Vineyards, animals and relaxing spa moments is the perfect mix for holiday away from city-life in my book. Les Sources de Caudalie, which is located in the middle of the Château Smith Haut Lafitte vineyards in Bordeaux France, is the ultimate location for a weekend away from everything. And it can't be an all-encompassing French experience without the culinary exploration of the region's best food. The choices are different from each other with the country inn, La Table du Lavoir for lunch with a typical country cuisine, happy hour at the wine and tapas bar, ROUGE and dinner at the two-Michelin starred La Grand’Vigne for the ultimate culinary exploration, all of this while tasting the three wines on produced by the property. 

If the name of the resort looks familiar it is because you might already know the French beauty brand Caudalie, and have for sure tried their cult product the Beauty Elixir, which was inspired by the Youth Elixir of the Queen of Hungary in the 16th century. Like many of their other products, it uses grape as a base and here where it all connects. 

Mathilde Thomas, the founder of Caudalie, is the daughter of pro-skiers Daniel and Florence Cathiard, who bought a 14th-century vineyard called Château Smith Haut Lafitte back in the 90s. That’s where Mathilde originally found her inspiration to start the skincare brand Caudalie and where, her sister  Alice Tourbier, opened Les Sources de Caudalie. 

 

[caption id="attachment_16683" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Dressing Gown Parosh Shoes Avec Moderation[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16684" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Dress PAROSH Necklace Drunken Rabbit by Linda Ferrari[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16687" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Top & Skirt Rahul Mishra Bag Sara Giunti[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16691" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Dress PAROSH Necklace Drunken Rabbit by Linda Ferrari[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16698" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Cardigan Gucci Skirt M Missoni[/caption]

Visiting Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte

Spa Days with Caudalie

[caption id="attachment_16325" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Monument aux Girondins Bordeaux[/caption]

I've decided not to Google anymore the places that I'm about to visit and leave it as a surprise. Starting with my trip to Bordeaux where I had to do it the old way, walking aimlessly and discovering the town one area at a time. I had 3 days in Bordeaux which are more than enough to see everything there is to see while walking and wine tasting at every corner. Bordeaux is the capital of the wine industry, at least that is what the French say because I'm sure Italians from Tuscany don't agree. 

Things to do in Bordeaux

Walk around the city

Half of the whole town is a World Heritage Site so you can't go wrong just walking for hours. Starting with the three main streets Cours Clemenceau, Cours de l’Intendance, Allées de Tourny then moving into the backstreets where you'll be amazed by the neoclassical buildings. 

A walk on the riverfront

The Garonne river has been one of the most important sites for the city of Bordeaux with its port that would connect the town with the World and be the main drive to economic development. The old port isn't there anymore, but walking up the Pont-de-Pierre you can see how rich this town was from the architecture of the waterfront 18th-century buildings. 

Cité du Vin

Opened in 2016 with a modern architecture  Cité du Vin is the biggest cultural center dedicated to wine. They don't have one of these in Tuscany, so maybe the French are right, Bordeaux is the world capital of wine. With tasting rooms, 800 different types of wines and lots of wine history exhibitions it is a unique place for wine lovers. 

Food

I can't suggest a specific place because everywhere I ate it was a delicious experience. The city is very close to the Atlantic ocean so fresh oysters are a must try, but Bordeaux is a carnivore town and its most famous dish is entrecôte marchand de vin, also called entrecote a la bordelaise. This dish is a rib steak cooked in a rich gravy made from Bordeaux wine. The typical sweets are called Canelés, tiny round cakes soaked in rum which used to be made by the nuns of the convent of Annonciades in Bordeaux. 

Antique Shopping

Twice a year, in Spring and Autumn, the Foire à la Brocante des Quinconces is the appointment of all vintage and antique lovers who live in the region. I stayed at an Airbnb and the lady who owned the house had decorated it all from pieces found at this market. 

[caption id="attachment_16317" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Galerie Bordelaise, Bordeaux Wearing skirt MMissoni, Cardigan Gucci[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16318" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Galerie Bordelaise, Bordeaux[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_16322" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Wearing MMissoni Dress[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16340" align="aligncenter" width="800"] The big bell of Bordeaux[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16310" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Parosh dress, Gucci loafers, Sara Giunti Bag[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_16330" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Place de la Bourse Bordeaux[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16328" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Place de la Bourse Bordeaux[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16309" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Carousel de Bordeaux Wearing Parosh Trench Coat Fendi Bag[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16329" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Place de la Bourse Bordeaux[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16333" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Place du Parlement, Bordeaux[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16334" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Place du Parlement, Bordeaux[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16332" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Place du Parlement, Bordeaux[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_16335" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Pont de Pierre Built in 1820s in honor of Napoléon[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16336" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Wearing Parosh Dress, Drunken Rabbit by Linda Ferrari necklace, Longines watch[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16338" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Pont de Pierre, Bordeaux[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16339" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Puerta de Cailhau, Bordeaux. Built in 1495, this monument with a castle-like exterior was once the main gate to the city.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16320" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_16307" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Bordeaux Antiques Market[/caption]




Photography @APBRAMBI