***Skip all the way down to see the compiled video snippets of this vacation.

This vacation was a year in the making. When the gentlemen and I decided to book this trip, we already knew from the get-go that it will be an unforgettable adventure.

Why won’t it be fun? Can you imagine an all-boys trip, consisting of men of culture (at least that’s what we believe we are), who share the same humor and interests. I cannot express my appreciation of having these wonderful friends who I get to share this wonderful experience with.

As I write this article, I’m facing the open window of my room. Across, are charming french windows of other apartments, some are open, some are closed. It’s quite an interesting past time to check out what you can find by peaking. I have seen unfinished paintings of an aspiring artist, a lady watering her plants, a group of men just sitting down and laughing together. Here I am, just enjoying the music that the city provides. Our Airbnb is situated next to a light rail train station and it does pass by quite often, although, I can get lost and isolate myself from all the noise & laughter and just write down all the good memories that has happened in the past couple of days before I even forget all the emotions that were associated with them. I believe that this is the best way to write travel articles. If you keep the feelings fresh, then the more organic or genuine your thoughts and words will be.

This adventure has taught me some of the most amazing and eye-opening lessons that will be remembered. I am humbled, as chef and as an individual. I find that the more I learn about the world, the more humble I become. I feel so small in the grand scheme of things and have yet to learn so much.

You had to hike three flights of spiraling stairs to get to our apartment; the last five steps burn the worst.

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**Main Outline of The Whole Entire Trip**

For reference, our trip’s outline started from Barcelona to Bordeaux. Bordeaux to Donostia and back to Barcelona. We had a couple of side trips along the way, mostly for lunch. The focus was on wines and gastronomy.

These cities have taught me that time, is like a piece of Canelé; you have to savor and enjoy it for it doesn’t last long. We only had eleven days to enjoy our surroundings and immerse in each city’s respective culture. In contrary, and for some unknown reason, Europeans are so good at showing (and making me feel) that they have all the time in the world, that time—stops for them to enjoy. In the afternoon, you will see countless tables and chairs getting filled quite easily in plaza squares and along quaint alleys. You wonder, ‘where do these people come out from?” Surely, you will be impressed, because in the day time, it’s as if Bordeaux is a ghost town. This starts around 3:00pm or 4:00pm and people can stay way past midnight, just conversing with their friends while smoking or drinking. I mean, how?

From Barcelona To Bordeaux

There’s already a satisfying familiarity getting into Barcelona. The liveliness and the gastronomy are the aspects that I admire most. We got a little carried away and had five bottles of wine on our first day, a little excessive if you ask me. These bottles were accompanied by fantastic tapas from different places. Look for a place called Cañete Tapeo-Del-Fino and order their fried calamari sandwich. That’s all you need.

The next day, we set route braving the mighty Pyrenees Mountains to cut through Bordeaux, nothing but majestic and fascinating. We left Barcelona early and i was in awe to see the rays of light hit the mountains. Along the way, the boys decided to visit a small town called Cahors, about one and a half hour to two hours southeast of Bordeaux. It was a modest, quiet town, nothing much going on. Lunch was held at a place called L’O À La Bouche which was pretty good and as they served well composed french fare.

Bordeaux, the city

I fantasized the city to be of medieval setting, vineyards expanding for miles and miles, chateaus that are as grand as renaissance castles—but no, it was a bustling modern city, full of life. I wouldn’t say that the city fascinates me completely, I still prefer Paris and Florence overall. Although, I do enjoy the lively nightlife and dining scene of Bordeaux. Other than that, you kind of get bored with the city right away. It’s not like Paris where there is always something to do or see. At the same time, there is not enough attractions that can occupy your time to keep you on the move aside from the Cité du Vin or Wine Museum which was very informative. Maybe I’m wrong? Would a tourist guide help us appreciate the history that cloaks the city? Probably.

Cite du Vin

When in the Wine Museum, do appreciate the convenience they provide you of having your own “bubble” to learn everything you need to know about wines. They give you a set of headphones and a tablet that you tap to wireless ports so you can navigate your way, at your own pace. You can spend hours and hours being here, and nobody will tell you that you’re doing something wrong.

An Interactive Bronze Grape Vine Presentation That Changes in Color

This presentation tells you about the effect of biodiversity, nature and how every living element contributes to the growth of a grape vine.

What’s also fascinating is that they have a wine tasting lounge at the top of the building, overlooking the city. Each visit gets you a free glass of wine that ranges from the locally produced to more exotic grape varietals.

Ceiling of the Wine Tasting Lounge at The Top of the Wine Museum

Bordeaux, the wine country

Now let’s talk.

