Recently one of Andrew’s former coworkers Arnaud, now good friend, invited a couple of us to join him and his family for a weekend we’ll never forget. His family lives in Bergerac, France (just outside Bordeaux) the land of wine, foie gras, and castles. Annually, they get together for a proper golf tournament between them and friends. It’s really a good excuse to see everyone! We hopped in the car (we’ve collected a fair number of miles in the last month) and headed to France. It’s truly a beautiful drive!

Bergerac has the opposite vibe of bustling city life. It’s a quaint town with the countryside just a few minutes away. It was easy to feel like a local wandering the obviously old streets. We met our newfound family at the Saturday market which, unlike the city, is incredibly massive. It had some of the best looking produce we’ve seen!

In addition to some fresh berries and tomatoes, wine was on our shopping list. We went for an impromptu wine tasting to a couple of Arnaud’s go to spots. The first was where we did the most damage (Chateau Jaubertie) and the second was set on the grounds of a castle (Chateau Monbazillac). We bought so many bottles to take home that we could’ve been confused as modern day bootleggers, just don’t tell.. we were only allowed 6 per person crossing the border back home!

The area is chock full of less touristed but should be touristed areas of France. With the ever popular Bordeaux around the corner the smaller cities seem to be overlooked. We made a point to stop by one of them: Beynac-et-Cazenac. Not only did we explore the charming town, it’s also home to a massive castle.

Let’s get to the action scene of the weekend because let’s face it, any other time we were lounging by the pool drinking wine..lots of wine. Tourney day was upon us. This is where Andrew took off for a golf outing and I continued to work on my tan. After the day’s healthy competition, all of us gathered around the trophy waiting to hear who would take it home. Well, none of us Americans won it but Andrew didn’t go home empty handed. He was awarded a bottle of wine for his 300 meter longest drive. We poured his winnings and celebrated that night like all of us had won.. but we had! Because they only see each other once a year and we don’t have this local family experience very often. We’re grateful that we can spend time with amazing people doing amazing things like this! Truly, this was one of those once in a lifetime experiences we will never forget.