Couldn’t get enough of Saint-Émilion

I just realized that I’ve been to St. Émilion 4 times within the past year, and I’ve only written about it once! Well the 4th time happened last Sunday, right after Sarlat. It is interesting to note that each time I went to St. Emilion, it was with different people (except MM, who was there the second and third time). Also, last year I went in the months of April, June, and July, and this year, it was May. A fifth time will probably happen when my sister comes to France later this year in August. I should keep this a record and try to visit a full 12 times, once in every month!

Named after a monk who was once a resident of the town, St. Émilion is one of the most famous wine-making regions in France and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the monolithic church to the numerous châteaux in the surrounding area, it offers the best of architecture, history, and nature, all in one bundle. No visit to Bordeaux is complete without dropping by St. Émilion!

So, for this most recent trip, I went with my two Canadian ladies, Sharon and Cindy. A bit hesitant at first because I’ve already been there 3 times, I decided to go again for the experience with a whole different group of friends. I discover something new about St. Émilion with every visit, and the varying companionship definitely adds amusement each time 😉

“THIS IS SAINT-ÉMILION!” says Sharon. After a 40-minute train ride from Bordeaux, we arrived at our destination. There can be no mistake; there was only one path from the train station to the town and with a gigantic sign marking its entrance, it couldn’t be missed!

 
Ah, yes, the breathtaking views of the vineyards of St. Émilion! Rows and rows of an endless sea of green that never ceases to amaze me…just magnificent, so pleasing to the eyes! In mid-June last year when I came, there were unripe grapes that were green, but I didn’t see any this time around. Certainly they will be there in a few weeks?

The chilly wind struck on our faces as we continued our walk towards the town. Yes, it was a bit chilly that morning, and I should have brought a jacket with me, but I was so confident about the weather that day, which did turn out to be comfortably warm later on in the day.

Inside the town of St. Émilion, the three of us headed towards the Tour du Roy, a tower where an awesome panorama of the town could be viewed from the top. We didn’t actually go up the tower, but here, beside the tower itself, the view over St. Émilion was equally splendid. With the church and the old houses, the blue sky as the background and a vineyard in the foreground, the scene is perfect. Thanks to Sharon for this picture!

In the middle of the town, there is a spot over a ledge where we could see the classic “postcard view” of St. Émilion. There is a certain captivating spell about all these little towns that I’ve visited, something so humbling about them.

Smile for the group photo! It seemed like I was lacking sunglasses. Maybe I should have painted my glasses brown just to fit in…

Macarons seemed to be a speciality in St. Émilion since we saw them quite often in shops, even in accessory form! These macaron bracelets were way too cute! As I like to say, though, macarons are nice only to look at but not to eat because they are way to sweet! For a person like me who prefers to keep the sweetness content of a dessert at a minimum, the macaron is definitely NOT a snack of choice, though I can’t deny that they LOOK quite appealing!

We went into one of the in-town wine caves to see the settings under which wine is generally preserved in barrels. Of course this wasn’t a full château tour or anything, since it was free, but the caves were quite cool (literally too) and interesting to look at. The wine tasting used to be free last year but they started charging a fee…boo! No wine for us, I guess, not a loss for me personally because believe it or not I still don’t like wine! *Gets smacked*

 
Various flowers taken around the area, with the last picture of the waving red flower being copied from Sharon’s idea as she was taking the picture from a low angle.

At the end of the trip, we sat down at a bench and while eating our bakery lunch, I looked up and saw this funky tree above us. Quite bizarre a creature, but majestic enough to hide the sun from us 😉

Final shot as we were walking back to the train station, with the stalker being stalked. Who’s the stalker now, huh Sharon? 😉 And Cindy just kept going on, oblivious of the two behind her who were completely camera-obsessed. Oh, I love these girls so much ❤ It was great to be able to go on a trip with Cindy before she goes back to Canada, and I don't think I've ever been on a trip with Sharon other than that gospel camp near Paris. Short trip indeed, but a very enjoyable one!