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Bordeaux – Libourne – barge
8 am buffet breakfast Hotel de Normandie dining room
During our full but brief breakfast we decide to visit the Sunday market Marché des Chartrons.
17 miles/28 km
9 am – 12:30 pm visit and tour Bordeaux waterfront
We tram to Chartrons market to save time and fit in as much as possible on our final day. The market is a 15 minute walk or 3 stops on the tram.
The waterfront promenade transforms into a bustling market with two rows of white pop up canopies shading displays. Local families shop for their weekly produce, fish, meat, cheese and bread. It’s a visual feast with distractions at every turn. Fish and seafood so fresh the scent of salt water permeates the air. Mongers hawk their products and chat with folks as they shuck, slice, package the goods. Beautiful, fresh, colorful and perfectly ripe produce – berries, artichokes, tomatoes, lettuces, garlic, white asparagus, baby squash – all look so immediately edible. Pork stands offer fresh, smoked, or product made into sausage. Beef is carefully trimmed and weighed – there are cuts we do not recognize. Other artfully displayed choices – rabbit, duck, pigeon, and chicken inspire recipe ideas.
Prepared ready-to-serve foods waft their wonderful scents into the air. Roasted chicken, fresh oysters, five types of paella, even pizza right from an oven hauled in on a truck. There’s fresh squeezed orange juice and wine by the glass. Dress here is unique, always chic and appropriate to the person. Every look is acceptable. Vendors smile and joke, give advice and discuss recipes – obviously enjoying what they do. Traditional handcrafted items such as soaps, tisane, hand-knit sweaters, and goofy hats add to the fun.
Around noon the sky and day begin to change. Previously sunny, calm and clear – now dark clouds sweep in on the winds. A light shower starts and gradually turns into real rain and we make a b-line to the Contemporary Art Museum just a few streets from the Market. The museum is between shows so not much to see beyond the very interesting building and elaborate preparations for the next event.
Return back to the town center by tram and stop at le Bar à Vin et l’Ecole du Vin to sample a glass of Cremant de Bordeaux – sparkling wine reminiscent of Champagne, served chilled with light hors d’oeuvres. Lunch is a picnic in our hotel room at our “mini café table” – fruit, good cheese, canned canard rillettes, French bread and Merlot – very nice.
3 pm driven to Mirabelle Barge in Libourne
Bags packed we check out, sit in the hotel lobby to wait for our Barge Cruise pick-up. Another couple waiting in the lobby is also on our Cruise. They are from South Africa and widely travelled. The efficient van driver arrives, stows luggage, seats us and we are off to Libourne to meet the Barge and the rest of our travelling group. For about 40 minutes we head east winding through wine country and small villages, enjoy chatting with our new friends. The rain continues lightly but skies are threatening as we arrive at the Mirabelle dock. Our crew is waiting there – Captain, cook, two hosts, and our guide welcome us.
4 pm welcome aboard reception
We meet 8 more fellow travelers (from Montana, USA) and celebrate the start of our voyage with a toast of Cremant de Bordeaux Rose (sparkling) and French cheeses before heading off to our cabins to unpack, rest and dress for dinner.
7:30 pm dinner Mirabelle dining room Menu:
duck leg confit, onion jam and Sarladaise potatoes
cheeses: Comté, Camembert
custard with caramel
wines: • Fronsac – Château Campus • Saint-Emilion Grand Cru – Epigone Château Vieux Verdot
Our welcome aboard dinner, paired with excellent local wines, is only the first of what will be a dozen beautiful food events on this cruise.
Photos
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