Lifestyles Of The Not So Rich And Famous

Bus tours aren't my favorite.  In fact, they are pretty far down the list, just above "being eaten by a shark" and "watching Daniel Jones try to play quarterback for the NY Football Giants."

In fact, the first bus tour we ever took was the first day of our first foreign trip as a family in spring of 2001.  We were in Madrid, Spain (Editor: what, are you worried readers would think you meant "Madrid, New Mexico" if you hadn't added "Spain"?) and our travel agent (yes, they were a thing back then) said it would be a great way to get an overview of the city.

Against our will, we skeptically okayed the idea.  We got off the bus about halfway through the tour, before they were taking the bus people to "Hard Rock" for a non-Spanish lunch.  Sometimes you have to take a bus to easily get from point A to point B, but a "bus tour" is not at all appealing to Carol and I.

After the morning oyster tasting and BLW, we did a three hour tour ("a three hour tour") of the Medoc Chateau Route.

Let me tell you, there are people who say you don't make money in the wine business, that to make a small fortune in wine, start with a large fortune, and it's a labor of love, not for making money.

Well, those people have never seen the chateaus along the route.  We went past many of the most significant chateaus in Bordeaux on this bus tour, including Lafite-Rothschild, Pontet-Canel, Latour, Cos d'Estournel, Leoville Barton, Beychevelle, and other big (and small) names.

Don't feel terrible for anyone who owns the chateaus.  Well, actually anyone who used to own in the past.  Because the French death tax has forced many families to sell their chateaus to big corporations who use it for prestige and (probably) as a get-away for top executives.

We stopped outside of Clos d'Estournel to stretch our legs and take more than a couple of quick photos.  I didn't take a lot during the Chateau Route bus tour, but here's a few:

Vineyards are natural places for selfies.

Man about town Doug Heye says this is

Pichon-Baron, and he's undoubtedly

correct.  More importantly, we're

adding four turrets onto our house.

Clos d'Estournel.

Their family crest.  Our family crest

would feature an undersized

Labradoodle sleeping and a

schizo border collie rescue

mutt running away.

The loveliest of all

was the unicorn.

These were taken from the

same spot I took the picture

of the chateau a few pics up.

Lafite-Rothschild.  Or Mouton-Rothschild.

I don't remember.

Same chateau, plus a weeping willow.