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May 2016 : From La Rochelle to Bergerac via Périgueux

It is in these overbooked weeks when I realized that the territory covered by the guided tours I propose is far from ridiculous! From Bergerac to the Atlantic Coast of La Rochelle via Bordeaux, St Emilion, Blaye, or Périgueux and Hautefort, it was a very intense period!

This crazy second fortnight of May 2016 starts in Sauternes area in front of the beautiful irises of the classified pemier grand cru Château Guiraud ...

Then I had the pleasure of guiding an Australian group to the river Isle Valley to discover sturgeon. This mysterious fish which we get the famous caviar ... Did you know that there are 27 species of sturgeon listed in the world? Here, we breed sturgeon Baeri : a Siberian origin freshwater sturgeon . This region is historically a caviar production site since the famous fish was used to swim upsteram the estuary of the Gironde and the Garonne, the Dordogne or the Isle to reach its spawning sites. The gravel exploitation and fishing are the main reason of the stock decreasing and today it is protected since 1982. Thus the production is now exclusively with farmed sturgeon and the Baeri species, wild sturgeon Sturio therefore being protected. Our guests have discovered the secrets of the production of the Gironde caviar in the caviar production site : Caviar de Neuvic along the River Isle. 

1 - Rue des Minimes in Blaye Citadel with spring flowers                               /                              2 - sturgeons - Caviar Neuvic                              /                               3 - Australian guests in charge of catching a sturgeon to dip

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Between a private tour to Blaye and Bourg or lecture on the Gironde estuary for CroisiEurope, I was also able to guide a part of the staff of an American company whose staff would meet international seminar annual Bordeaux. We have been to Saint Emilion for a great day....

Cognac getaway for another Australian group before support a lovely American couple; the woman needed help to get tracks that would allow her for keeping on working on her genealogy. The lady who found the trail of a périgourdin ancestor who have sailed to reach the New World and escape persecutions, was very eager to discover the land of his Huguenots ancestors . After a brief visit to Périgueux, we had a informative lunch around the main stages of religious wars in Périgord and retrospective of the Huguenots migration to the Dordogne valley. Then off we went to the castle of Hautefort before driving back to Bordeaux. 

1 - Private tour to Périgueux and Chateau de Hautefort in Périgord                                           /                                           2 - At the foot of the castle in Hautefort                                           /                                           3 - Cognac cellars with a vintage sealed barrel 

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This crazy ride through the southwest of France in May ends in La Rochelle, where I had the pleasure to welcome a British group having a short call at the port of La Pallice to discover La Rochelle and a Cognac estate.

Gironde Estuary, Food and Wine Tours, South of France, Cognac Tours, Licensed Bordeaux tour guide, Bordeaux tourist guide, Bordeaux guided tours

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