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Active Gourmets in Bordeaux
France: Active Gourmets in Bordeaux
Bordeaux, France - 6
nights
 Savor the wines, foods and landscapes that define this southwestern corner of France between Bordeaux and St. Emilion. Your week in the "Entre Deux Mers" region is a unique way to get to know French people and to share their culinary passions. It is an opportunity to taste and cook traditional and locally grown foods: wine from their vineyards, shellfish from their seacoast or mushrooms from their forests. Your hosts for the week are Carol, an American who has been living in France for more than thirty years, her French husband Bruno and their English friend Helen.
 During your stay you will participate in cooking classes in home kitchens and professional workshops. Dinners are often in private homes or in their favorite restaurants and cafés. We try to keep a little time each day for walks if you'd like (at your pace) through the vineyards and villages, on the Atlantic's beaches or on the nearby bike trails. You can also relax in the garden or in the winter, infront of the fireplace. No matter what the season you will indulge in delicious tastings and simply immerse yourself in everyday French life.
Although cooking and wine are the main themes of your stay, your personal interests, whether it be gardening, antiques, contemporary art or a night at the opera, can also be included in your stay. Carol and her friends can introduce you to the best the area has to offer. *Take a look at the seasonal propositions at the bottom of the page.
Active Gourmets in Bordeaux
Bordeaux, France
 SAMPLE ITINERARY
Day One (Saturday)
After a late Saturday afternoon arrival at the train station or airport you will be met by your hosts...a stop at a sidewalk café to talk a little about your plans for the week. Carol and Helen will take you on a short walking tour of Bordeaux. Then off to the wine region of Entre Deux Mers and your home for the week, a lovely bed and breakfast in Carol's family home in the country at the edge of a small village. That evening you may go to one of several nearby restaurants on the village square or at the foot of a 12th century abbey in La Sauve or to the Garonne for dinner at the river's edge.
Day Two (Sunday)
 Breakfast at home followed by a morning of cooking with Bruno, a French doctor and nutritionist who also holds a degree in French cuisine. Bruno is the founder and president of the "Confrerie des Medécins Gastronomes", an organization interested in expanding medical profession's knowledge of good food and good health. You will cook in his home kitchen in a little hamlet built around a water mill. He will take you through step by step for a hands-on preparation of Piperade Basque, Canelés, stuffed duck, or other typical dishes from southwestern France. Lunch, of course, is usually not over until about 3pm. You might want to relax with your coffee beside the mill stream before a walking tour of the medieval village of St. Emilion. A wine tasting class before dinner will start off your week discovering the many and varied Bordeaux wines.
Day Three (Monday)
 Today you will spend the morning in the workshop of a professional baker and pastry chef before taking off for a picnic lunch by the ocean. Carol or Helen will drive you to the bay of Arcachon to visit the oyster beds, see the daily work of French oyster farmers and walk along the oceanside and then back to the country for dinner at the home of one of Carol's friends.
Another option for today is to spend it driving south of Bordeaux exploring the wine regions of Pessac Leognan, Graves, and Sauternes and doing some wine tasting. You can stop along the way to visit Montesquieu's castle where he wrote "The Spirit of the Law" and then have lunch in the Sauternes before heading back home for a light dinner inspired by the days wines.
Day Four (Tuesday)
After fresh fruit and croissants you will head back to Bordeaux for a little gourmet shopping and have lunch in one of the city's restaurants that marries contempory art and exciting food. A stroll though Bordeaux's new urban gardens and « green » greenhouse and then back to the countryside, to a restored barn with a distinctive modern flavor, where you'll meet your new chef, Stephane. She is a delegate for the Italian Academy of Cooking in addition to being a wonderful French cook. She is an expert in teaching you all those little tricks to help you turn out the perfect meal.
Day Five (Wednesday) -
Today, you'll meet Stephane again at the outdoor market in Créon. After shopping for ingredients at the market you will go back to her home and learn some of her personalised versions of typically southwestern French dishes: delicious fig tarts, salmon patés, stuffed veal or baby squid.
 After lunch you have several choices: You may explore the Entre Deux Mers wine region with visits to historical chateaux and wineries. Or why not visit "Oh, Légumes Oubliés" demonstration garden? It is full of heirloom fruits and vegetables many of which are no longer cultivated today. You might even do a little tasting (nettle quiche, chocolate covered "amour en cage", ...).
Dinner will probably be in a small restaurant along one of the two rivers that give Entre Deux Mers, "between two seas", its name: la Garonne or la Dordogne or at one of Carol's friend's home.
Day Six (Thursday)
 Your last day of cooking will probably be with Philippe, a professional private chef who will have you discover his delicious dishes and easy cooking techniques and who will have you perfect your own skills. In the afternoon you can go back to Bordeaux for some last minute shopping to perhaps pick up the unusual molds you may have encountered in your cooking classes. You can also visit some of the city's great museums or just wander through the streets of historic Bordeaux. Another option is to spend the afternoon visiting the château that produce the wines you've enjoyed during the week or just walking though the vineyards along the well marked paths of Entre Deux Mers. In the evening there will be a farewell dinner at home with some of the new friends you have met during your week before getting ready for your early departure the next morning.
Day Seven (Friday) - Au Revoir!
**Inquire about additional itineraries. A special holiday can be personalized for you with many possibilities for the week's activities including:
*Garden visits with master gardeners
*Cycling the many bike paths
*Walking through Bordeaux's vineyards
*Traditional and family pastry cooking
*Le Cochon, everything you want to know about pork, pates and terrines (in the winter)
*Everything Chocolate
*Le Canard, the French duck from foie gras to boned stuffed duck (in the fall and winter)
*Holiday menus "le Saint Sylvestre": New Year's Week
*Cooking with Heirloom Vegetables
*Pampering yourself at a chic French spa
*Wine and more wine!
*Atlantic coast seafoods, fish, oysters and more
| BOOKING INFORMATION |
2008 FEES PER PERSON
|
DEPOSIT |
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US$3600 (minimum of 3 persons)
US$4295 (minimum of 2 persons in one room - double or twin beds)
US$4650 (minimum of 2 persons in separate rooms)
US$6250 (single guest)
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After availability
is confirmed, a non-refundable deposit of
$500 and the completed and
submitted registration form will secure your reservation. Final payment is due no later than 60 days before your arrival date. |
| 2008 DATES |
INCLUDED |
|
April 5-11
May 3-9
June 7-13
July 26-August 1
August 2-8
September 6-12
October 4-10
November 1-7
December 6-12
*There is some flexibility in dates - please inquire
*Inquire about our special New Year's Eve program
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*Six (6) nights' accommodations
*All meals and wine
*All that is included in the final client- approved itinerary
*An English-speaking guide and chauffeur
*All wine and cheese tastings
*All excursions
*Transfers to/from airport/train station
Airfare and personal expenses are not included. |
For further inquiries or to register, click here.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Client is entitled to a full refund (less the $50 per person non-refundable booking fee) when written notice of cancellation is received more than 60 days prior to arrival. Cancellations received 45 days to 60 days prior to arrival will be subject to a cancellation charge of 50%. No refund will be made for cancellations received less than 45 days prior to arrival. Once the week has commenced there will be no refunds on unused portions. Travel insurance is highly recommended.
CLIENT REMARKS
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