Cadillac and the Garonne valley

Château de Cadillac

No, not the car, but the town on the Garonne river. The sun came out for just one day this week so we took the hint and hit the road. We did a loop through the Entre Deux Mers region (" between two waters" ) and followed the Garonne from Bordeaux down to Cadillac.  We hadn’t visited this town for many years but remembered that it had an attractive château overlooking the centre ville.

one of the old gateways into the centre ville

We parked outside the château entrance, but the place is undergoing  some restauration and is surrounded by cyclone fencing so we couldn’t re-visit.

the second gateway

We strolled down the hill into town.

the church of Saint Blaise is opposite the château on top of the hill

Cadillac is a bastide town founded in 1280. That means it is built on a grid with the market hall at the centre. It is a pleasant village on the riverbank surrounding a traditional open market hall made of the local stone with commune offices above.

The open market hall with it's high arches 

Across the river is the town of Sauternes and Château d’Yquem where they produce a Premier Cru Supérieur wine, one of the finest white wines in the world. It is said that, with proper  care, a bottle of Château d’Yquem can keep for a hundred years.

Château d'Yquem

Nearby is the Château Malromé. This was the home of Toulouse Lautrec’s mother and the place where he died in 1901. You can visit and see some of the public rooms in the house. It’s in a beautiful setting in the countryside and , while not a grande château, it is a large country home surrounded by vineyards.

Château de Malromé

We also visited the medieval chateau at Langoiran. This is now in ruins but has a caretaker living on site so for just €3.00 each we could clamber about to our heart's content. The chateau is on a hillside overlooking the valley of the Garonne river. You can see why this was considered an advantageous position for spotting an approaching enemy.

the entrance across the moat - a rider would have to get off and walk his horse through this gateway

16th century accomodation buildings

The chateau was mentioned in documents in the 11th century but the current fortifications date from the 13th. The dungeon was added in the 14th  and more buildings in the 16th and 17th centuries. 

There is always a chapel for use by all those who lived in the chateau.

modern painting in medieval style over the altar

windows in the chapel with family crest - what a view !

There are wooden pews in this room as though it is still used for worship.

the family crest on the stone altar

a sunny seat by the window - bring your own cushion

very steep and shallow staircase - difficult for an attacker to fight his way up here

We climbed the staircase from the lower courtyard to the upper where the family would have lived.

steep walls everywhere

no floors left in the donjon (tower) 

see how thick these walls are in the dungeon - no tunnelling out of here

Mostly the work that continues here appears to be just to stop any further degredation.

  

and you think you have cracks in your walls !

the one room that has received some restoration in the family apartments

The view from the top is magnificent...

south across the Garonne river valley and the chateau's vineyards

The pictures are a little hazy as this was still a winter’s day and the vines are bare, but you can see how beautiful this area can be in summer.

This little stone man was perched on the roof of the chapel looking like an early version of ‘The Thinker”.

Hope you have enjoyed our day out.....

Bonne semaine mes amis

A winter’s day….

nothing much beats French Onion Soup 

We’ve hit the zero degree days and all this morning we have had a gentle sleet falling. It melts as soon as it hits the ground so the temperature is not quite cold enough for a photo opportunity.

This is just the weather for staying inside and cooking. We’ve tried a few new recipes as well as the traditional. Lot's of soups like carrot and coriander, chicken and corn, minestrone, thai vegetable, and of course, french onion.

We've also discovered a local dish called potée . The supermarket sells the vegetables in packs and separately a mixture of the meats - sausage and pork. You just throw them all in a large pot with stock and cook long and slow. It is delicious on a cold day.

Potée ingredients

One of the most common ingredients in this region is duck. It's reasonably priced and very easy to find in it's various forms. In summer we pan fry aiguillettes ( duck tenderloin) and serve with a marmalade and whisky sauce. But in winter one of the best ways to eat it is confit. The duck legs are cooked very slowly in duck fat until almost falling apart, then they are pan fried to crisp up the skin. It's not hard to do as the duck is sold at the supermarket already cooked and in a layer of fat ready to fry. Served with potatoes also cooked in the duck fat and this is a favourite dish. And we are told that duck and goose fat ( also popular here) are good for you !

confit de canard aux frites

I've been making Tarte Tatin for years in Australia and even brought my favourite pan with me so that there is no problem  making them here.

a simple apple tarte tatin

But I've also learned to make madeleines. These are a lovely small cake made in a fluted mould and dusted with sugar or often drizzled with honey.

Yum !

With the weather the way it is and the Six Nations Rugby competition starting tonight,  we will be hibernating for the weekend. So, I have just baked a fruit cake and I'll be making meat pies for saturday night.  A pity Australia isn't playing.

can you get anymore french than this ?

Bon week-end mes amis