Road Trip: France, Part Three

The third and final installment of Road Trip: France saw us headed south in the trusty Renault Twingo to Bordeaux, Languedoc and Provence.

Although we were poor young folks, Bordeaux was surprisingly accessible. We stayed at the completely delightful Chateau de Foulon where we had an apartment complete with little kitchen and sitting room for under $100 a night (although, admittedly, was this before the dollar went to crap). We had wonderful breakfasts in the main chateau with the other guests in the regal dining room and the Count even came in to say hello before heading out to ride his horse one morning. There were great grounds that you could wander around with a little pond and a picturesque crumbling barn and peacocks and swans wandering about. Divine.

We made a loop of the Margaux region's wineries with the assistance of the tourism authority's vineyard map. Chateau Giscours probably had the best tour and facility, but our absolute favorite was Chateau Lascombes. This vineyard makes a grand cru wine (the fanciest - I'll save the discourse on appellations for another time) and doesn't really give walk-in tours, so was completely quiet, yet somehow they took pity on us and showed us around. We ended buying serious bottles here, although I think this vineyard is still a good bargain as it's not the fanciest or best known.

Having had our fill of tannins, we headed south into the not-as-travelled Languedoc region. In the interest of full disclosure, our next step was seriously in the hinterlands. It took champion navigational skills and a lot of windy mountain roads to find our way to La Cerisaie, a B&B in the small town of Riols. There's not much doing in this neck of the woods, but it was Bastille Day when we visited, so we were treated to the local parade down the middle of the village complete with firecrackers going off every which way. Complete with a pool and a delicious in-house restaurant, La Cerisaie was a great little escape. I imagine we could have filled a few more days with some ambling into the hills and sipping wine on the terrace.

But we had tracks to make, so after a detour to Barcelona, which is a tale for another time, we made our way to Provence. Specifically, another B&B gem called Le Mas de la Tour in the small town of Fontvieille, outside of Arles. This place was classic - provencal fabrics in the room, a warm pool outside and breakfast under the arbor. We had a perfect day trip to Arles to see the forum, buy some gifts, and while away the day in a cafe. It's also great hiking, jogging, walking country. We explored the local Montmajour abbey, took in the daily market, and generally enjoyed the loveliness of Provence.

Unfortunately the French road trip had to end too soon (although the auto adventures continued later in Italy), so our last leg was a drive to Nice, complete with insane laps of the city trying to find the train station, a day wandering the waterfront waiting for our overnight train to Rome, and general overload of summer tourism in Europe after weeks in the quiet countryside.

On the practical side: there are three key tips for a French road trip. First, Autoeurope typically has really good long term car rental rates. Second, the Rivages guide (now published in English by Fodors as the Rivages Guide to Bed and Breakfasts of Character and Charm, but more frequently updated in the French version or on the website) is indispensable. We found each place we stayed from this book, including places called only the night before. It is now referred to among the inner circle as "The Magic Book". Third, Michelin maps cannot be beat and the Michelin website has great maps for travel planning.

All in all, I'm a big fan of the European road trip as, not only does it make me use my limited foreign language skills, but it is far less likely that you will find yourself at a table next to an American couple and far more likely that you'll stumble into those delightful, unpredictable experiences that just don't happen on the well-trod path.