Wobbling my way through the heart of wine country
WE WERE given an unnerving but crucial road-safety tip from our guide, Paolo, as we set off on our ‘Tour de Pauillac’, the gateway to the Medoc and home to some of France’s most prestigious chateaux.
‘Remember, to a Frenchman, a red traffic light is just a suggestion…’
However, although I hadn’t been on two wheels for a while, cycling is like – well, riding a bike – and I reckoned that with helmet in place and only country lanes crossing flat, verdant vineyards to contend with, as long as I kept to the ‘wrong’ side of the road, I couldn’t go astray.
I was a little wobbly to begin with, but soon got in my stride and enjoyed the fresh air on our two-wheeled tour that was part of our Titan/Uniworld river cruise to Bordeaux.
The tour was a welcome way to burn off some of the calories I had enjoyed in the gourmet restaurant on board Uniworld’s River Royale.
As we continued our cruise along the Garonne, the Dordogne and the Gironde, there were many other highlights that gave us a taste of the ‘douceur de vivre’, or ‘sweet life’, that this region is famous for.
On board, we were treated to excellent cuisine and sampled Bordeaux vintages in the newly refurbished wine-tasting room and we lapped up scenery from the sun deck or relaxed in our decadently designed river-view staterooms.
On shore, I loved the scenic drive along limestone cliffs from Blaye Citadel following the Route de la Corniche Fleurie past 19th Century captains’ houses with their old fishing huts to Lansac Windmill.
One sunny day, we nosed around Bergerac. It’s famous for 17th Century dramatist Cyrano de Bergerac and his big conk.
Our guide was adamant that replica hooters are stocked at the tourist board office to replace those that are hacked off the statues of him and taken by tourists as souvenirs! In the Unesco World Heritage town of Saint-Emilion we visited an intriguing monolithic church hidden under the cobbled streets. This was followed by yet more wine-tasting and an open-topped bus tour round Bordeaux that evening.
In this prize wine-growing region, I learned that a bottle of Petrus can carry a four-figure price tag – as much as (if not more than) our weeklong cruise. It may be described as the most heavenly moment on the lips (at that price, I’ve yet to find out), but as much as I love wine, I know what I think is better value.
Titan in partnership with Uniworld (titantravel.co.uk, 0800 988 5867) offers an eight-day Bordeaux Vineyards And Chateaux cruise from March to November 2015 from £1,799pp, including return flights, full-board on River Royale, transfers, excursions, unlimited complimentary drinks, gratuities and Titan’s VIP Home Departure Service.