Entre-Deux-Merres

Over our few days at Chateau de Sanse, we began each morning with some of the freshest and best croissants we had ever had. They really do know how to treat you well at this nice little hotel.

The one full day we had in the area we spent driving around the Entre-Deux-Merres region. Our first destination was the town of Duras; a small town with a large castle, known for it's sweet white wines. Unfortunately the castle (http://www.chateau-de-duras.com/patrimoine-duras/cote-de-duras/siecles-histoire.asp) was closed until 2pm, but we did take a walk around the town, one of the many Bastides in the region or "fortified towns" originally constructed by the English in the 12th Century.

We also headed down from the town to the Maison du Vin des Cotes de Duras. Les Maison du Vin are located all over the region and sell the regional wines at the same prices as the producers do at their vineyards. As it was off season, the place was empty and we were treated to a sampling of each different type of wine produced. It was too bad we had a limit on the wine we could bring back on the plane.

For lunch we headed further south to Monsegur, a small bastide. Now, we decided on a restaurant that even Tom was a bit hesitant about. It was called something like Restaurant des Sports or something. The food they served us was fresh local fair. I had a lovely salad with lardons and the local goats cheese served on croutons with a bit of honey, and Tom had a very tasty chicken sandwich. We found similar extremely good, fresh and reasonably priced (that meal came to around 20 euro with a glass of wine for me and a coffee for Tom).

Following lunch our trip took us to La Reole, the location of the oldest remaining city hall in France, dating back to the 12th century. Richard the Lionheart had granted the town some independence to manage their affairs, and that city hall dates back to those days. There are also a number of timber houses around the town that look like they belong back in Stratford Upon Avon.


Our final stop was another town famous for its castle, Sauveterre-de-Guyenne. This castle was also not open, as winter in the region is pretty slim on tourists. It would definitely be a place to stop during the summer months.