We gathered everything necessary for a delicious French picnic, including the regional cheeses (and gelatin ham?!). The locals were friendly and intrigued by our background in "biologie..." Our backpacks sagging under the weight of carbs and dairy, we explored the town for a while.
Finally, we made it to a bike rental shop and distributed our picnic weight evenly. Clear the roads, because off we went! Winding through the streets, we made it to a stone gateway off a quieter dirt and gravel road that opened onto the most gorgeous scenery: rolling hills covered in deep green vines sprouting young grapes sprawled over the landscape. They were dotted with small stone storage houses and farms or the occasional stone cross or road marker.
Not a cloud in the sky, we followed a long trail around the plots and passed three tiny villages that sprang up along the way. Our stomachs growling, we stopped at a winery to munch on our loot. Got to see underground wine caves from the 14th and 15th centuries! Lunch was accompanied by a tasting of three white wines, two reds, and one sparkling white. Don't know how much information we got out of the sampling, as we had to depend on my little French knowledge to translate for the connoisseur.
We followed the trails back around the fortified town and returned the velos (bikes). Was an absolutely lovely day and I will definitely be returning to the area!
Sunday we went to our market back home in Paris to pick up supplies for another picnic...in the gardens of the Versailles Palace! What an idyllic French setting! We laid blankets by a large pond with floating white swans and ate fresh fruit and home-made tarts. Took a stroll around the water and got some sun. Felt like Marie Antoinette should have been walking by at any moment...
Only two weeks left in this awesome place. Stayed tuned for another update on the trip I am taking for my last full weekend here!
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