The train to Armagnac

I like trains. I took them enough in India, but in Europe they are nice. Somehow a 750km train ride in India take 12 hours while in Europe it takes about 6. Depending on how many stops, it can be much faster.

So, on my itinerary was a visit to Armagnac. You might have heard that I'm a brandy fanatic, and well, going to France without visiting a few of my favorite brandy chateaux would be simply an insult to all the is good in this world. Ok, maybe not to EVERYTHING. But I'd certainly be remiss to neglect such an opportunity. Off I go. It's a tricky thing getting to Armagnac. You may have never heard of armagnac because it is completely overshadowed by it more commercial relative Cognac. Everyone has heard of cognac. Of course, rap music has something to do with that. Hennessey, Remy-Martin, Martell, and Couvoisier are the four well known major houses and they have gained some notoriety. Why, I can't tell you exactly, because the brandy they make is, generally speaking, far inferior to the really good cognac houses. I guess it's all a matter of marketing and branding. Look at Jack Daniel's... In any case, there is another reason Cognac is much more popular. It's because there is a major river in Cognac. Armagnac is essentially landlocked. Cognac had a much easier time distributing its product, and therefore it gained more popularity. But mind you, Armagnac just celebrated its 700th year of making grape brandy. So, the tradition and the quality are far superior in armagnac (that's an opinion, but I think a well founded one).

What does all that have to do with getting a train to armagnac? Well, the point is that you CAN'T actually get a train to armagnac. You have to catch a train to bordeaux or to mont de marsan and then rent a car, or hire an expensive taxi. Mont de Marsan is significantly closer to Labistide D'Armagnac, so I decided taking the train there would be a better call. Then to rent a car... Avis was the only place that had car rental, so that made the decision quite a bit easier. It was perhaps too expensive, but once I saw Labastide D'Armagnac, well, let's just say, renting a car was the best course of action...

A fun little navigation through southwest france, and 25 miles later was Chateau du Prada.