Nonetheless, what really took my breath away was the wine country. Once we drove out of town and got away from the chaos of the city, that’s where the magic started to unfold. Slowly, you see the landscape change—well manicured patches of land, hectares and hectares of organized grape vines and well-maintained chateaus that are inviting.

Village of St. Emilion

Our excursion took us to the right bank and our tour guide, Xavier, did wonders. He showed us the village of St. Emilion where we explored with fascination. We literally had uphill and downhill hiking battles that we won over, it kept us catching our breaths after. The landscape and facade of the village reminded me of Gordes and Game of Thrones. Below the bell tower, you have a wonderful picturesque view of vineyards surrounding the village. It was breathtaking at the very least. Whenever I go on my vacations and I get to a place where I can see a clear view of my surroundings, I always say a prayer to God to thank Him for His blessings. I get to do what I do best, I get to travel for it and I get to learn more about my career.

The Landscape

A Bit of Lecture, S’il Tu Plaît

The Bordeaux wine country is divided into two main banks. These banks are separated by the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers that are responsible for channeling water to the different waterways for the vineyards. You have the Left Bank and the Right Bank. The right bank is predominantly helmed by the Merlot grape variety and on the left, is Cabernet Sauvignon. That means, 80-90% of the left bank consist of Cabernet grapes and same goes to the right bank.

Now these two banks CANNOT exchange grapes in any way. What I mean about that is for example, a vineyard in the left bank wants to create a wine blend consisting of Cab Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir. That vineyard cannot make a trip to the right bank and ask another vineyard to give them the other grape varieties, that’s a huge no-no. What they do is they allot a certain patch of their land growing different varieties to tend to their own needs.

In addition to the geographic location of these vineyards, put into consideration that the Bordeaux wine country has different elevations that can greatly affect both the appellations and the prices of the lands. Think of appellation as the gradings of the land or earth composition where the vineyards are situated on. It does not have anything to do with the winery that sits on top of these patches of land. It doesn’t have anything to do with the brand. It’s mostly for the fact that vineyards that are situated on the hillside tend to have limestone underneath them while the ones that are situated on the plateaus are rich in clay—both alter the taste of a product tremendously. We were able to identify the different soil compositions after the field trip as most of the wineries showcase it to their curious wanderers. There was so much memory overload, but not enough wine tasting.

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Wine Ratings

Ever wonder what Grand Cru symbolizes when you read it from a bottle? It’s basically a rating of wines, based from the potential of the village, vineyard or terroir that the grapes were grown, not necessarily the brand of the winery. There may be different gradings depending on the region, but in St. Emilion, Bordeaux, you have a couple of tiers.

We start with the highest one all the way to the bottom which are:

Premier Grand Cru Classé: These are the creme de la creme of St. Emilion wines or Bordeaux. They range from anywhere between 100 Euros or more.

Grand Cru Classé: These are your more than average bottles that can fetch between 40 to 100 euros

Grand Cru: These are the good wines suited for everyday drinking. They go from 10 to 40 euros

Les Vineyards

We visited the different appellations, one of which was the appellation of Pomerol. In Pomerol, we visited our first vineyard called Taillefer.

Chateau Taillefer

A vineyard ran by a couple that was handed down from generations. In French, the word taille means to dig and fer is the word for Iron. Back in the days, the founder of the chateau was a gentleman who was in the business of digging iron. The lady explained the history of the vineyard and gave us a couple of bottles to share. Xavier made us a picnic lunch just outside of the Taillefer Office. We get to enjoy a wonderful 2016 vintage, which according to the french was a good harvest year. On the spread had a charcuterie board, basques style chicken and bread.

Chateau Grand Corbin

I wish I took more photos of Grand Corbin. It was wonderful being there. We caught grape skins being pressed in the machine and the large tanks being emptied out and washed.

Ambe Tour Pourret

This winery focuses on organic wines. We had a wonderful tasting here and we purchased nine bottles after—3 sparkling cremeux and 6 bottles of red. What stood out for me was the sparkling wine for it had a refreshing and crisp green apple notes to it, I can consume a whole bottle if I’m thirsty.

The most impressive aspect of the wine country of Bordeaux is the history behind it. Unlike Sonoma & Napa, Bordeaux dates back centuries ago, and that is enough reason to admire the already fairy-tale-like aesthetic of the area. It was truly magical being able to walk on the fields of endless grape vines.

Visiting a wine cave underneath the city

I didn’t have much photos, although I had the entire tour in video clips. I am planning to come up with a video for the entire Bordeaux excursion.

Visiting a wine cave was really interesting and opened my eyes to more understanding of the craft. I have never been to a real limestone wine cave, and when we got to one, I couldn’t believe how thousands of bottles were being aged in these caves while you see the molds starting to slowly wrap around the glass bottles like a blanket with vintages dating back from 1920 or much older. These bottles seem to be resting or hibernating comfortably while they wait to be awaken someday and be re-bottled.

