Oh Bordeaux!

We arrived in the city of Bordeaux at night on a holiday Monday to quiet, deserted streets. It made for a romantic first introduction to the city. We were staying in the Chartrons neighbourhood just east of the city centre. With a history of being the original major hub of Bordeaux's wine trade, now the area is home to start-up businesses, antique shops, and artists. Every building had the air of a wine cellar (including our very musty, but cool hotel). We weaved through some of the dead streets and found the main square bustling with families enjoying evening al fresco dining. We shared charcuterie and an awesome bottle of wine at a Basque-style restaurant called Le Grat. The poor young server was running mad off his feet but was in good spirits.





We woke the next morning to some sun...finally! We took advantage and enjoyed a run along the Garonne. The city is definitely alive during the day with a bustling downtown. Practically every other storefront is a wine shop but would you expect anything else in Bordeaux? There is also the longest pedestrian street in Europe, Rue Sainte Catherine, jammed with shops and people. We spent the afternoon in a beautiful public garden with a bottle of wine and some sandwiches studying our wine materials to learn about the appellations, grape varieties and wines we had to look forward to in the week ahead of us.









We found dinner at a seafood restaurant along the river, and paired it with a 2-for-1 rose wine special. If only they served 2-for-1 bottles of wine at home! That would be trouble.


Tizac-de-Curton
Oh Bordeaux wine country...where to start?! After two days in the city of Bordeaux we rented a car and headed to our B&B in the heart of wine country. There is so much to share about this adventure when we get home, but for now, here are some of the many highlights.



Domaine L'Amourette
We stayed at a chambres d'hote called Domaine L'Amourette in Tizac-de-Curton, a small village just outside St. Emilion in the Entre-Deux-Mers region. Our warm host, Alexandra, had recently moved from Paris with her husband Arnauld to Tizac-de-Curton to renovate and run L'amourette. The original house was built around the 14th century, and had sat abandoned for 40 years. Alex and Arnaud have spent the last year and a half turning it into a charming, stylish and welcoming place to stay. We loved this place! Alex provided everything we could have possibly needed...a friendly welcome, breakfast with homemade cakes and jam, two very friendly dogs to play with and countless recommendations on what to do and where to eat in the area. Following Alex's advice was the best thing we could have done as all of her tips provided memorable and authentic experiences.











St. Emilion
St. Emilion is the ancient village at the heart of St. Emilion wine region. It's named after a monk who settled there in the 8th century, although initial vines were planted by the Romans in the 2nd century. It sits on top of a hill overlooking vineyards as far as the eye can see, and is home to about 2000 residents (most of whom work in the village or the vineyards), and a continuous influx of tourists. You can understand why with its cobble-stoned streets, central clock tower, church ruins, beautiful old buidlings, 200km of underground pathways and caves, gardens, and of course, tons of wine.









My favourite experience in the village was enjoying a bottle of Cremant de Bordeaux (sparkling wine), settled in the gardens and church ruins of an old cloistre called Cloitre des Cordeliers (thanks Alex for that suggestion!). We also did a tour of the underground caves: the cave of Saint Emilion himself and a monolithic church.






This is where you put your empties

Night Market in Castillon la Bataille
On another great recommendation from Alex we drove into Castillon la Bataille to a night market for dinner. Four Thursdays in July and August several local food and wine producers set up stalls along the Dordogne River, a DJ sets up, and the town comes out for a night of festivities. We were lucky to catch the market on its last night and it was packed. Given our love of duck we headed straight for the duck man. Our order: Fresh grilled duck breast topped with grilled foie gras. I repeat: Fresh grilled duck breast topped with grilled foie gras. This was no ordinary market :) We enjoyed our plate of duck and salad with a 4EUR bottle of rose at sunset on our own little cement picnic table along the Dordogne River. It doesn't get any better than that! For dessert (how we had room I don't know), we shared a cup of fresh raspberries topped with whipped cream. We saddled up with the locals at one of the big long tables in the centre of the market, ordered another bottle of wine and spoke really bad French with some new friends who spoke even less English. Turns out my French gets better (and worse!) the more I drink. This was one of our favourite nights in this region and we'll remember our friends in Castillon la Bataille for years to come.


