Southern Spain and Northern France, A Road Trip

After stuffing our faces in San Sebastian (see my previous post), my family and I packed up a picnic bag full of manchengo, queso tetilla, jamon, chorizo, fruit and a baguette. You're probably thinking, hadn't we eaten enough? Trust me, that was just the start. We hopped into the car and headed to Bordeaux. Our road trip (and culinary tour) would then take us to Dune du Pilat, Biarritz, Santander, and Bilbao.

Bordeaux

We arrived in Bordeaux to a rainy, but beautiful city.

We took pictures at the miror d'eau, drank rosé in a square, and went to the wine school for wine and charcuterie. During our time in Bordeaux, Euro Cup 2016 was taking place and there were matches in Bordeaux. Thus, there were many rowdy and drunk European soccer fans. We watched games in local bars and truly enjoyed the jovial atmosphere. And of course, we had to have some Escargot, one of my favorites.

We took a wine tour of the Saint-Émilion region about 45 minutes outside of Bordeaux. First we stopped at Château Geffeliere, pictured above. We learned a lot about wine making that was incredibly interesting (which frankly I never really paid much attention before on tours in Napa). I'll leave two interesting facts with you: 1) Most champagne grapes are red grapes and 2) Bordeaux reds are almost all Merlot grapes. Unlike California where we have many varieties of grapes, Bordeaux's wines are dependent on the terroir, ie. the landscape, soil, incline, etc. of where the grapes are grown.

We then explored the small medieval town of Saint-Émilion before heading to our next stop at Château Bernateau. This Chateau was less grand and more of a family run affair with children's toys scattered about the property. It was in a beautiful setting neighboring many vineyards in the region. This Chateau was also unique in that it is one of the few certified organic wineries.

My favorite meal in Bordeaux was at La Tupina. This restaurant was an old school French bistro in both appearance and cuisine, presenting food of the region. My Dad and sister both had the braised lamb shoulder, my Mom ordered the veal sweetbreads, and I ordered the traditional Cassoulet. Pictured in order:

I had never had a Cassoulet before, but I had read about it French cooking. It is now one of the best dishes I have eaten. It was enormous, but I couldn't stop eating it. It consisted of a stew of white beans with garlic, bacon, sausage, duck, and a large roast pork with crispy skin and tender meat. It was just incredible, I really cannot say enough about how delicious this was.

Then for dessert we had the Canneles, a traditional pastry in Bordeaux. They have a soft custard center and a thick caramelized crust. They were quite good, and a favorite of my sister and dad. I quite literally waddled home from this meal, which is not easy on cobblestones I might add.

Dune du Pilat and Biarritz

We left Bordeaux and my Dad had the idea to head to the Dune du Pilat and have lunch at Hôtel Restaurant La Co(o)rniche.

This turned out to be a great stop and a favorite along the trip. We had oysters, white wine and fish at the restaurant, which overlooked the ocean. The hotel was lovely with an all white interior and a large patio with a long bar, pool, and lounge chairs. This is the place to be for a beach retreat from Bordeaux. Afterwards lunch, we hiked down the cliff to explore the dune. We had previously read that it was the largest European sand dune (random?) and it truly was incredible. On the east side it emerged out of the forest and on the west end it was bordered by the ocean. We climbed all the way to the top and took in the view.

Afterwards we continued down to Biarritz. We ended up driving through one of the largest rainstorms I had ever seen. I should have taken a video but I was too nervous given the circumstances. When we arrived in Biarritz the rain had finally subsided and we went for a stroll in this charming beach town.

That night we grabbed dinner at Bar Jean, a bustling bar and restaurant. The food was casual and delicious. We started with marinated anchovies and a large salad. Afterwards we got a plate of grilled sardines and mussels in garlic sauce with fries. It was beach-town comfort food at it's finest.

Unfortunately, Biarritz was quite rainy during our stay, so we were unable to go to the beach. Instead we joined the crowds for Euro Cup viewings and beer at a local bar. A rough life indeed.

For dinner on our last night we went to Fumoir Marin, a restaurant that specifically serves smoked fish. I thought, what the hell? I wasn't really sure what to expect. And it was a magical experience. We ordered the shared plate to feed the four of us. It was served with buttery potatoes, bread, scrambled eggs, and sour cream.

Holy Smokes is right! This was insanely good. There was grilled octopus, periwinkles, shrimp, three types of smoked fish (one soaked in vodka which was my favorite), scallops, tuna, caper-berries, sauerkraut, and probably a lot more that I can't remember. I died and went to smoked fish heaven that night.

Santander and Bilbao

After consuming everything under the sea (sorry, I couldn't help myself), it was back to Spain for us. We headed to Santander for the night. Unfortunately, Santander was very rainy and frankly I didn't take many pictures. I will say though that the lunch and dinner we had in Santander were both quite delicious. And we did have my favorite mid afternoon snack of churros con chocolate.

It was off to Bilbao, a modern and lively city. The city felt less touristy and more like a modern Spanish city center, a nice change of pace. We of course went to the Guggenheim which was incredible, a truly beautiful building set on the river, with very unique exhibits. We finished off our trip with a t-bone that fed four and a plate of fries. The steak was cooked perfectly, sizzling on the skillet and speckled with sea salt.

This was truly a trip of a lifetime, a food trip of a lifetime, to be exact. The weather was unfortunately quite dreary, but I was in great company, visiting charming cities, sipping on wine, and indulging in some of the best cuisine in the world. I may have gained a pound per city, but it was worth every ounce.

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