Interestingly, I touched the stone ceiling of the cave and it was damp. Xavier explained that the reason why limestone is favored so much is because it absorbs water from the rain and dampens the walls of the cave, giving just enough moisture to the atmosphere inside, promoting a well-balanced environment for the wines to age properly. You see, anything that is good in life do take time, wine is no exception.

I’ve always admired Old World Wines, especially the ones that come from France. They acquire the body or the roundness that I always look for in wines. I want it heavy, not necessarily sweet and would need to have a very dark, strong color. To be present at ground zero and appreciate the breeze that flows through the leaves, the way the sun shines and how the earth smells in this particular region of the earth, I couldn’t have asked for more. I was literally at the right place, at the right time of my life—not a coincidence.

What To Eat & Where To Go

We chose to stay local and traditional for our trip here in Bordeaux, (we) didn’t even bother having fine dining or pretentious food. I just didn’t really feel the need for it. I wanted to taste what the locals were eating.

Plazas

If you happen to find a plaza or town square that is swarmed by locals, then chances are, you’re in the right place. Not everything will be good, you might want to do some research. We basically just had tapas, charcuterie platters and small bites for the most part. You cannot forget about foie gras though. Everything was decent for my taste. For more specialized recommendations, you might want to check out…

Heritage And Tradition, La Tupina

This place is well known by locals and comes highly recommended. They have phenomenal traditional Bordeaux food. A head’s up though, the portions are HUGE. We had a wonderful lamb shank with beans that was succulent, a guinea fowl, a rigatoni with foie and morel cream sauce and cod with caviar. They were all wonderful. The start of the show was the creme brulee and canele with ice cream.

Satisfying Lunch, Killer Duck Breast, La Brasserie Le Noaillese

Xavier recommended this place and we though that it would be a touristy restaurant serving mediocre food. I must say, I was impressed by the grilled duck breast with pepper cream sauce that I ordered. It was so good that my friend had a couple of bites as well.

Another Satisfying Lunch, La Brasserie du Medoc

When having lunch, be careful not to order from the a la carte menu if you are on a budget. Most restaurants have a lunch set menu for the fraction of the normal price. Medoc was decent. We figured that it was a neighborhood favorite amongst the people when it started to fill up for lunch. Their chocolate mousse was amazing!

Fresh And Delicious Croissants, Louis Lamour

A line outside, check. The smell of freshly baked pastries, check. Coffee, check. Louis Lamour is a wonderful breakfast bakery. Thank goodness it was close to our apartment. Every crunchy bite of the croissant is worth the wait.

L’Atelier De Stanley Poon

I had this crazy idea of cooking dinner at our apartment. At first, the boys dissed the thought of it, saying that it was too much work and I’m on vacation—I should enjoy and release myself from any obligation or responsibility. But then again, this is what I do for a living and the thought of cooking somewhere away from my comfort zone excited me.

Did I mention that we went to a local butcher shop and bought a dry-aged Limousine beef porterhouse? I didn’t, didnt I? I was salivating when the butcher took a wonderful piece out of their walk-in cooler, a massive 70oz! It was around 78-85 oz untrimmed. We originally wanted to just get an inch of thickness, but ended up just getting the whole entire slab, about 2.8-3 inches. At the same time, I took the time to make Focaccia bread for the three old farts that I was with. It took me three days to make my famous focaccia. I baked the bread kind of early and my friends were already picking through it since the morning of that day. I can gladly say that now, I was able to cook in France, at our wonderful Airbnb, with a fantastic kitchen. We had dinner at the apartment on our last night in Bordeaux.

On the menu was heirloom tomato salad with basil and balsamic vinaigrette, focaccia and the steak with foie gras gravy. The Limousine steak had a wonderful meaty aroma that filled the entire room. I just seasoned it with salt and pepper, cooked it to a rare perfection and that was it. As you cook it, you notice that the beef fat, which had a wonderful yellow hue, got crispy upon basting with garlic and butter.

Chef’s Note: Dry aged steaks cook differently. Since the dry aging process takes a lot of moisture out of the steak, you have to be careful about your cooking time. Our steak was two and a half to three inches thick and I had to cook it for five to six minutes per side. While I was slicing it, the boys got hypnotized like a kid looking at a piece of candy.

Of course, a dinner is not complete without having local wine. We took the pledge to save all the corks of all the bottles of wine that we consumed. After leaving Bordeaux, we were already at around 15-18 bottles, this includes the wines that we sampled in the wine region but didn’t get the corks.