Each of those is a chimney.

We went the rest of the way to Saumur and got to our Airbnb. It was a really nice place but unfortunately it only had one window you could open and it was HOT. I stepped out to check the city out and ended up doing a couple mile walk because there was a lot to see. A couple old churches, a botanic garden, and a castle at sunset later I was exhausted (and sweaty).

Chateau de Saumur

Unfortunately, when I got back the apartment was somehow hotter than when I left. This is one of those points in a vacation where you have to make a decision: do we stick to the plan and deal with the heat, or call an audible and improvise somewhere cooler. There were some really cool chateaus in the Loire river area but we decided it would be best to just go north a couple days early. So, to Brittany we go!

We stopped at a troglodyte farm (as one does) on the way north. Basically, they quarried stone near the farms and then decided "we have a hole why don't we just dig sideways to make houses/barns?". It was neat seeing all the old tools and the ingenuity needed to survive underground. 

We then swung by Angers (which isn't quite pronounced like it reads in English). They have an imposing set of walls but inside was quaint. 

Outside = stay away

Inside = come in for tea, deary

The main reason we came here was for the tapestry. We planned to go to Bayeux to see the Bayeux tapestry but it's currently in England. Stupid England "borrowing" all the historical artifacts of the world. Anyway, this tapestry is even longer and tells the story of the book of Revelations. 

I'm famously not one to spend much time staring at textile art, but this was jaw-droppingly detailed, massive, and just plain weird. It's annoying that extremely talented women spent this much time making this 300+ foot long, 15 foot high piece of art and all we know is the name of the dude who paid for it (Louis something). 

Get those dragons!

We got up to Brittany and it was at least a bit cooler. We mostly just chilled at a beach but made some side stops at some dolmen and menhir. This area is more like Ireland with their Celtic language and ancient stone things. 

Yep, it's a big rock in a farmer's field. But it was put there 5000ish years ago.

I think some people think we're weird for going to these old rocks, but it's always some of my favorite places: you go down a single-lane dirt road to a single parking space and then walk through a barely trodden path through a field and stand there all alone. It's magical and I'll do this over wandering a city street any day. 

We took a mile walk around Ploumanac'h (notice the Celtic name) which was a busy beach town. Once we were good and warm we jumped into the frigid English Channel (I think it's still called that there). 

There's a cool castle on an island you can kayak around and a more private beach but we didn't know about it until too late. 

We're happy we went north to escape the heat and explore Brittany. The sea breeze and perfect beaches are just what we needed. This trip continues to be amazing every single day. We haven't had a bad wine, a bad meal, or a bad interaction with a French person (well, besides the dude who fell over on his bike because I had my blinker on way too early so I kinda cut him off). We've been eating at restaurants for lunch quite a bit which is nice cuz it's cheaper and there's no expectation to eat a 5 course meal. I don't understand how all dinners are SOOO much food! At night we work and one of us makes dinner. We've made veal cutlets, stir-fry veggies with rice, magret de canard (duck breast), and lots of charcuterie. And wine, way too much wine. 

One of many reasons we prefer house rentals instead of hotels.

Ciao