Hmm, such a difficult choice













Bassin D'Arcachon
The weather had been getting increasingly hot and stifling so on a Saturday we headed to the Ocean to Arcachon. What should have been an hour's drive took much longer in traffic...everyone else was headed to the beach too. Arcachon was a nice (touristy) spot, with street markets, bistros lining the beachfront, and plenty of beach for sunbathers. We took a 30-min ferry in some choppy water to Cap Ferret to check it out, see the oyster farms, and try a few at a tasting hut.






Only thing on the menu is wine, beer, shrimp and oysters... c'est tout!

On our way out of Arcachon we drove south a bit to check out the other beaches. They were less busy and more beautiful and we wished we'd spent the day there. We stopped at Les Dunes de Pyla which are these massive sand dunes sandwiched between forest and sea. We climbed up to the top for the magnificant view.







Blasimon
With the weather maintaining at about 38 degrees we sought refuge at a local 'lake' Alex told us about that was 10 minutes from Tizac-de-Curton. This place was the neatest little phenomenon. It was a man made little lake, with a beach and sandy bottom and by mid-afternoon it was jammed with locals also looking to cool off. We couldn't stand more than 15 minutes at a time on the beach before we had to dip in the water. There were kids everywhere, lots of splashing and man-wrestling in the water, topless grandmas loving up the sun and water. It was a memorable afternoon. There was a little concession/beach bar too, but not with the typical burgers, hot dogs and ice cream menu we'd see back home. The menu, in addition to sandwiches, frites, and icecream, served duck confit, melon and jamon, escargots etc., along with wine and beer. I thought it was quintessentially french and perfect that duck confit made it onto a tiny beach hut's menu. Blasimon was a great little gem in the middle of nowhere, and saved us from the ridiculous heat that day!



Aperitifs at the Church
Right next to L'Amourette was a small old church and cemetery with an awesome view of the neighbouring valley of vineyards in Entre-Deux-Mers. On evenings we were home for sunset we'd enjoy apertifs here, a glass of rose for me and Mitchell with a Ricard. Sigh...so beautiful. We still have many amazing places on our travel itinerary ahead, but I know Tizac-de-Curton will always have a special place in my heart.






Mitchell under the walnut tree

Quiche with Alex
On our last night in Tizac-de-Curton Alex invited us to join her for dinner. She taught me how to make a traditional quiche with lardons, egg and cheese, and then a second quiche with her favourite ingredients of tuna, tomatoes and feta. It was so nice to spend our last evening with Alex who had helped make our week in Bordeaux so special. I hope some day her travelling adventures will bring her and her family to Vancouver for a visit.




Mitchell and his new French friend, Monsieur Pastis




Rachel and Vador having a moment


All that adventure and we haven't even started talking about wine yet. More to come soon!

We heart BXL!

Coming from Paris and Amsterdam both with distinctive qualities and cultures, we weren't sure what to expect in Brussels. What we knew of Belgium was limited to its gastronomic stereotypes: beer, waffles, mussels, fries, and chocolate. So, we were about as ignorant as those folks whose knowledge of Canada is limited to maple syrup, salmon, beef, mounties, moose and igloos. We were ready to discover more about Belgium from what Brussels could teach us and what the hell, investigate those stereotypes just to make sure they were legitmately earned.

We stayed at La Casa BXL, a small non-descript B&B from the outside, but on the inside, decorated and operated with style and attention to detail. We were on the 3rd floor (again!) and lugged our oversized bags up the narrow small steps. Our room was great and spacious with a sort of Morrocan theme. (Later that night we learned that it was also right above one of the most bumpin' gay bars in town which provided some entertaining street parties). Outside our window was an old church that chimed its bells every hour, and for about twenty minutes leading up to 11am on Sunday and Monday. Such a pretty sound that will stay with me for a while.


