Day 5
My mother and I had a leisurely morning in Bourg strolling through the historic village and after lunch we toured Blaye and the extraordinary 17th-century Citadel. It’s city walls and two other forts- Fort Médoc and Fort Paté are collectively listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The trio of fortresses were designed to defend Bordeaux against any river attacks.
We were in luck as the weekly market was also open, which is a feast for your eyes with all the bountiful colors of fruits and vegetables. The city of Blaye is famous for their asparagus; however, the season is from March until May, so we were unable to indulge. We did manage to sample some delicious french cheeses, as well as a wonderful savory crepe.
But the real highlight of the day was for my husbanded and father. They headed to the medieval town of Cognac, birthplace of one of the world’s best-known types of brandy. The tour of the Camus family distillery concluded with a lesson on how to blend your very own cognac. This process however is very tedious- wink, wink! One must taste many samples to figure out the right ratio, often having to go back and make adjustments sip after sip to make sure it is just right. After tasting several samplings (don't worry they are still standing) they begin the process of bottling their own cognac. Each bottle is personally labeled, so if you ever need more, Camus can recreate your perfect blend! After returning home and letting the bottles rest we did have a party and challenged them both to see if they could recognize their own cognac. I was very surprised that they both passed the blind taste test and recalled whose was whose. I guess all the extra sipping paid off.
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