The early morning view from our window
As I mentioned in our last blog, a week spent in Bordeaux was an unexpected pleasure. We had to cut short our time in the south of France to be back in Paris for two long-awaited medical appointments related to our one-year French visas. We were at the mercy of the French bureaucracy and have learned when they tell you to be somewhere on a certain date, be there - or lose your place for months. Of course, as these things tend to go, the appointments were ten days apart.
But that’s why I’m calling this story “A Glass Half Full”, because, on the bright side, our time in Bordeaux turned out to be a wonderful diversion, and our glasses were often half full of something delicious.
To fill the time between appointments, we looked for a city to visit that we hadn’t been to before that was fairly close to Paris. Thus far, visiting wineries hasn’t been a priority for our travels, so to change things up we decided to head to wine country. Michael pointed out just as he can’t remember the difference between Cumulus and Cirrus clouds, he wasn’t clear on the distinction between Burgundy and Bordeaux, other than wine was involved. The answer: one is a region and the other a city and they are about 500 miles apart - “wine tourism” marketing is wasted on us.
Michael is always creating these great maps to show our family where we are or help me follow his travel planning. Here’s a layout of our summer and our wine touring options.
So for reasons beyond grape varietals we chose Bordeaux - just under three hours by fast train from Paris. It is a beautiful city that Queen Elizabeth recently declared “The very essence of elegance.” That wasn’t always the case. For a long time, Bordeaux was known as “La Belle Endormie” (the Sleeping Beauty) in reference to the old center where the buildings were black from grime and pollution. But in 2002 the mayor (a former Prime Minister of France) committed to burnishing the facades of its most important buildings and landmarks and put the onus on landlords to scrub their buildings or be fined. They added a tram system and repaved the major streets. Now, 18th-century grande dames sweep aside their soft, dijon colored skirts to reveal bright green spaces, fanciful fountains and new cobblestones at their feet.
Bordeaux deserves this perfect image (not mine) to commemorate all their hard work to wake up this Sleeping Beauty. Read about the transformation and the city’s rich history in a New York Times profile here.
For all its formality, Bordeaux has its fun side, too. This detail from the fountain at the Monument of the Girondins looks more like a scene from Woodstock than a tribute to the heroes of the French Revolution!
Michael helps with the blog by writing up notes that often include links to more information about a city. I’ll share these two great ones on Bordeaux. One from the Telegraph travel section and the other offering 10 Quirky Facts about Bordeaux.
Our Airbnb was disappointing and didn’t live up to the photos. It was a little worse for wear, and it was a managed property that was devoid of personality and attention to detail. And, as often is the case, the representative from the rental agency gave a very perfunctory tour of the place and seemed eager to bid us adieu. There wasn’t a “house manual” that shared recommendations for restaurants, grocery stores, etc. so we were on our own. But again, glass-half-full, we were in a great location close to the city center and next to a beautiful park - and with just a little sleuthing we found a large supermarket and lots of nice shops and bistros close by.
Our visit was over the last few days of September and early October. It seems a perfect time to visit. The city seemed quiet, but it could be that everyone was off touring wineries during “crush” especially around the village of St. Emilion, Or maybe spending time at the Cité du Vin, the new visitor center dedicated to viniculture that looks like a giant decanter set down next to the river. We did not pay the 20 euros each to visit since that seemed beyond our level of interest, but we did find a beautiful wine bar in the center of the city that is supported by The Bordeaux Wine Council called Bar à Vin. You can select from 30 rotating wines served in half or full pours for as little as 2 euro a glass. They also serve interesting cheese and charcuterie platters.
We didn’t visit the “city of wine”, but we found plenty of wine in the city! Our favorite wine bar was Bar a Vin, a stylish tasting bar supported by the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bordeaux (Bordeaux Wine Council). That meant affordable prices and servers who were very helpful. Not a Wine Snoot in the house.
The weather was perfect. Fall was in the air, so the days were sunny and crisp, except for one spectacular, late afternoon thunderstorm followed by pelting rain. We took our usual Free Walking Tour, this time with a young man from India as our guide who is studying to become a Sommelier! Wherever we go, these tours get us oriented and help us decide how to spend our time. In Bordeaux there are so many parks and plazas and old streets to explore, as well as a mile-long path along the river that walking became our main activity.
Our daily stroll into the center cut through the grounds of the Jardin Public where I encountered ducks and geese I’d never seen before. Being bold “city dwellers” they recognized me as a human with unusual plumage that often had bread in her pockets - so I always got an enthusiastic, waddling welcome when we rounded the pond.
