For wine drinkers like me, a trip to France would have been incomplete withoust visiting Bordeaux. Plus a visit to Bordeaux from Paris would mean a TGV experience, so I had booked us on 6 am train to Bordeaux which at the time of ticket booking felt a totaly acceptable time. However, on the day of the journey I refused to get up early in the morning and even told my friends that if no one else wants to go, I would rather sleep. However, I was in minority so we landed at Gare du Nord by 5:45 am.
The pastry shops had just started to open shutters and the smell of freshly baked croissants and pastries was simply too much to resist. We bought some chocolate puff pastries and boarded the train. It was a comfortable journey and we reached Bordeaux by 9 am. As we stepped out, we realized that we were too late to join any whole day wine tours and in stead bought tickets for a half day Medoc appellation tour that would start in afternoon.
We then had some lovely coffee and breakfast at a cafe near by following which we boarded a tram to the city centre. And after wandering around for some time we parked ourselves in Place des Quinconces - the largest city square in Europe. It was a warm and sunny day - ideal for indulging in some rose wine.
Sharp at 2 pm, we joined the 6 member wine tour - we were driven in a van by the guide herself. It took us about an hour to reach the vineyards - we started with Chateau Margaux and then proceeded to a smaller vineyard where we spent good part of the day understanding the wine process and ofcourse tasting some wonderful wines. We were escorted around by a stunningly beautiful young woman who was doing a wine course. I am not sure if I listened to anythng what she said - I just couldnt stop gawking at her ;)
My friends and I were all too happy to spend the rest of our afternoon with her but we had two more wine tasting halts on the agenda and then we headed back to the city centre. We grabbed a quick dinner at a restaurant opposite the station and boarded a 7 pm TGV back to Paris.
Even though we were tired (it was 11 pm by the time we reached hotel), we stopped by at a restaurant near the hotel to end the day on a sweet note aka Crème Brulee - perfect way to end a perfect day!
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