Fun in France

The place we stayed last night was a horse farm, which raises Icelandic horses. So we started our day today out in the barn, loving on the horses and dogs. With all our traveling yesterday, we didn't get to properly celebrate Ruth's half-birthday, so that was on the agenda today, and a horse barn definitely seemed like a good place to begin. We then had lunch in Bordeaux, at a wonderful sidewalk cafe Ruth picked out. The food was delicious, and the weather was gorgeous, so we enjoyed sitting outside. After lunch, we went out to a winery, because we didn't feel like we could pass through Bordeaux without doing so. It was a beautiful estate, with a lovely castle, an iPad tour with an accompanying questionnaire, a juice tasting for kids, and a wine tasting for grown-ups. Jeff and weren't crazy about the wine, but we all enjoyed the experience. After that we stopped to pick up groceries for the week at the largest Walmart-type superstore (Auchan) I have ever been in. I went in alone and quickly became overwhelmed by the size of the store and the French language everywhere. I have been too long in English speaking countries, I guess, and didn't properly prepare myself for the experience. We finally made it to our home for the week, just outside of Bordeaux. It is a quirky old house that is in the process of being renovated. There seems to be a lake across the street, which we will have to check out tomorrow, since we arrived after dark.

The boys exploring the garden at our previous house

Ruth and her new Icelandic horse friend

Clay also made a friend at the barn.

The half-birthday girl, with her decadent chocolate mousse

This medieval castle and its moat sit at the heart of Chateau d'Agassac.

Fully engaged in the iPad tour

Roses are frequently planted with grapevines
as an early warning system for diseases.
Though the vines at Chateau d'Agassac were already bare,
the roses still had some showing off to do. 

Our tasting set-up

Clay was very careful with his fancy glass.

Max approved!