After a lovely few days in San Sebastian, we took the train north to Bordeaux where we spent two days. On our first day, eager to start drinking some French wine, we joined a winery tour. We travelled to the region of Medoc, where we visited two different chateaus. The first was called Chateau Cap Leon Veyrin. This chateau, like most in the region, was a family run operation. One of the owners explained to us the harvesting process (which will happen about 3 weeks from now), and then showed us the different stages that the grapes go through until they are finally turned into delicious bottles of wine! This chateau also did all of the bottling themselves (350,000 bottles per year). At the end of the tour, we got to sample a couple of their wines, which were blends of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The other Chateau we visit was called Chateaux Kirwan, which was located in the Margaux area and had a beautiful main chateaux and well kept gardens surrounding it. On this tour, we also got to view some of the extensive grounds on which the vines grow. Overall, this tour of the French wine country was beautiful as we also got to see many well preserved and maintained chateaus and vineyards.
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| aging for one year in oak barrels |
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| about to taste some wine!! |
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| another beautiful chateau |
On the second day, we did a walking tour in the morning which provided us with some history of Bordeaux. The tour also introduced us to some beautiful sites that we went back to later on. After, we went and visited the Opera house. We were able to tour the building, which provided information about the history of the landmark building as well as insight into costume and stage design. We also went to the wine museum which was very informative and also involved many samples of wine. We finished the day with a bit of shopping (of course), and a lovely dinner in Parliament square.
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| the main square of Bordeaux |
The next morning, we woke up VERY early to catch a train to Paris. Despite a lengthy 600 km trip, the train ride only took about 3.5 hours. After luckily being able to check into our hotel early, we ventured out into the streets of Paris. We went to Angelina's cafe on the Rue de Rivoli and had some extremely decadent hot chocolate, and a lovely Parisian lunch. After, we headed across to the Musee D'Orsay, which showcases countless famous impressionist works by Degas, Monet, Van Gogh and many, many more. In the evening, we went to what we were told was a "jazz bar". However, it ended up being more of a cross between a swing and cabaret show with a 15 person band accompanied by several singers and exotic dancers. It was a very entertaining show and evening to say the least.
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| heavenly hot chocolate at Angelina's |
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| the inside of the D'Orsay |
On our last day in Paris (and in Europe!!!), we visited the Notre Dame cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe, walked along the Champs Elysees, and went to the Louvre (which happened to be free that day!).
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| Arc de Triomphe |
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| about to head into the Louvre |
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| midnight in Paris!! |
We both agree that Paris has been a perfect city to end our travels. While we are both excited to finally head back to Vancouver and be reunited with our family and friends, we are also a bit sad to leave Europe. We have both had an amazing summer in Denmark and everywhere else we have travelled. We feel so lucky to have had this opportunity to travel together for the last 3 months and will have life long memories from the experience. A special thank-you to our readers (if we still have any...) for following along our adventures online! Also, we could not have embarked on the trip of a lifetime without the assistance of our financial sponsors... our families! Thank-you, Thank-you, THANK-YOU! We are hopeful that we will return to Europe in the future (hopefully sooner rather than later). Until then...
Wish you were here,
Rose and Sydney
