As I am
studying in France, I want to become familiar with the country and its
different regions. Several weeks ago, a few of my friends and I decided to have
a cultural weekend in Bordeaux. Five of us girls went to indulge in wine and
beautiful country side.
We left on
Friday and took the train to Bordeaux which is a 5 hour trip. We bought yummy
snacks, met a cat on the train, and prepared ourselves for a great weekend
together. Once we arrived, we found our way to the youth hostel to get ready
for a girls’ night out. I love how Europe treats their younger citizens; there
are discounts for almost every museum, hostels designed for young people, and different
reductions for transportation all for being a student. This differs greatly
from the U.S. where you can hardly ask for your free student drink at Chipotle
without getting dirty looks.
Bordeaux
was absolutely gorgeous even in the winter. The first night, we went out on the
town and enjoyed a nice meal at a restaurant our friends had recommended. There
were three things on the menu and all were meat based so I got to eat fries,
salad, and plenty of red wine (a Bordeaux of course). After a long day of
traveling and a nice meal together, we returned to the hostel to rest up for
the next day.
Saturday,
we enjoyed walking around the city and seeing a few sites in the morning before
going on a wine tour. With history all around us, it wasn’t hard to find
interesting sites and points of interest. After a quick lunch, we hurried to
the office of tourism to head off on our wine tour! We drove through beautiful
French countryside, journeyed into the Medoc region, and saw fields upon fields
of vineyards and a few chateaus as well. The first winery we stopped at,
Chateau Kirwan, was a gorgeous estate with well-kept grounds and plenty of
scenery to take in and enjoy. We learned how the wine was made and stored and
got to try two different wines. One was a younger, fruity wine and the other
was more mature and had a richer taste. To learn more about Kirwan wines and
how they are produced, visit http://www.chateau-kirwan.com/
The second
winery we visited had a lot of history. It was built by monks in the 16th
century and who decided to settle in France and make wine. The wine is still
made in the same building that the monks made it and there are laws protecting
the building and the land used in the production. We got to try two wines here
as well, one red and one white. The white, interestingly enough, is not allowed
to be called Bordeaux even though it is produced in this area. All Bordeaux
wine is red and the other types of wine fall under a different name and
classification.
We returned
to the city of Bordeaux and did a bit more sight-seeing and walked along the
river before we returned to the hostel to prepare a picnic dinner in our room.
Sunday, we ventured to the Notre Dame and the public park where we played on
the playground and wandered around. The rain began to pour so we decided to get
some lunch before heading to the train station. It was a short trip, but we
definitely made the most of our time and really enjoyed ourselves!
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| Chateau Kirwan |
