Tuesday 27th October
Soulac to St Christoly-Medoc
We had breakfast outside as it was sunny and forecast to be 25 degs today. Margaret our hostess filled us in on quite a lot of the recent history of the area. It was the last place in France to be liberated, 1 day before Guernsey. We went back into Soulac to look at the church, Notre Dame which was beautiful. When you entered you went down a lot of steps and it had the appearance of a crypt. It had disappeared under the sand for over 100 years in the 14th century, rather like St Enedoc in Trebetherick. At the top of the tower you can still see old iron rings where people used to tie their horses when it was buried.
We then biked on across to the East coast along the estuary as it seemed more interesting than sand and pine tracks. Not sure it was really as it was VERY flat marshes but nice and easy anyway. We had a bowl of soup in St Vivien St Medoc before really getting in to the proper Medoc wine growing region. Since the clocks have changed we have to be a bit more together about finding somewhere to stay, and had been told there were lots of chambre d’hotes. Well there weren’t and we were getting a bit desperate, sitting in the square at St Christoly-Medoc. Alec was desperate for the loo and went round the back of the town hall where he was met by a woman who asked what he wanted. Having said a ‘chambre d’hote’ she said that she had one and it was all fixed in minutes. We were sent off through the vineyards and are now staying in the Chateau Tour St Bonnet. It is a lovely old house on the very northern edge of the Medoc area and we were lucky as there is nowhere else for miles.
The relief of knowing we had somewhere to stay made me completely forget about how desperate I was until we were halfway to the Chateau. At that stage we still thought it would probably be a manqué bungalow next to a chateau but I didn’t care I was getting in there whatever. An elderly Monsieur and Madame met us but he was deaf so soon called his son who spoke English but was clearly preoccupied with the business of making wine. When I asked him who the lady was who signed us in he said ‘oh that’s my sister, she’s the mayor’ The mayor – wow!
Soulac to St Christoly-Medoc
We had breakfast outside as it was sunny and forecast to be 25 degs today. Margaret our hostess filled us in on quite a lot of the recent history of the area. It was the last place in France to be liberated, 1 day before Guernsey. We went back into Soulac to look at the church, Notre Dame which was beautiful. When you entered you went down a lot of steps and it had the appearance of a crypt. It had disappeared under the sand for over 100 years in the 14th century, rather like St Enedoc in Trebetherick. At the top of the tower you can still see old iron rings where people used to tie their horses when it was buried.
We then biked on across to the East coast along the estuary as it seemed more interesting than sand and pine tracks. Not sure it was really as it was VERY flat marshes but nice and easy anyway. We had a bowl of soup in St Vivien St Medoc before really getting in to the proper Medoc wine growing region. Since the clocks have changed we have to be a bit more together about finding somewhere to stay, and had been told there were lots of chambre d’hotes. Well there weren’t and we were getting a bit desperate, sitting in the square at St Christoly-Medoc. Alec was desperate for the loo and went round the back of the town hall where he was met by a woman who asked what he wanted. Having said a ‘chambre d’hote’ she said that she had one and it was all fixed in minutes. We were sent off through the vineyards and are now staying in the Chateau Tour St Bonnet. It is a lovely old house on the very northern edge of the Medoc area and we were lucky as there is nowhere else for miles.
The relief of knowing we had somewhere to stay made me completely forget about how desperate I was until we were halfway to the Chateau. At that stage we still thought it would probably be a manqué bungalow next to a chateau but I didn’t care I was getting in there whatever. An elderly Monsieur and Madame met us but he was deaf so soon called his son who spoke English but was clearly preoccupied with the business of making wine. When I asked him who the lady was who signed us in he said ‘oh that’s my sister, she’s the mayor’ The mayor – wow!
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