La Casa BXL

Brussels oozed a casual and welcoming vibe, and it shared a great mix of French and Dutch influences. It's centre is small enough to get the lay of the land, and offers interesting areas and things to do, mixing cultural and architectural history with contemporary cool and artistic expression. Centuries old churches, cobblestone streets, fountains and grand plazas are juxtaposed against building facades celebrating comic/cartoon murals, and a massive graffiti embellished skate park. Brussels has a walking tour dedicated solely to discovering all of the comic murals in the city and some of the streets have two street signs, its original, and the second with the comic art related street name.








Part of the fortress wall ruins that are scattered throughout the city

For lunch we came across a classic friterie, called Fritland, that serves Belgian fast food. We ordered a Mitraillette, based on watching the person ahead of us and couldn't help ourselves. It was like a Big Mac had a three way with some Belgian frites and a fresh baguette. They put gyro-like beef on a baguette with lettuce and top it with fries and two different mayos, spicy and regular. You eat a few fries off the top, fold it all together and do your best to take a big bite. So delicious, but something you only need to eat once on a trip to BXL! (Although I'm pretty sure we'll crave it back home after a big night of drinking in lieu of Fritz or Pho!).

It was Saturday night so we stopped by the local grocery store to pick up some snacks and happy hour drinks to tide us over before heading out on the town. Mitchell was like a kid in a candy store, with 4 fridges full of Belgian beer and varieties that we can't get back home. A fave for the both of us ended up being the Hogaarten Rose. The beer stereotype was successfully investigated and verified on several occasions. Delicious!!




Flight of tastings with malted hops to nibble on

For dinner we went to an artsy fun looking neighbourhood in hopes to find some live music or DJs after dinner. The bars were all packed but you could get in easily with no lines or cover, you just cram yourself into them. Most bars spill out onto the streets where people can freely drink and smoke. Like in Paris and Amsterdam, everyone smokes. It rained heavily that night so we did our best to stay crammed inside.

Other highlights in Brussels included a long-standing traditional Sunday market. Near the Sablon area (a very unique antique/chic shopping area), the market offered everything from antique Belgian china, to coins, books, hardware, art, furniture, and clothing. The quality was hit or miss, but like a flea market or a garage sale, those who spend their time rifling through the goods are rewarded. I fell in love with these little figurines of sun bathing ladies. We stopped for a warm, fresh waffle from a truck on our way back. Mmm,...yep, they deserve the kudos for those!





The Grand Palais, while crazy touristy was worth the visit. Originally, over 500 years ago this was where all the specialist Guilds were housed (bakers, butchers, cabinet makers, artists,etc.). Now it's tourist central. We had no choice but to join them for moules et frites and beer on one of the main patios. Mussel reputation deserved :) We went back to the Grand Palais the next evening at night where they put on a light show on the Palais buildings set to classical music. So beautiful! It was a low, full moon too. Magical.













We lucked out that there happened to be their Brussels Summer Music Festival the weekend we were there so we spent an evening walking around the concert grounds listening to the different acts ranging from some popular French pop artists to AC/DC and Queen cover bands. The size and quality of the festival was impressive and had the weather been a little better we might have bought the wristbands that gave you full access to all Festival events. There is definitely as sense of greater support in Europe for their arts and cultural events, and with such grand settings to host them in! That night we managed to round out our investigation by trying some artisanal chocolate. Tasty little morsels! I don't think I tried enough to say whether the Belgians do chocolate better than anyone else, but they definitely don't suck at it!



We loved our short but sweet (and savoury) three days in Brussels. It's a great city with a lot going for it. We would both like to get back to Belgium some day to check out Antwerp and Gent further North. For the time being though, there is Bordeaux wine country to discover. On to Bordeaux!


Here's a link to more Brussels photos:
More Photos - Brussels