Ébéon Travel Guide

  Small, quiet & hard to find.
by Steve-H
 
  • Small, quiet & hard to find.
      Small, quiet & hard to find.
    by Steve-H
  • Roman Tower seen from my bike.
      Roman Tower seen from my bike.
    by Steve-H
  • Checking out the vinyards of southern France.
      Checking out the vinyards of southern...
    by Steve-H
  • The farm house
      The farm house
    by Steve-H
  • Relaxing after another hard ride.
      Relaxing after another hard ride.
    by Steve-H
 

Explore Ébéon

Things to Do  

The countryside, enjoy the open spaces.

The countryside, enjoy the open spaces., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  As you will have gathered by now Ebeon is something of a rural retreat for me and others who have discovered the beauty of the Charente Maratime. What a great excuse to get out and see a bit more of the countryside, Jane and David have some friends a few miles away so off we... 

The Roman tower.

The Roman tower., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  Once a lookout/signal tower, the outer wall and stairs have fallen away but it's still an impressive piece of engineering. 

Restaurants  

Eating in Ebeon.
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Steve-H 505 reviews
Mussels and wine for lunch.

Lunch time and it's mussels with lashings of cider, top meal. Ebeon is quite an out of the way place so no fancy restaurants here, when we did eat out, it was in a very rustic setting and featured such highlights as home made aperitifs and a wonderful spinach mousse. Alas that restaurant has now gone so the nearest night out will be in St Jean D'Angelay.

Updated Aug 9, 2010

Related to:
 Wine Tasting
 Food and Dining

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Nightlife  

Another night in....

Another night in...., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  I keep telling you...there is nothing to do here, its a stress buster, chill out, relax, have another glass or two of wine, read a book.This is how we lived before playstations and satellite TV. 

Staying in....again.

Staying in....again., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  There isn`t a lot to do here as you already know, in the summer a meal on the patio and a little stargazing is as good as it gets, in the winter its much the same but less stargazing so on cool evenings a long supper and even longer drinks are in order. 

Transportation  

The best way to get around the countryside.

The best way to get around the countryside., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  Here's my Yamaha relaxing in the barn after another tour of the area surrounding Ebeon. I have flown here and rented a car, I have ridden around on a bicycle and I have travelled here by train but the best and most fun option was to take the motorcycle.There is a lot of... 

Eurostar barfly.

Eurostar barfly., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  I've flown to the Charente Maratime, driven & ridden my motorcycle so I thought it was time I travelled by train. The Eurostar from London to northern France, then on to Bordeaux where I got a local network train to take me closer to my goal, the smaller trains were very old... 

La Rochelle airport, the closest to Ebeon.

La Rochelle airport, the closest to Ebeon., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  The closest airport to Ebeon is La Rochelle and the abundance of cheap flights from the UK make it affordable and easy to get to. I have use BMI, the tiny airport has a bar and restaurant but not much else so delays can be a real drag. Car hire is easy and reasonable too,... 

Shopping  

Jean-Marie Garraud: Pineau and cognac. 2004.

Jean-Marie Garraud: Pineau and cognac. 2004., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  All over the Charente Maratime you will see signs for Pineau and Cognac, in Courcerac near Matha is the home/farm/distillery of the Garraud family, their wines were recommended by those in the know, it was a trip worth taking. Cognac you will already be familiar with but... 

The market in St Jean d'Angely.

The market in St Jean d'Angely., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  Happy again after visiting the market in St Jean d'Angely. Take advantage of the local markets when in rural France, there is an amazing amount of quality produce, local meat and wine all reasonably priced.It amazes me that people still want to go on fully catered holidays,... 

Local Customs  

Big Gates, and i don`t mean Bill.
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Steve-H 505 reviews
A modest pair.

The local custom seems to be to get your builder to put up some great big gate posts, bigger the better. Everyone has them,some are so large you expect to be met by St Peter, what they are for i don`t know as the gates are never closed.

Written Jun 29, 2004

Related to:
 Castles and Palaces
 Bungy Jumping
 Whale Watching

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What to Pack  

Satnav.
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Steve-H 505 reviews
Small, quiet & hard to find.

Luggage and bags: Unless you have a local map of the area most maps, including the Michelin 721, aren't detailed enough to help you find places as small as Ebeon, use sat nav if possible.

Photo Equipment: Oh yes.

Written Aug 9, 2010

Related to:
 Motorcycle
 Spa and Resort
 Road Trip

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Off The Beaten Path  

2004 Vintage on the way.

2004 Vintage on the way., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  2003 produced some classic french reds as did 2000, the last year I was here.Scenes like these remind us that we are not far from the greatest wine producing region in the world, it was early in the season and the vines are still standing in puddles of spring rain. 

Original features.

Original features., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  Most of the region has thankfully not yet been ravaged by the need to develop and renew, looking around you will find plenty of old buildings and original features like these magnificent windows spotted while out driving in a neaby village. Look closely at the masonry, the... 

Take time to smell the.......sunflowers! (2005)

Take time to smell the.......sunflowers! (2005), Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  The Charente Maratime is a wonderful tapestry of wide open places and beautiful scenery, the almost endless fields of sunflowers and the countless rows of vines will amaze you. 

Whats this?

Whats this?, Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  You will see many of the trees in this area looking as though they are full of birds nests, in fact it is mistletoe. 

Sports & Outdoors  

The new pool house. 2004.

The new pool house. 2004., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  The pool is finished, hooray! The topless pool house next to the guest house (the building has no roof ) is finished at last and despite the cool weather when I visited it looked very tempting. There is a barbeque and shower too, This project has really been thought through,... 

Full on or full fat.

Full on or full fat., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  The health conscious traveler may find the rural parts of France a problem, the full fat foods and wines may have to be offset by exercise at some time but what to do?We tried the tennis courts in Authon a few miles down the road and a little cycling but apart from that... 

Favorites  

Nothing but the views..

Nothing but the views.., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  Jane and David have worked on the garden, for the first few years it was dug up repeatedly as drains were laid and waste pipes were sorted out, the end result is worth all the effort, the local wild life seem to think so too. 

The local wines.

The local wines., Ébéon

 Steve-H Says:  What are the French most famous for? thats right, blowing up coral atolls with nuclear bombs but after that there is the wine.There are plenty of local producers around the Ebeon area, the whole region is full of them, the best way i found to keep track of our modest intake... 

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