Bordeaux Cruise

Due to rescheduling by the cruise line, we first went east to Sarlat and the Lacaux caves before coming back to Bordeaux to embark. This time, there was another English-speaking couple including us, David and Diana Owen from England. They are quite the travel buffs, and he was full of movie trivia. Yikes. Ours was the first cruise of the season for the ship and crew. Showed a bit, food wasn't as good as the Rhine cruise, but it was still fun and the wines were wonderful. Here's the company description.

'History and oenology enthusiasts, embark on a cruise along the Gironde. You will discover the precious wines from along the Garonne and the Dordogne estuaries. Explore the Medoc following a trail where you will discover a diversity in architecture unique in the world, from mansions to sumptuous buildings such as the Citadelle Vauban.'

Unlike last year's Rhine cruise, the land excursions from this cruise were fine, but not spectacular. Though wine tastings in St Etienne and the Medoc (an organic family-run winery) regions were delights -- the weather was beautiful and the wines were not too tannic for me. Jan enjoyed them all. Other sites benefited from the historical tales our guide told, but much evidence was gone or was built over.