October 18 - Chateau Siaurac

Day 4:  Liborne - Chateau Siaurac - St. Emillon
For the second time on the trip I was awakened by the alarm!  This is so unusual for me, and particularly today after most of yesterday was spent relaxing on the sundeck watching the French riverside drift by.  But I had to be up early as our bus was leaving from where we were docked in Bourg for our first stop in Liborne.  When I finished getting dressed I went upstairs and looked out, only to see......literally NOTHING!  Why, because of a very dense fog!  But the moon was shining brightly on the horizon.  I went to breakfast where I met John and Kim (remember they were the couple that I sat at dinner with, after they invited me to join them and were the ones who asked that I join them on the tour today).  John immediately said to me he wanted me to meet the couple they were sitting with.  It turns out that they live in Saratoga, NY - home to Saratoga Race Track - immediate connection.  And her job is to make the floral blanket that goes on the horses that win the big races.  So we started talking and I discover that she used to live in South Florida and worked for years at Calder Race Course!  What a small world!

The plan for today - which had been switched since we were unable to sail to our original destination due to the water levels, was to go via bus from Bourg on an hour's drive to Liborne which has a medieval city center and a traditional market that has been taking place every year since 1260!  After spending about an hour here we will continue our road trip some twenty minutes up the road to a wine making property.  Here, in a Viking exclusive we were invited by the owner of Chateau Siaurac to tour their vineyards, the wine-making facility, the cellar, the chateau itself AND have a lunch prepared by the on-site chef while sampling SIX different wines they make.  AND they are rated as one of the top wine makers in the Bordeau area of France.  Late in the day we'd go to Saint Emillion, a quaint medieval town (current population of only 200) and see the historic ruins.  But before running through the descriptions of our stops and the accompanying stories I must tell you that one of the facets of today's adventure that contributed to it being one of the BEST Viking excursions I have EVER taken was our guide, Virgina.  She was a French woman, mother of two 2 1/2 year-old twins, from Bordeaux.  She had lived in Boston for some time so she spoke good English.  But her accent and less-than-100% grasp of the language made her stories very entertaining.  She was very animated and asked all the time what the word she was looking for or better yet would mis-pronounce it leading everyone to chuckle, including her.  She was one of the best guides at story-telling and taking care of the group that I've had and she made a spectacular day even more special.  So we headed out on the road - and it was chilly outside, and very foggy.  The fog with the sun glaring into the front windshield of the bus caused us to travel more slowly, but we reached Liborne about on time, only to be caught in morning "rush hour."  Hardly anything like I-95 in the morning but considering it was a two-lane street and we were on a schedule it was an issue.  So we hopped off the bus a block early and walked to the medieval gate.  Then we walked through the cobblestone streets until we reached the open market where Virginia gave us a brief tour and then we had forty minutes on our own.  One comment Virginia had made to one of our guests in response to a question was that if you see something that you want to try when on a vacation in a foreign land, you should eat it.  I took that to heart and purchased a French pastry to eat on the way back to the bus!  It was delicious.  Near the bus was a very Euro-bridge that we were told was originally built in 1820 AND the architect was the same one who designed the primary bridge in both Bordeaux and Paris!

Without question the highlight of the day were the hours we spent at Chateau Siaurac.  Pictures, and even the videos that I'll upload later just don't capture how charming and spectacular it was.  EVERYONE on the tour remarked about how sensational the day's adventure was.  And we all felt even better about our choice to pay for this optional tour when we were told that the passengers who had elected to stay on board for the "included" day's activities - to sail up the river for two hours and then have a tour of St. Emillion - were sitting on the ship which was stranded by the fog, which delayed departure until after the tide came in and then they wouldn't fit under the bridges!  So they sat onboard until after lunch then bussed to St. Emillion and back.  We first went into the vineyards to be given a basic lesson on the region and the grapes that were grown on this 100+ acres.  We were taken into the back area where we watched workers sorting the grapes and then into the areas where the wine is processed, and the cellar where it is stored in oak barrels.  Then it was into the chateau which was built in the 1800s.  Unlike most chateaus where you only get to take photographs outside we toured inside and then were hosted to a four-course lunch prepared by the chef on site while sampling six different wines.  Near the end of lunch the owner of the chateau came down and chatted with us.  I was impressed that he thanked us for traveling across the ocean to Europe in a time where many people were fearful of this and that we showed courage to continue our travels.  Pip, pip!  And how very appropriate that the decorative vase on our table was of.....a horse and jockey!  We also discovered that the chateau actually has six rooms that they run like a bed and breakfast - what a place to spend a long weekend (or more!).  I spent most of the time with John and Kim and had an excellent afternoon!

Welcome to St. Emillion

St. Emillion was nice - and the ruins were interesting, as were the stories that Virginia shared with us, but honestly we could have passed on that stop.  We returned to the ship around 6 with just enough time to change for cocktails and then dinner where I sat with "my ladies" from last evening to exchange stories about the day.  We also exchanged emails - except for Lillian and Rita who do not do technology so they gave me their home postal address and asked me to mail them the group photo we had taken :)