Ok, so I let this slip a little...
So Marc's place is in a smaller town just a bit outside of Bordeaux, called Creon. He lives in a really awesome old place, it was built in the 1700s. I must say, it was awesome to be catching up with Mylene and Marc and they were awesome hosts.
Marc had some work he still had to do, so Mylene and I took a walk around time, had some awesome bread and probably the best Macaroons I've ever had. We then trekked into Bordeaux while Marc and Claire (Marc's girlfriend) had some errands to run. Bordeaux is an awesome looking city. Old Bordeaux and new Bordeaux is separated by a river, and the view into Old Bordeaux is absolutely stunning. The more we walked around, the more I liked the city. We stopped for a couple of beers before heading back to Marc's for dinner. They cooked me a traditional meal - Gallete - which is like a savory crepe which we filled with ham, cheese, egg, mushrooms and sour cream. They were excellent.
In the morning, I made the frenchies pancakes. They don't have them in France, so it was something they were missing from their Australian adventures. To be honest, I hadn't made pancakes before, but I totally smashed it and they turned out pretty well. We then went to a little village call Saint Emillion. It's an ancient village and one of Bordeaux's most famous wine regions. It was visually stunning, we climbed up an old castle spire to get a panorama which was pretty special. The wine also lived up to scratch!
After Saint Emillion, we went into Bordeaux to go Rock Climbing. arc and Claire are avid climbers, so Mylene and I gave it a crack. It was pretty awesome, my shoulders were killing me by the end of it... After that, we went out for dinner, where I was promised raclette, which I assume is French for Death. You essentially get a plate of assorted meats (Salami, Pancetta and Spanish Ham) and some potatoes. You put you plate under a small heater which is melting this really thick cheese (it's kinda like a rich camembert). I reckon it took a few years off my life, but boy it tasted good.
The last day in Bordeaux it rained a fair bit, so we stayed in and played cards for a bit, before we took Mylene into town to catch her train back to her home town. Marc and I explored Bordeaux a bit more before I had to get my plane - which was delayed because the french like to go on strike!
I can't thank Marc enough, he was such a great host and Mylene made the effort to come down from Northern France. It was an excellent stay, one of the real highlights of the trip!
