Entries about lights

Getting to Bordeaux could have been a real issue, two different train companies, walking to find the stations and still having to buy tickets. Luckily it wasn’t the case and the train change over went smoothly and without a hitch.

Bordeaux was our final stop of our European Extravaganza! It was yet another amazing location…. freezing but beautiful. We were in the centre of town staying with another AirBnB host in his apartment. The old town area was gorgeous. The streets were full of beautiful buildings with numerous churches everywhere. The place was chaotic! We then realised why…it is nearly two weeks til Christmas so people were in Christmas shopping mode. Eek!

We explored the beautiful Christmas market and the lights on the surrounding streets. The market was gorgeous and smelt of sugar and spices. The lights and the stalls were amazing to walk through on a crisp winters night. It was just as I pictured a European Christmas market to be.

We started the next morning visiting the local food market to look at all of the amazing local produce. Sadly the mirror water fountain wasn’t on so there was no magical reflection for us to enjoy while we were there...I was wondering if it was due to the temperature and that it may freeze.

We ended up spending the afternoon on a wine tour with a fellow kiwi, Tim. It was great day exploring beautiful vineyards and seeing St Emillion. The place was gorgeous. It too had Christmas markets on (they were everywhere). We stopped at two vineyards..both very different from one another. The first was family run but used machines to pick the grapes. The wine in the St Emillion region seems to be mainly a blended version with different types of red grapes.

The next was in a chateau where the treaty for the 100 year war was signed. It had a stunning view. Here they have a higher rating and still hand pick the grapes to ensure premium quality in there wines. Tim really knew his stuff so it was great to learn so much.
We finished the evening with crepes... Probably our favourite French food :D.

We flew out for London the next morning. Sad to leave Bordeaux, the vines and of course the world famous wine. But more importantly sad to be leaving constant exploring and learning that comes with travel and Europe. It was onto another phase of our trip...a step back into the real world again in the UK on our work visas. I'd say that we will do a bit more exploring before we settle down. Will keep you posted