{"id":48,"date":"2013-06-24T19:24:36","date_gmt":"2013-06-25T02:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/?p=48"},"modified":"2013-07-31T10:09:21","modified_gmt":"2013-07-31T17:09:21","slug":"day-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/day-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 7"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bourg – Pauillac – Bordeaux<\/strong><\/p>\n

7:30 am\u00a0<\/strong>visit another island today – Ile de Margaux
\n<\/a><\/strong>The buffet choices change each day and there is always a surprise. Of\u00a0course some things never change \u2013 great specialty coffee, good breads and\u00a0cheeses, yogurt and fruit \u2013 always there.\u00a0How is\u00a0it that we are always so ravenous every morning?<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve start to cruise toward Ile de Margaux to visit the vineyard\u00a0and taste the wines of the Domaine de Margaux.\u00a0Margaux island,\u00a0part of an\u00a0archipelago Gironde – 8 islands located in the heart of the\u00a0estuary –\u00a0\u00a0with an area of 25 hectares, is\u00a0one of the smaller islands.\u00a0All the islands were formed from the\u00a0accumulation of\u00a0alluvial\u00a0fluvial and marine sands.<\/p>\n

\"BourgPauillacBordeaux2\"\u00a0 38 miles\/64 km<\/p>\n

10 am<\/strong>\u00a0on Ile de Margaux<\/strong>\u00a0island
\n<\/a><\/strong>Exiting onto a pontoon dock, we follow a wooden walkway leading to the higher elevation where a\u00a0pale yellow stone and red brick\u00a0building dominates among 14 hectares of vines. Lionel de Mecquenem and his dogs\u00a0are waiting. He\u2019s been vineyard\u00a0manager for 27 years and can not imagine\u00a0living anywhere else. The top of the earthen dam surrounding the island is a\u00a0walking path planted with over\u00a0300 fruit trees. It\u2019s about a mile to circle\u00a0around. The 5 grape varieties of the Medoc (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon,\u00a0Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet\u00a0Franc) are grown and do very well in the\u00a0island\u2019s micro-climate. A tasting room is under construction, obvious when we\u00a0pass into the aging cellar through\u00a0a partially framed doorway. The oldest\u00a0winemaking techniques are used here –\u00a0\u00a0concrete vats are still in use. No fertilizers or pesticides are used on\u00a0the\u00a0vines \u2013 all natural. During our vertical tasting we walk through the cellar\u00a0to check out the wine library and its bottles dated in the \u201870\u2019s. Our congenial\u00a0host loves what he does. With his wife they\u2019ve raised three children\u00a0on the island and William, the oldest son, was the young man we met\u00a0yesterday\u00a0at Patiras. Locally it is said that the Gironde runs in their blood. We return\u00a0to the barge with a dozen bottles of Domaine de Margaux wine.<\/p>\n

11:30 am<\/strong>\u00a0navigate and cruise to Pauilliac\/Lamarque\u00a0go<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>
\nWe lunch while the barge cruises on.<\/p>\n

12:30 pm<\/strong>\u00a0lunch\u00a0Mirabelle<\/strong>\u00a0dining room
\nMenu
\ncrab souffl\u00e9
\nlamb filet rosemary and\u00a0garlic confit forest trim
\npear tartlets
\nwines: \u2022\u00a0Bordeaux Blanc – Ch\u00e2teau\u00a0Marac ‘Classique” \u2022\u00a0Margaux –\u00a0Biason d’Issan<\/p>\n

