January 2019 - Bordeaux

Paulie and Stephen hadn't been to Bordeaux since 2015 so when Yolande suggested a visit there the month before, they were delighted. It's a great city. Yolande's brother Michel offered his house whilst he and his wife stayed in Paris (where they work during the week). It made for a great base.

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1 Jan 11- A tram into the city from what is now a suburb Pessac (but also a wine Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée), and Paulie bumps into a fellow angel.	2 Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux	3 A walk along the river bank	4 To close where we once stayed with Nick Traynor and Sonia.
5 Lunch on a park bench has a lovely view	6 Stephen's iPhone battery has needed replacement for months. So an AppleStore appointment after the phone SIM is swapped with Paulie's	7 .	8 Instead of waiting even longer for the phone, the guys make a cafe pit shop
9 And it's back to home base at Pessac	10 Yolande's brother Michel and wife Elisabeth normally come home from their working week in Paris, but not this weekend	11 The next morning it's off to visit a few Bordeaux wine regions. First stop is Château de La Rivière in the Fronsac Appellation.	12 ooops. Open in an hour, so off to a quick lunch
13 and back again	14 Time for a tour	15 .	16 .
17 .	18 During the war, they told the Germans that this was the entry to the family crypt	19 .	20 It was actually the entry to the wine caves. Wine and members of the French resistence matured there.
21 They left their marks	22 Turns out there are 20km of tunnels	23 and plenty of wine	24 .
25 A few different tasting areas	26 .	27 .	28 Up and out
29 and across to a tasting	30 Then another great growing area and town. St Emillion	31 The cloisters of Collégiale Saint-Émilion	32 .
33 And inside	34 Looking down at the village	35 .	36
37 .	38 La Maison de la Cadene	39 .	40 The vines happily grow within medieval ruins
41 Château Angelus	42 .	43 Back in Pessac vineyards are now surrounded by mostly modern homes	44 Yet the grandeur of a chateau here or there domniates the scenery
45 A short walk from Michel and Elisabeth's is Château Pape Clément	46 This way	47 .	48 .
49 New homes includes those for insects	50 The boutique	51 The trip winds up with a visit to Nick and Sonia's in Villenave-D'ornon	52 To meet (and try and beat) young Anna.