If you look for Bourdeaux on Google Maps it will ask "Did you mean Bordeaux?" But do not be confused. It is a pretty little town in the Department of the Drome with its medieval ruins atop the hill, people living in medieval stone houses near the top and progressively newer houses as you come down the hill to the Rubion river, which looks more like a creek.
The hilltop ruins are of not one but two castles of different lords and there are three churches within a stone's throw of where our friends live, by the Rubion. It is 44 kms Northeast to Die (where they make the renowned Clairette and Cremant de Die, bubbly white wines from Brut to sweet and very nice). It is a similar distance to the Northwest to Valence, which is the biggest town around and boasts a TGV train station.
To the North over a ridge is a nice size town which has the closest good shopping called Crest (pronounced Kreh).
To the South, through some spectacular gorges is Nyons (pronounced Nee-ownce) which is famous for its black wrinkly olives with bigger pits than normal and the olive oil made from them. Nyons also has a wonder Provençal market on Saturdays in the summer where you can get regional produce, handicrafts (baskets, pottery) and artisanal goods (e.g. scented soaps).
Bourdeaux has a good butcher, two general stores, a Thursday morning market, two boulangerie/patisseries as well as a post office and all the amenities you would need such as tennis courts, a swimming pool and a public pool to wash your clothes, if you were so disposed to.
This was our base from which we planned to cycle and explore the region. Our hosts, Pascaline and Paul had a huge house to which they welcomed us in the village. The house was probably two or three houses that had been put together over the years and boasted about 7 or 8 apartments that had been used as "Gite" (a cross between and inn and a B&B).
Looking down we see the small town of Bourdeaux and to the North we see the mountains that yield some of the excellent cycling around here. The cleft in the mountain range is where the Col de Chaudière can be found. That was on the agenda for our next day.
We had a dinner of ravioli and salad. The postage stamp size ravioli are one of the specialties of the region and come with many fillings. These ones were with pistou (a type of pesto). Others I've seen here are with Picodon (the goat's milk cheese of the region), Emmenthal and spinach and cheese. But there are many other fillings. Only the size and ubiquity of the ravioli are constant. Dinner was finished off with an apricot tart Pasacline made without any added sugar. She was minding my weight for me. Cristina must have put a bug in her ear. Then it was off to our still jet-lagged sleep.
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