2 pm<\/strong>\u00a0visit Chateaux Prieure-Lichine and tour\u00a0Medoc\u00a0vineyards\u00a0go<\/a><\/strong>
\nOur big bus\u00a0expertly navigates the narrow, 2-lane country roads. The views \u2013 a rather flat\u00a0terrain, great for the bicyclists we\u00a0occasionally pass, vineyards, pastures,\u00a0small villages with garden plots. Our destination, Chateau Peieur-Lichine, sits\u00a0behind a very\u00a0contemporarily styled tasting room\/gift shop. Inside the tasting\u00a0room a white wine, Le Blanc du Chateau Prieur-Lichine, is offered\u00a0first. We\u00a0eventually taste our way through 5\u00a0beautiful vintages before heading off to see\u00a0Alexis Lichine\u2019s 19th\u00a0century chateau.\u00a0\u00a0It\u00a0replaced a ruined 15th\u00a0century Benedictine\u00a0Priory where grapes were grown for the altar along side vegetables. Lichine was\u00a0famous\u00a0for his promotion of varietal labeling of wine, books and lectures. His\u00a0Wines of France<\/em>,\u00a0(1951),\u00a0Guide to Wines and\u00a0Vineyards of\u00a0France<\/em>\u00a0and an\u00a0Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits<\/em>\u00a0(1967)\u00a0introduced Americans to wine. Some called him the \u201cPope of Wine\u201d.<\/p>\n

The rural\u00a0charm here is enhanced by many flowers, manicured lawns, a circular driveway, a\u00a0swimming pool, an old well, and a\u00a0collection of decorative iron vat doors\u00a0dating back to the 1700\u2019s mounted on a exterior showcase wall. Very impressive!\u00a0A visit to the\u00a0aging rooms and wine library is no less so.<\/p>\n

Touring\u00a0Medoc vineyards brings to life every French ch\u00e2teaux photograph\u00a0you\u2019ve ever seen. We pass by Lafite, Mouton-Rothschild,\u00a0Pontet-Canet, Latour\u00a0and so many others. In reality they are grander than their images. Although we\u00a0don\u2019t understand the culture in\u00a0which such extravagance existed, seeing these\u00a0buildings either close-up or at a distance fills us with admiration for their\u00a0beauty and\u00a0the settings. We make an unscheduled stop at Madmoiselle de Margaux\u00a0to taste the\u00a0Sarments du Medoc\u00a0and\u00a0their other chocolate\u00a0goodies. In the small well-designed showroom\u00a0\u00a0a chatty young woman in an orchestrated\u00a0presentation shows us the line and has us\u00a0taste every product. Such torture!\u00a0The chocolate factory, behind the showroom, large and seriously industrial\u00a0looking, is closed to the\u00a0public. Time to go, chocolate in hand. Who could\u00a0resist? Not us.<\/p>\n

6 pm<\/strong>\u00a0navigate and cruise\u00a0Pauiliac to Bordeaux
\nSettled back home on the barge, we all relax over snacks and aperitifs of various sorts. On to the big time \u2013 Bordeaux \u2013 to overnight before seeing the city tomorrow. We come into the river at days end and the city lights have not come on yet. City so lovely from the water. Buildings lining the waterfront seem so close. Other vessels pass by. Ahead is the new bridge – bright white in this light. Everyone out on deck taking it all in. Glorious.<\/p>\n

7:30 pm<\/strong>\u00a0dinner\u00a0Mirabelle<\/strong>\u00a0dining room
\nMenu
\nfoie gras and fig sauce
\nsmall stuffed vegetables
\ncheeses: Valancay, Petit Livarot
\nstrawberry cakes
\nwines:\u00a0\u2022 Cotes de Gascogne – Domaine Guillerman ‘Columbar Uni Blanc’ \u2022 Lalande de Pomerol –\u00a0Clos L’Hermitage \u2022 Champagne<\/p>\n

evening<\/strong>\u00a0anchored\u00a0Bordeaux<\/strong><\/strong>
\nThe festive dinner, with celebrations of a birthday and an anniversary, is very festive. The evening is clear and warm. Bordeaux waterfront now fully lighted up \u2013 all the important historical buildings, the bridges, promenade, the fountains – all aglow. All across the water lights reflect on the quiet river. How really Fab!\u00a0Glorious redux.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Bourg – Pauillac – Bordeaux 7:30 am\u00a0visit another island today – Ile de Margaux The buffet choices change each day and there is always a surprise. Of\u00a0course some things never change \u2013 great specialty coffee, good breads and\u00a0cheeses, yogurt and fruit \u2013 always there.\u00a0How is\u00a0it that we are always so ravenous every morning? We\u2019ve start […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}