We could not have wished for a better location than Ludon Madoc in Helene and Henris' beautiful home. It is at the back door of hundreds of Chateaus' ...
Read More...- Fabulous exchange in Wine Growing Heaven.
We could not have wished for a better location than Ludon Madoc in Helene and Henris' beautiful home. It is at the back door of hundreds of Chateaus' and the start of The Wine Route and 20 mins from Beautiful Bordeaux. We spent 10 wonderful day exploring . Helene and Henri had a huge amount of information available to help us plan our daily trips. Everything we needed was waiting for us on arrival to a enjoy a tasty meal and some lovely local wine to was it all down. Here the highlights of our exchange. A mini train tour of Bordeaux city centre taking in the famous historical buildings, churches and city gates with stories going back 1000 years. A shopping expedition in Rue Saint Catherine, a few strolls along the harbour front to sample some of the many fine restaurants. A walk across the famous Jacques Chaban -Delmas vertical lift bridge to the Old Bordeaux. Just before it lifted to allow the ATRANIA Cruise ship in to the inner harbour. The following day it lifted again to allow the Ariane Rocket Transport ship Canopee to sail out with parts of the rocket that were manufactured throughout Europe and shipped to French Guiana for assembly. It is the 1st cargo ship to be partly powered by 4 Ocenwing Sails that help to reduce it carbon footprint. It was a sight to behold. Bordeaux is a haven for food lovers and its restaurants cater for every palate. We visited the Cite Du Vin Museum that tells the story of the vine since the beginning of time with the very latest technology. It was truly wonderful presentation in the very newly constructed futuristic 7 story building giving a panoramic view of Bordeaux. The wine tasting there was a special event. We also booked a wine tasting river cruise and it was also a memorable event. One of our best meals was at The Grand Cafe in centre of Bordeaux on the night that Ireland Played in the World Cup against Scotland while we enjoy dinner, Ireland won the match. Brilliant atmosphere. We travelled the Ludon - Madoc Wine Trail and saw dozens of beautiful Chateaus' and witnessed the vine harvest in full swing in the vineyards. It was poetry in motion watching the workers harvesting the crop. We did a trip to the Archachon Basin, had a beautiful lunch in Ares on the beach and then travelled on to charming town of Archacon where we had a delicious dinner. A very special place. We sent 2 days in beautiful La Rochelle and sampled the food in the many fine harbour front restaurants. La Rochelle holds a special place in our hearts as its rugby team coach is Superstar Ronan O Gara from Cork our local city here in Ireland. On our return we visited Chatelaillion Plage and had lunch on the beach. It is one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever visited. Helene and Henris' house was a joy to stay in everything was spotlessly clean as was in our home when we returned. The people in all of the places we visited were most friendly and courteous and the food was wonderful. It was a memorable experience and a huge thanks to Helene and Henri for exchanging with us. A fabulous location to exchange. Best wishes from Kinsale. Denis Joan & Chris
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