Day Nine: A Leisurely Afternoon at Les Sources de Caudalie

Authored by Christina

We had been moving so fast, we hadn’t had time to really enjoy our hotel, except for a few minutes before dinner here and there. After our visit to Chateau Haut Bailly, we were pleased to spend the rest of the day today exploring at our hotel, the beautiful Les Sources de Caudalie, which had been highly recommended by many people. Located among the vineyards at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, it was a perfect respite from all the running around we had been doing.

Christina at the front entrance of Les Sources de Caudalie. — At the front entrance of Les Sources de Caudalie. (I used the vintage hipstamatic photo app on my phone, which I think adds to the romance of the place.)

Another view of the entrance. — A view of the back entrance.

We enjoyed a light lunch on the terrace, watching the ducks in the pond, and then took a walk around the property, before enjoying a glorious massage at the namesake spa.

A view of the terrace where we had lunch. Bob didn't use the same app I did for his photos, thus, you get a little of both in our recaps. — A view of the terrace where we had lunch. (Bob didn’t use the same app I did for his photos, thus, you get a little of both types of photos in our recaps.)

Another view of the terrace where we enjoyed a terrific lunch.

The view of the pond from our terrace. — The view of the pond and another guest cottage from our terrace.

So sweet. Wonder if you could take the rowboat for a ride?

Ready for a conversation... — Ready for a conversation…

We never had the time to play a game... — We never had the time to play a game.

But we did have time to grab a glass or two of the Lynch Bages Blanc de Blanc one night. Yum! I miss that wine... — But we did have time to grab a glass or two of the Blanc de Lynch Bages one night. Yum! I miss that wine…

Our room was located in this building. — Another building on the property.

Post-rubdown, we luxuriated in the sun by the pool. Bob ran back to the room to grab some wine – and came back with a split of Krug! Of course. For once he didn’t manage to smuggle it over in his luggage – he actually managed to purchase it back when we were in Bages, and chill it in our room, all without me noticing. This is one of his favorite tricks.

Our room was next to the pool. The building behind it is the separate spa.

It just so happened that our afternoon in the sun was on the warmest day of the trip - lucky us. It was VERY warm though - unseasonably so. Little did they know, the heat wave was about to turn to rain though. — It just so happened that our afternoon in the sun was on the warmest day of the trip – lucky us. It was VERY warm though – unseasonably so. An interesting year for the grapes!

All said and done, I have to say, I much prefer the Krug trick to the one he played next. We realized our afternoon in the sun had to come to a close, because we had a late afternoon appointment on the property to tour the Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte winery. Upon arriving back at the room, however, we were missing Bob’s room key. Where could it be? A frantic search ensued, as we were already running a wee bit late.

Can you guess where we found it? In his spa robe pocket, retrieved by the maids after it had traveled down the laundry chute! Mystery solved, we cleaned up as best we could and ran, breathless to our next appointment…which turned out to be another fun adventure!