Monday Oct 10 Bordeaux-- last day

Our wake up call came before any of us planned --- a fire alarm went off just after 5 am. Fortunately it was a false alarm, but we all ended up in the lobby in pj's ( tho I threw on jeans!). While we needed to be ready at 8 to leave today, we would have preferred a bit more bed time.

Today we took a coach to St Emilon-- a charming village started by monks. At every corner the view down winding ancient streets was straight out of the movies.  We had a private visit to several monuments: an hermitage where St Emilion lived and counseled followers, and the largest underground church. If you picture a huge quarry completely underground, the developers of it (between 9th- 11th century) carved out a church--- with stone altars and religious painted walls.  We've never seen anything like it!

Next we visited a winery -- Chateau Laniotte. The owner-- a very entertaining man, showed a simple, interesting and informative film showing the vineyard's life cycle over a year.  It was the best explanation I've ever seen about winemaking.
I got some excellent pix today.

We had a nice lunch in town & I sat next to our guide, Sandrine, and got to know her a bit. She's been doing these tours for 15 years--- very seasoned.  😊

So today's our final day in Bordeaux. We're all excited to move on to the prehistoric caves ( grottes) next.

Jane