I’ll feed any birds, any time. It goes back to sitting on the grass with my dad as a toddler and feeding the ducks on Lake Washington, I know you aren't supposed to, but its something I just can’t help! If it it makes up for it, I do not feed bears. Ever.
We found some great markets to explore. The most famous is The Marché des Capucins where the seafood is abundant. You wouldn’t know it, but Bordeaux is also known as “La perle d'Aquitaine” (The Pearl of Aquitaine) because of its proximity to the sea (see Michael’s map). We wrestled our way to the front counter in a scruffy, very crowded bar and found a spot where a man hand-washed and dried at least 200 glasses under our watch. I set myself up for oysters and a glass of muscadet while Michael chewed on chorizo, french bread, chunks of aged gouda and a cold beer. We were surrounded by a full cadre of local merchants and tired shoppers all slurping and sipping in harmony. I’ll take this kind of dining over an overpriced restaurant any day!
On weekends there is the Marche des Quais that stretches along the riverfront. It also had stalls serving oysters and all sorts of cheeses, charcuterie, and pastries, along with vendors selling takeaway paella, roasted fowl and hunks of pork, and tantalizing ethnic stews.
If there is one constant in our travels it is time spent in local markets. We can’t buy much, but we enjoy the colorful stalls, the equally colorful people watching and sips and samples of local fare along the way.
Keeping up with international sports is something we enjoy year-round and there were several different events to follow while we were in Bordeaux. We kept an eye on the World Athletics Championships from Doha, Qatar on TV in our Airbnb in the evenings, and found an Irish pub nearby where we could watch the Rugby World Cup from Japan. Michael is convinced the Irish government could boost its revenues by collecting royalties from the many thousands of "Irish Pubs" around the world.
Then by chance, we struck up a conversation with a young man from Senegal who worked as a security guard at Monoprix. While I continued shopping he and Michael started talking about sports (of course), and he mentioned Bordeaux’s football club would be playing Paris St. Germain (PSG) the team the Brazilian superstar Neymar plays for, in a match the next day. What!? We made a beeline to the team store to see if there were tickets left. Tickets for both of us were well beyond our budget so Mr. Campbell had a great day out and I treated myself to an early dinner of Steak Frites.
The women’s pole-vault from Doha was amazing - especially with the fierce Sandi Morris winning the silver medal, coming second to the Russian Anzhelika Sidorova.
One of many Irish Pubs around the world we’ve counted on for sports on a big screen. Here we are for an English Breakfast (special hours) to watch USA v France in the World Rugby Cup from Japan.
Michael’s willingness to talk to just about anyone about politics and sports has turned out to one of the best parts of our travels. He learns so much and takes great pleasure in meeting new people.
If there was a “glass half empty” moment, it was the day I had a shopping cart full of groceries at the local Carrefour Market and my credit card didn't work. I had a backup card, but that didn’t work either. I had a third "emergency" card and even that was declined! The young man at the counter was sure it was the store’s credit card reader, but even so, I was flustered and embarrassed as the line backed up behind me. So I asked to set the cart aside while I ran to the ATM across the street to get cash. And guess what, none of the cards worked there either. Now I was a little panicked. I called Michael and he said he would jump online and check our accounts. Meanwhile, I returned to the store to explain the situation. Sheepishly, I put all the groceries back on the shelves and then headed home. Michael couldn’t find anything amiss with our accounts, so together we went to a nearby ATM and tried the cards again. This time at a different bank. Every one of them worked! Later we passed a cash machine at Credit Agricole, the bank I’d tried across from the store, and it had a notice taped to the screen that the system was down (there wasn't a notice at the branch I used). So we put it down to bad luck, and my glass returned to half-full.
Because we are in France often to see our grandchildren, we have explored just about every corner of that wonderful country during our six years as Senior Nomads. But there are always new gems to be discovered. This year we spent time tied-up on a barge on the Seine and spent several weeks along the sunny Languedoc coast. We also explored more of Provence and then spent two wonderful weeks in Lyon. And now we can add Bordeaux to the list of places worth a visit. If you are interested in our French travels you can search the blog by city or location and no doubt I’ve written about it.
From Bordeaux, we headed back to Paris for a weekend with our family before our final medical exam. After Paris, we left France altogether and have been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather in Italy. Not that we are complaining!
Thanks for following along,
Debbie and Michael Campbell
NOTE: This is the 186th blog I’ve written since we began our Senior Nomad adventure in 2013. All of the blogs are searchable by topic or location. And, if you’d like to try living daily life in an Airbnb, use this link and save $40. on your first booking and receive $15. credit towards an Airbnb Experience.