Bored - deaux, I mean Bordeaux

the only photo we took in Bordeaux
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If you are looking for a unique wine tasting experience, say, maybe a bed and breakfast tucked cozily somewhere in the middle of vineyards, head to Napa or Sonoma Valley in California, or the Barossa Valley in Australia.  Bordeaux just doesn't offer anything like we have experienced elsewhere while traveling abroad.  The lack of quaint lodging forced us into an over-priced hotel in what travel book writer and travel TV show host Rick Steves refers to as a "Boring" Bordeaux.  What can I say, the man is a genius.  Wanting to leave the city to sample some of France's finest, we booked the only tour that we could find, and headed to the meeting point the next afternoon.

The tour was everything you would expect with a 65 person wine tasting tour.  It was overcrowded, provided a cookie-cutter style experience, and like so many French wines that I have tasted, it was overpriced and did not deliver.  The bus driver became lost on several instances and our guide talked in two different languages; French, and English that sounded a lot like French.  During one of our two tastings, the French guide was asked what kind of barrels were used to age the wine.  "French Oak, the very best."  The wine ended up being lousy, and had the bouquet to that of water.  The French still feel their wines are the very best, and are not afraid to tell likewise.  It reminded me of General Motor executives in the 80's and 90's acting like the Japanese cars had not yet hit the market.  I wish the French wine makers good luck with this business approach.  And I'll be blunt here...with wines that often fall below the level of mediocrity, accompanied with a US dollar that seems to hit a new record-low every day, French wines are about the worst values on the market.  And if traveling to Europe, avoid this region like the bubonic plague, and tack the extra days on to Paris, Madrid, or Barcelona.

tack the extra days on to Paris

Now, and to switch gears, here's something the French do very well.  Make high-speed trains.  I still can't get over how fast these things are and think how terrible a derailment is going to leave my body in complete disfigurement.  When the engineer pours the power on, it's absolutely fascinating.  Several times while riding their high-speed TGV, I felt the cabin shutter as we approached the sound barrier, only to realize seconds later, that it was just another passing train.  I'm excited, for tomorrow I get to ride this train again, and I'm sure it will not disappoint like their overpriced wines.

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