Michaela came with Marcelle to discuss looking after the house
Merlin, pissed off because we’re going away
20h30, Saturday 9th June, waiting for 
our plane to France
with a very boring supper at Cape Town Airport
a 3½ hour wait at Schipol before our flight to Bordeaux
Bordeaux airport
where we hired a little Renault Clio
The farm near Carlipa
where the gite we hired was in a corner of an old barn - £245 for the week
Breakfast al fresco
A visit to the market at Castelnaudary
A very good lunch, cost about R500
The Canal du Midi at Castelnaudary
Carlipa
Wood Nymph
The river at Carcassonne
Carcassonne – the old Citadel above the town
We looked at restaurants but baulked at the prices
Leclerc Hypermarket – the best value lunch in town
John's choice with chocolate mousse
Lynne's apple pie the better alternative
but both good and excellent value
Back up to Carcassonne and the old Citadel above the town
Our hosts, who were English expats
French road signage – obtuse at best
The market at Bram
Fresh!
The Canal du Midi at Bram
Fanjeaux
Narbonne
Narbonne, just so we could say we'd been from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean
Waiting for lunch at a Relais near Narbonne
which didn’t excite us when it arrived!
Supper was better
We took a country road
and found a gem - Chateau Prière de Bubas
We knocked on the door
We enjoyed the tasting and bought a few bottles
Several years later they were excellent with Cassoulet
Corbières & Minervois tasting centre
An English barbecue with our English hosts before leaving
The young salesman
locals turned up with large containers to fill, but the wine was not very good
Our gîte at Pessac sur Dordogne
Mexican sail training ship in Bordeaux harbour
Festival time in Bordeaux
Dane Raath shared our accommodation,
later joined by Johannesburg restaurateur Rainhold Petersen
A dramatic sunset
followed by a spectacular thunderstorm
Vinexpo – the main hall is 1.5 Km long
Well-named wine
and a Merlin look-alike on a label
Waterproof
Rainhold Petersen with Lynne’s R185 chicken
The Media Centre – a godsend
Chilean wines
Waste not, want not...
and finally…
a marathon tasting of wines from Alsace
and a last supper with Dane at Pessac
The Dordogne at Pessac
St Julien
Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
La Tour
and a drive through the Médoc
The Gironde at Pauillac
An excellent lunch at Renaissance Restaurant, St Laurent in the Médoc
St Emilion
3am departure to Bordeaux airport
Schipol
Cape Town airport, 9.30pm, David Bailey brought the Sharan to fetch us home
© John Duncan Ford
