Ed’s Regent Cruise Vacation Vignette – Santander and Bordeaux

Santander, Spain – where the heck is Santander?  I had never heard of it and frankly didn’t know what we would do there.  The ship offered 2 tours, a shopping trip or a trip to El Sardinero Beach. 

El Sardinero Beach

If you know my wife, there was really only one tour choice so off we went to the El Corte Ingles department store.  I was expecting a Sears department style of store.  However, we were very surprised at the size and scope of this shopping centre!  It reminded me very much of a Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom’s type of store.  All the departments within the store are separate stores with lots of high-end products like Polo, Lacoste, etc.   Sorry I don’t know any of the ladies brands but think of your favourites and you get the idea.

Surprisingly, we bought very little and instead decided to walk around central Santander.  Again, we were surprised.  Not at the traditional historic sites of old churches and towers but by the number of stores selling everything from fur and leather jackets to shoes, clothing stores and did I mention…shoes?

The city was a very nice stop and the beauty was that the ship was docked right downtown. 

Next stop – Bordeaux!  The Mecca for wine lovers, I could hardly wait as this was the one destination on this cruise that I absolutely wanted to visit and I must say that I was NOT disappointed.  To start with the ship goes right up the Gironde River (Estuary) and docks right in the middle of town.  What a beautiful town!  We look right off our balcony to an unbelievable array of beautiful old buildings and a wonderful riverside

Gironde Estuary

promenade of walkers, joggers, bikes and skaters.  We got off the ship and immediately started exploring the old part of the city.  It was a fabulous walk about, and then we decided to rent bicycles.  Like Paris and Rome, they have bicycle stations spread throughout the city so you rent for 24 hours or longer and pick up and deposit backs at any number of locations.  One location was virtually across the street from where we docked.  It cost one Euro for the day, we rode along the miles of promenade taking in the wonderful Bordeaux atmosphere.

Our tour in the afternoon was of the Medoc region and while most of it was just sightseeing from the bus, we saw the wonderful Chateaus of many of the best wine producers of the world.  Chateau Margaux, Chateau Lafite Rothschild and many other “winery castles” in the Medoc area were seen.  We did stop at one Chateau for a tour and a wine tasting in Saint-Julien.  The folks at Chateau Gruaud Larose were very good in their tour of the vineyard and wine operations.  They explained the Bordeaux classification of wines very well and took us into their cellars.  Vintages from 1900 were stored there and if I had an extra 25,500 Euros to spend, I might have bought their last bottle of the 1900 vintage. 

Instead, I could only afford a bottle of their 2001 vintage Grand Cru Classe wine (one of the wines we tasted) and will thoroughly enjoy it with fond memories when we get home.

The next morning was a tour of St. Emilion on the right bank of the Gironde River.  Another famous wine-producing area but the highlight was the village of St Emilion itself.  We were so surprised at the beauty and attraction it

St. Emilion

provides that we have vowed that we will go back to Bordeaux and spend a week or two in the area.  We did not visit any wineries but there is an abundance of wine shops in the town, featuring everything from Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Petrus to wines starting at a couple of Euro a bottle.  I had a great discussion with one merchant who had his own winery and had to buy a bottle of his limited production.  Hope I can get these wines home in one piece!

We had the afternoon to spend in the city of Bordeaux and did more cycling and sightseeing.  So much to see and do with so little time to do them…this has been the best port of call on the cruise and can’t wait to come back with some other wine lovers to enjoy all the region has to offer.

This is also the first time we have been on a cruise that stayed in port for two days.  That was fun as we could stay ashore as long as we wanted and it was nice to have a home base. Somewhat disappointed at leaving Bordeaux, we did bring a bottle on the ship with us and enjoyed a little taste of the Medoc over supper…fantastic!

After dinner, off to the theatre for another show but not just another show.  This show was Regent’s rendition of a Cirque de Soleil performance and it was the best show I have ever seen on any ship, anywhere at any time.  It was fantastic; the performers went way beyond their normal dancing skills and were excellent Cirque performers as well.  They were literally hanging from the rafters and performing over the audience.  Certainly, we held our breath many times; just remember they are performing as the ship is sailing as well.  WOW!

Ed