Forgotten his two presidential mandates and the Watergate scandal which forced him to resign in 1974, “Tricky Dick” (“Richard the rogue”) is there to discover France, a “purely tourist” visit (1). So, he preferred the “Sud-Express” train to come from Paris because from the plane “you can’t see anything”…
Richard Nixon leaving Saint-Jean train station in Bordeaux, August 26, 1981.
Jean-François Grousset / Archives Sud Ouest
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Love of wine
A year earlier, Richard Nixon had already made a trip to France to discover Burgundy and its wines. This year, after champagne, it is the turn of Bordeaux to satisfy the curiosity of this enlightened amateur.
To do this, he spent two days in Gironde, hosted at Château Dehez in Blanquefort under the care of Maison Barton et Guestier. Despite requests from numerous Médoc châteaux, he chose Lafite Rothschild, his favorite wine. And it is with undisguised pleasure that he makes the traditional visit to the cellars with the Baron and Baroness Alain de Rothschild, and their son Baron Eric. The next day, after a lunch at Pian-Médoc, at Château Malleret with Mr. Bertrand du Vivier and a dinner at Château Mouton-Rothschild in Pauillac, Richard Nixon's express trip came to an end.
Jean-François Grousset / Archives Sud Ouest
Richard Nixon with Baron and Baroness Alain de Rothschild, and their son Baron Eric, in August 1981.
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On August 28, 1981, in the morning, he took the plane towards Geneva, not without a last goodbye with a souvenir photo between four gendarmes at the Bordeaux-Mérignac airport, to thank the Gironde constabulary who ensured his security during his tourist stay in Bordeaux.
France
