Saint Emilion Welcome Volunteers

After lunch Wednesday, Paul surprised the volunteers at La Giraudiere with a trip to the famous town of Saint Emilion. The weather was fantastic and remains quite warm in the Charente region. We drove through the french countryside with a range of beautiful sites including vines (vignoble) of the Bordeaux region. There is a lot of activity in the regions of Charente and Bordeaux with “La Vendage” ( Harvesting Grapes) commencing in recent weeks.

Saint-Emilion Vineyards

When we arrived in the medieaval french town, Paul was kind enough to show us the sites including the exterior of the  monolithic church  which began construction during the 12th Century in the town  of Saint-Émilion. The town of Saint-Emilion was named in honour of a hermit monk who lived in the caves nearby and who developed a religious following during his life. The Saint-Emilion Monolithic Church is the largest underground church in all of Europe;the bell tower rises above the town in a magnificent display  of ingenuity and the power of faith.

Monolithic Church

Shiao-Ping, Gwen and Andrea, the current  volunteers enjoyed a stroll through the French  town taking in some local produce from the Bordeaux region including some wine tasting, identifying aromas at the local wine providors and finishing with a coffee at the local cafe.

Our visit to Saint-Emilion was the final trip for our volunteers Shiao-Ping and Gwen as they will be completing their volunteer time in the French Countryside this weekend. We returned  to Charente and La Giraudiere happy to have learnt something about the rich history of this region.

Thanks to Paul for, helping to make this french volunteer experience a vacation to remember.

Andrea

Visit Saint-Emilion