Sauterne
We had an extra day before we took the bullet train to Paris so we went to the extraordinary wine region called Sauterne that is famous for sweet dessert wines. The most famous chateau there is Yquem. It doesn’t take long at their opulent facility to understand that this is what success looks like in the wine business. We declined the €90 tasting and went to a wine shop in the middle of the small town.
A nearby town named Saint-Macaire caught our eye and we visitied its medieval church and central square. This town also got rich from wine but in the intervening centuries, its success is now a memory and a sweet old church.
Paris Chess Scene
The first shot is from the tables at the Luxemburg Gardens, which resembles Washington Square without the hustlers. It’s a beautiful setting with five or six tables and a crowd around each. You have to wait quite a while for a game and then if you lose, you wait again.
The second and third are from the Blitz Society, which is a chess bar. There are plenty of sets and clocks so you don’t’ have to wait but the players aren’t as strong, or at least the ones I met weren’t as scary as the “kings of the hill” in the park.
We’re going to wrap the blog up here, as we’re taking the plane the day after tomorrow. See yaz all soon!