One of our clients, Larry (Texas), sent us pictures and a short description of what’s happening on his Bordeaux Wine Cruise! Larry writes:
“Napoleon’s Chateau de Malmaison | Napoleon grabbed power and was elected ‘Emperor of the French’ 1804. By 1814 he was despised and that same year a coalition of counties lead by Great Britain and Russia marched on the capital and forced its surrender. Napoleon spent his last days at Chateau de Malmaison before he was exiled after his defeat at Waterloo by the English. This was the home he built for his beloved Josephine who he divorced because she could not bear him children. According to our French guide this was just a small chalet that Napoleon gave her and 3 million a year to live and keep it up. Now it belongs to the state. The French Revolution was in 1789 when all the aristocrats were beheaded and all the churches became the property of the state. All the statues on and in the churches were beheaded and the property sold off.
“Today we had a typical French meal served by a French maiden. Wonderful French wine from Bordeaux, French bread, French salad dressing, French beef and finally French fries! Ooh la la!
“We spend 3 days in Bordeaux, France walking 4 or 5 miles a day thru the 600,000 population of the city. It is a smaller Paris and we loved it. We are now on the AmaDolce river boat headed up the Garonne River in the heart of the Bordeaux wine region where some of the best known wines in the world come from. We stopped in Cadillac, France and visited the Cadillac Chateau this morning where we learned that any time the word Chateau is used in France it means wine vineyard. In the afternoon we did a wine tasting at the Chateau de Rayne Vigneau in the Sauternes region of the Bordeaux wine area that is known for its sweet wines and later a delightful tour of the 13th century Roquetaillade Castle that had been remodeled in the 1800s to make it livable. No wine was grown in this area until the Romans taste for wine acceded their ability to produce it in Italy and were forced to plant vineyards in other areas to satisfy their demand.”
Thank you, Larry, for the beautiful glimpse into your cruise! Enjoy the rest of your trip. And if you’re interested in taking a European wine cruise, or any other river cruise around the world, give our agents a call: (800) 578-1479.
