The ride today turned into somewhat of an adventure. We started late as we were sending Erika back to Bordeaux for her flight home and she didn’t leave until noon. We started with another ferry ride back over to Cap Ferret and onto the velodyssey route again. About 20 kms in we started to notice a big smoke plume ahead, something George had noticed the day before but didn’t think too much about. At 30kms we hit the first road block, spoke with the Gendarmes and were advised to go north around the wildfire. We got to the next town and again we were stopped by a road closure and had to head farther north to circumvent the trouble spot. This time we didn’t get stopped, we got through to our next destination but rode an extra 20kms in +30 degrees, arriving about 6pm rather than 4pm. This is one disadvantage to cycle touring, it’s not always easy to add on extra mileage. It was a bit smokey along the road but not too bad.
We got into our room and cleaned up then headed out to forage for food. It turns out that this is another “not happening place” with little to offer for restaurants that were still open. It was a Tuesday and usually it’s just Sunday and Monday that are a problem but here it includes Tuesday. We found one place, a Japanese sushi place and we had to convince them to sell us some takeout food as he was strapped being the only open food establishment in town. Perhaps travelling in the shoulder season in small places isn’t wise. The sushi was good though.
The next day we decided to relax in the morning after our stressful day yesterday. The air was smokey, felt like home for the last few summers. In the afternoon we rode east, away from the fire and the forest, toward the Margaux vineyard area. We saw many beautiful chateaux and stopped at one for a tour in English. It was interesting to learn about the the different types of grapes, the barrels, the wine making process and finally tasting a few different ones. We had room for one demi bottle in the rack pack to accompany our supper.
Because of all the trouble we had finding a meal yesterday we decided to play it safe and buy some prepared food from the grocery store and eat at the auberge in the garden. It was a quiet and pleasant evening.
geeteetravels 
Clearly a place I need to visit – Château Margaux and the Margaux winery! Thanks for sharing!