The narrow streets of St. Emilion
Our last full day we spent in St. Emilion, one of the most lovely villages I’ve ever visited. The town is built on the site of a limestone cave where Emilion came to hide after becoming too famous in his Robin Hood-esqe adventures elsewhere in France during the 8th century. It didn’t work for him, though. People sought him out for cures and miracles and eventually he was canonised.
Today there is a cavernous church carved into the town’s steep hill and all the buildings are made from the excavated stone that took two centuries to remove.
The town with grape vines in the foreground.
The area is well known for its wines, which are re-ranked every ten years. This is in contrast to the chateaux of Medoc which received their ranking in 1855 and have never varied. We tasted a few of St. Emilion’s wines and bought one to drink at home later.
Tod, Zoupi & I take a break in the country.
After touring the town on foot and enjoying lunch, we went on a bike ride through the vineyards with Raphael, a local tour guide. He took us to
a series of grottoes on a cliffside overlooking the Dordogne before we turned back to town.
It was gorgeous scenery and easy enough terrain. But I still managed to pull a muscle and get a flat tire. I really am cursed regarding bicycles. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to remember the French word for “flat tire.” I knew it once from Milles Bourne.
Posted by kuri at October 16, 2005 04:43 PM