It appears that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has recently merged with AirFrance. Clue 1: Boarding our connecting flight to Bordeaux in Amsterdam, we noticed that in addition to the KLM logo, the AirFrance logo was also painted on the plane. Clue 2: Dale’s luggage didn’t show up at the airport when we landed, and though … Continue reading →

We spent Tuesday morning waiting around the house for Dale’s luggage, then gave up around 2:00 in the afternoon after having the AirFrance customer relations agent say, just before hanging up on me with this curt response to my inquiry about the status of our luggage: “KLM and AirFrance have sent your luggage out for … Continue reading →

It rained all night and this morning, but when the weather broke late this afternoon, we hopped in the car for a drive around the northern end of the peninsula before ending up back in Soulac-sur-Mer for dinner. Were we in for a treat, fresh mussels. Mmmm, mmm. We noticed that the other diners had … Continue reading →

Bordeaux wines are known around the world and when it comes to the red Bordeaux wines, the Médoc region is probably the best known of them all. The Médoc region, lying on the Left (West) Bank of the Gironde River, has historically been split into the Haut-Médoc (“Upper” or upstream) and the Bas-Médoc (“Lower” or … Continue reading →

I always thought that a “chateau” was a mansion house and that does seem to be the normal use of the word; but, it turns out that here in Bordeaux, a “châteaux” is actually a vineyard – and it may or may not have a mansion house attached to it. There are so many châteaux … Continue reading →

We decided to make Friday a beach day at nearby Le Gurp Plage, just a couple minute drive from the house in Grayan. It was a nice, warm, sunny day, reminding us how lucky we are in South Florida to have weather like this all year long. Down at the beach, we walked south, away … Continue reading →

We had two beautiful days in a row, so we decided to do another day at the beach, this time in Soulac-sur-Mer. This weekend starts the high season on the beach here, so we were expecting the beach in Soulac to be crowded. But, when we arrived in the early afternoon, there weren’t too many … Continue reading →

While staying in Grayan, one of our favorite places to visit, especially at dinner time, was Soulac-sur-Mer (where we had the mussels) about 7 miles to the north. It’s a typical, touristy beach town, but it’s just different enough to be fun to visit. First, when you first enter Sulac, next to the ferris wheel … Continue reading →

We awoke Sunday morning, ready to get to work cleaning the house before departing for Bordeaux. Rolling over in bed, I said to Dale, “I had a great idea in the middle of the night for cleaning up, a plan for the division of labor: you do the labor; I’ll do the division.” Well, it … Continue reading →

Bordeaux, our home for the rest of the month of July, is the capital of the Gironde department of the region of Aquitaine in southwestern France. The importance of Bordeaux to the French is evidenced by the fact that the national government of France has been transferred from Paris to Bordeaux every time the country … Continue reading →

The Gironde is the estuary connecting the Bay of Biscay with the Garonne and Dordogne rivers. The Gironde and the Garonne are Bordeaux’s lifeline to the Atlantic Ocean, without which the city would not have developed into the magnificent wine-exporting port it became. When the National Assembly established the modern administrative structure of the new … Continue reading →

We’ve been away from home for about 6 weeks, so it’s time for a trim and Dale got to experience the French fashion scene by getting her hair done in Bordeaux as we thought about a night out on the town. Leaving the salon, we wandered around the city center for a while, then stopped … Continue reading →

One of the blogs that I follow mentioned that the Roxy Pro 2013 Women’s World Surfing Championship was taking place in Biarritz on July 10-14. I wasn’t going to miss that! Biarritz is on the Côte Basque (the Basque Coast) in the far southwest of France, just 11 miles from the Spanish border. You might … Continue reading →

The drive into the Pyrenees was very scenic, although it didn’t seem to be getting any cooler as we made our way up into the foothills; I guess we weren’t gaining enough elevation to make a difference. We didn’t have any particular destination in mind and we even thought about crossing over into Spain, but … Continue reading →

The Chemin de Saint-Jacques, the Way of St. James, is more famously known in this part of the world as the pilgrim’s road to Santiago de Compostela. Since the 12th century A.D., catholic worshipers from throughout Europe have walked south to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (which lies at the foot of the Roncevaux mountain pass) in order to … Continue reading →

Somewhat out of character on this Friday, we had a destination in mind as we left Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port: the gorge at Kekuetta, near the tiny village of Saint-Engrâce. We needed to get some exercise and hiking is our “thing.” It was a great drive. I mean it was a really, great drive: beautiful countryside… …with wonderful … Continue reading →

Not long after getting on the trail at Les Gorges de Kakuetta, we were routed onto a boardwalk, bolted onto the cliff face (I think I read that the cliff face was sandstone, susceptible to rockfalls). This was not a new experience for us; however, unlike what we had dealt with before (the Sahklikent Gorge … Continue reading →

For lunch today, we drove out to Arcachon Bay to sample the oysters farmed there. Nico had recommended a local favorite, Chez Huguette, on the bay in Andernos les Bains. When we arrived at 11:30, the place was empty and they were just putting up the menu board. The waiter (his English was excellent; he … Continue reading →

After lunch, we drove south around Arcachon Bay toward the gigantic sand dune known as Grande Dune du Pilat. This dune is almost 350 feet high and is supposedly the tallest sand dune in Europe. Fortunately, there’s a fiberglass staircase going up a good part of the way. Like the dunes we saw in Skagen, … Continue reading →

The French National Day, “Bastille Day” to English-speakers, is celebrated on July 14th in much the same way as we celebrate our own Independence Day in the USA on July 4th – with parades and fireworks. The biggest Bastille Day celebration is in Paris (we were there as a family several years ago on Bastille … Continue reading →

We awoke early Monday in order to make the 2-hour drive to Thénac to visit Plum Village for the 9:00 a.m. Dharma talk given weekly by Vietnamese Zen-Master Thích Nhất Hạnh. Plum Village is a monastery for Buddhist monks and nuns and a practice center for lay practitioners of Mindfulness. It was founded in 1982 … Continue reading →

About 30 miles east of the city of Bergerac, high up on a limestone cliff face, is the most amazing and well-preserved medieval castle we have seen anywhere in our travels, the Château de Beynac. The castle was built in the 12th century A.D. and its chapel (that’s it to the left of the castle) … Continue reading →

When we travel abroad, I always try to learn a little of the local language. People are a lot friendlier when you at least make the effort to communicate in their native tongue. My method is to buy a phrase book and learn the essentials: hello, goodbye; please, thank you; yes, no; excuse me; one, … Continue reading →

One thing we wanted to make sure to see before leaving Bordeaux was the nearby medieval village of Saint-Émilion, located in the center of a famous wine region of the Gironde. Supposedly, the village is named after a hermit from Brittany known as Émilion – some say he was a monk – that arrived and … Continue reading →

You might recall that when we were in the Basque region of France about 10 days ago, we stayed over night in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the last stop on the Way of St. James, the pilgrimage trail, before it crosses the Pyrenees enroute to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Well, Saint-Émilion is also on the pilgrims’ trail … Continue reading →