Day 1 – Friday (03/07/2014)

We left from Sarlat-la-Canéda towards Saint-Emilion, and the journey that was supposed to last 2 hours, lasted 5 hours, because we decided to stop at Beynac and Cazenac and in the famous Marqueyssac Gardens on the way.

When we arrived in the famous region of Bordeaux, we were shocked by the number of wineries on the road… there was one after the other, on both sides of the road. Just to give you an idea, Saint-Emilion has around 2,700 people and there are 900 wine producers. That’s 1 for every 3 residents, folks! 🙂

We arrived in the city around 8pm and decided to go straight to our Bed & Breakfast, the La Gomerie Hotel Rooms (now I know that Hotel rooms and Bed and Breakfast in French), It is located about 5 minutes from the city center, in an area with several wineries. This place is lovely inside and out, but we didn't like the owner, who lives with her husband and daughter in the same house, in a separate part from the guests. I don't know if it's her usual way or if she was having a bad day (or was pissed off because we arrived late), but we definitely didn't feel welcome. Other than that, the place is great, with great value for money, but it should be visited outside of the summer, as there is no air conditioning in the rooms.

We went out for dinner in the city center at a restaurant recommended by my mother-in-law, The Reverse of Decor, and because of the heat, we sat outside at the back of the restaurant. The food was really good, but I found it a pain to have to keep swatting away the flies the whole time. It must be much nicer to eat there at lunchtime or at a cooler time of year.

We took the opportunity to stroll around the city while the sun was still out at 10pm and found everything beautiful, with a wonderful energy. The city was empty, the countless wine shops were closed (I lost count), but we managed to find one that was open and taste several wines from the region, until we bought our favorite. We continued strolling around the city at a leisurely pace and even caught a beautiful sunset to end the day on a high note.

Day 2 – Saturday (04/07/2014)

We had a good breakfast in front of our guesthouse, overlooking the neighboring winery.

We did checkout and we drove to the city center, where we parked (4 euros) to walk around (please wear comfortable shoes without heels!). With the map we got from the tourist center, we passed by the main tourist attractions, walking through streets full of houses made of limestone, typical of the city and responsible for the excellent quality of the soil for wines. We went into some cellars that are on the rocks and we loved feeling the cold of 13º for a few minutes. The heat of almost 40º was killing!

We sat down to lunch at Place of the Monolithic Church, which is a square with a few restaurants that share tables and waiters. We stayed there relaxing until 2 pm, our lunch time. tour from the Monolithic Church, which we bought in advance on this site (7.50 euros per person). I recommend buying this tour in advance, as it is the most popular in the city and it is truly amazing. It is not worth the risk of arriving there and it being sold out, right? On our tour, I think there were about 50 people from all over the world and they offer tours quite frequent, so there are a lot of people visiting. I think it would be better if the groups were smaller, because it would be possible to enjoy each detail more and try to go back in time, but it was certainly better to have gone with a large group than not to have gone at all. Oh, and you can't take pictures inside, okay? Obey without making a fool of yourself.

Interesting information: This church was built from a single stone (this is the meaning of monolithic) in the 11th and 12th centuries and has about 200 km of underground galleries, being the largest of its kind in Europe. Legend has it that a monk named Emilión lived in the city in the 8th century, performing many miracles and being recognized for his generosity. He became a hermit when he decided to live for 17 years in a cave inside the city, which can be visited at tour of the church, along with the Chapel of the Trinity, the catacombs and the Monolithic Church. If you want to be a mother one day, be sure to sit on the bench where Eleanor of Aquitaine sat more than 800 years ago to get pregnant (the gift of fertility is one of the miracles attributed to the hermit, and even today women who want to have children sit on the bench for a few seconds). I sat for several minutes (I was chosen by the guide) and let's see if it will work in a few years!

We also passed by Cloître of the Collégiale Church, which was built between the 12th and 14th centuries, in Gothic style and is surrounded by extremely fine double columns.

We paid 1.50 euros each to go up Tour du Roy, or King's Tower, and have this spectacular view. This tower is a donjon from the 13th century, which is nothing more than a defense element for the city.

Another place that has a beautiful view of the city and it's free is the PClocher breed (bell tower), which stands right on top of the monolithic church.

Now, some of the many wine shops in the city:

We left Saint-Emilión at the end of the day towards Chartre sur le Loir, wishing we could have stayed longer, especially so we could calmly enjoy the region's wineries. There are so many options chateaux romantic with great and affordable wines, which certainly I would recommend at least 3 days for this city. I even think that the ideal is to hire one of the several tours that pass by the wineries, because that way you can drink as much as you want and not worry about driving afterwards. Anyway, who knows, maybe one day we'll go back there... here's a tip for you!

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WhatWant to know more details about our 9-day trip through the interior of France (Loire Valley, Périgord, Quercy and Bordeaux)? Just click on the links below:

• Summary of 9 days in the French countryside – click here
• Beauvais and Chartres – click here
• Loire Valley Region – click here
• Regions of Périgord and Quercy – click here 
• Bordeaux region – click here
• La Chartre-sur-le-Loir – click here 
• Giverny – click here