The River Cruise is Ending - Part 2

Tuesday, July 18

The ship overnighted in Libourne.  This morning Linda and I went in opposite directions.  Linda took an excursion to the Libourne Bastide and market.  A Bastide dates back to Medieval times and is basically a fortified city with a central square and roads radiating from it.  Linda enjoyed her market visit and even brought me treats from it.

Julia, our wonderful guide for the week

I took an excursion that took us to Chateau Boutinet for a hike, tapas and wine tasting.  The owner of the chateau took us for a walk around their vineyards and the forest that adjoins their estate.

We then had our tasting sitting out under a big oak tree. What a setting!

We sampled 3 of their wines, the best of which was a Clairet.  It is between Rose and a red and it was delicious and refreshing.  I had resisted buying any wine on this trip but I had to buy a bottle of the Clairet to enjoy on the ship.

In the afternoon, we took an excursion to Chateau de Mantaigne, a 19th century castle with a 14th century tower.  The famous occupant was the philosopher Michel de Montaigne.  Okay, I’d never heard of him either.  The tour of the tower and castle was interesting and, guess what?  After the tour, there was a tasting of the wines that they produced there.  Sadly, they were not very good.

This evening we had one of the highlights of these wine cruises.  Eric and Sam work with the chef to present a wine paired dinner using their Arizona wines.  It is always a treat.

Wednesday, July 19

Today we were back in Bordeaux for our last full day on the ship.  The day started with a morning run along the Garonne and over on of the bridges.  It was only my second run on this trip.  After breakfast we were taken for a bus and walking tour of Bordeaux.

The tour ended at La Cite du Vin wine museum.  This is a fairly new museum which is very interactive and covers everything about wine.  We spent about 2 hours on the exhibits.  After that we went up to the 8th floor for a panoramic view and a tasting that is included in the admission.  What fun.

Later in the day Linda and I went for a long walk through Bordeaux.  We walked the entire length of the pedestrian shopping street and then back to the ship through town and along the river.  We must have walked for 5 miles.

This evening after dinner, the captain took us for an evening cruise on the Garonne to see Bordeaux lit up at night.  It was a great way to end the cruise.