Philpott Family Adventures, European Vacation 2023 (Part Cinq)

We leave Bordeaux early this morning, heading for the port of Cadillac (which is pronounced not like the car, but rather like cah-dee-YAHK).

Sunday, June 25th

After a quick mocha latte from the lounge, Herb and I went up to the sun deck to enjoy the cool breeze and take in the sights along the riverbanks. Bordeaux is by far the largest and busiest port we stopped at, and between that and the end of the Fete le Vin, there were plenty of beautiful boats moored and sailing along the river. Several of them were historic (actual or replicas), including a pirate ship (if I recall correctly, we were told it was from Spain) and a number of gorgeous sloops. 

We went under a very low bridge, so the deckhands lowered the canopies and the pilot house, and the captain and local pilot guided us carefully through. We were so close to the sides of the arches that there was a deckhand on each side announcing the clearance at the sides of the boat: "Two feet! One foot!"  After we passed through, the hands lowered a dinghy with a small motor and one of the hands brought the local pilot back to shore, stopping to pick up another pilot who was guiding the boat behind us as well. When he got back to the boat, the hands used the same winch system as they use for the e-bikes to lift the dinghy back on board (the hand piloting the boat had to scramble on board via a rope ladder first).

We went below for breakfast and I opted to try the pain perdue (brioche French toast), served with real maple syrup and fresh berries. Delicious! But I still did a little coast around the buffet for a few extra nibbles, like bacon and a croissant. 

After breakfast, we headed to the upper deck again. All along the river, we spotted small shacks and tall stilts with large nets suspended above them. We learned that these are fishing shacks. The fishermen lower the nets, which are weighted at the center, leave them for a while, and then raise them to claim their catch. Their two main catches are shrimp (we have had the small local shrimp, which are delicious), and also lampreys, which are a particularly nasty and nasty-looking type of eel (we have not tried lamprey, and will not, even if the opportunity arises). 

In contrast to the tiny, often run-down fishing shacks, we also begin to see some beautiful homes and estates along the river banks. 

As I mentioned previously, the word chateau literally means "castle," but is more frequently used to indicate a winery. However, sometimes a chateau really IS a castle, as in the case of Castle de Cadillac. On the way to the castle, our tour guide, Sandrine (who has a delightful accent) told us that Cadillac is a "bastide" city, or a fortified city that is centered around a castle or common area rather than a cathedral. We entered the city through a tall tower with an arched doorway in one of the still-standing walls. The archway has a portcullis on each side which could be lowered together to protect the citizens within the tower even if the city walls were breached. The cobbled streets inside lead steeply upward toward the castle itself.

Sandrine, our guide, in the print dress right of center

The castle itself is surrounded by a moat, which - contrary to common assumptions - was never filled with water, nor was it intended to be. The main courtyard is a combination of flagstones and crushed white stone. The exterior is not especially impressive or decorated, but the interior rooms were spectacular. 

The rooms were furnished with historical furniture, tapestries, painted portraits, table settings, crystal, and serving pieces. Instead of roping off the chairs, as is common in American museums, a large sprig of a prickly (but pretty) plant like teasel or thistle was laid on each seat to discourage sitting. Decor details included elaborately carved marble fireplaces and painted ceilings. Herb pointed out that most of the women in the portraits were...not very attractive. Years of inbreeding had not done most of these people any genetic favors. They did all have absolutely fabulous hair (and/or wigs), however. 

For many years, the castle was used as a women's prison and psychiatric hospital from 1818-1952, as evidenced by this corridor of cells. The castle was heated in the winter only by a single large fireplace located in the infirmary. 

We broke off from the tour to wander the town a bit, exiting through another arched tower with a lovely gilded clock at the top. 

Since it was getting near lunchtime and we were a bit peckish, we couldn't help but take advantage of a baguette vending machine we stumbled across. The directions were in French, so we had a bit of a false start, but eventually Herb figured it out and DONK! Beautiful fresh baguette! We brought it back to the ship and enjoyed it with a glass of white wine - no butter necessary. There was a pizza vending machine next to the baguette machine, but it was out of order. We asked Ivan, the housekeeping manager, if he had ever tried vending machine pizza. He chuckled and admitted he had: "It was okay, but it wasn't worth 17 Euros." The soup du jour was potato leek and was perfect for sopping up with the baguette. I also enjoyed several small bites of caviar with creme fraiche on a cracker. 

After lunch, we wandered down the river to a small bridge to get a better view of our double-docked boat. We shared the dock with this boat, the S.S. Bon Voyage of the Uniworld cruise line, on a regular basis as we leap-frogged from port to port. We also encountered the Viking Forseti and the Ama Dolce regularly.  

After our walk and a pre-dinner nap, we enjoyed another wonderful dinner. Tonight's menu included mushroom, ham, and cheese crepes (I like sweet crepes, but I love savory crepes), turkey roulade, and a light raspberry mousse, paired with a luscious red wine bearing the familiar Rothschild name. 

Tonight's entertainment was a fun local country/pop duo, guitarists and singers Audrey and Julien, who played both familiar pop and traditional French songs, ending with a lovely rendition of La Via en Rose. But to really finish off the evening right, after they finished packing up their equipment, they joined us on the dance floor and showed off some fantastic swing dance moves! A thoroughly fun way to end a thoroughly fun day. 

Tomorrow we head for Sauterne and learn about Bordeaux's sweet white wines. Bon soir!