Bordeaux, 26 April 2012

This morning we took the standard bus tour.  It was an hour well spent.

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in south-western France. Its metropolitan area has a population of 1,105,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. Bordeaux is the world's major wine industry capital. It is home to the world's main wine fair, Vinexpo, while the wine economy in the metro area moves 14.5 billion euro each year. Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the 8th century. The historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the 18th century.

We can certainly swear to this since every other shop seems to be wine related in one way or another. You don't have to go far for a "top drop" and believe me, we are not talking about Jacobs Creek or Gallo.

We investigated the public transport system, especially the trams which seem to cover the city rapidly and effectively.  Tomorrow we will probably get a day ticket and explore the city that way.

Unlike Paris, where one can eat any kind of meal at any kind of day or night, Bordeaux favours stricter dining hours.  Lunch is from 12:00 to 2:00 and you simply cannot get dinner before 7:00 in the evening - difficult if you are an international traveller having arrived jet lagged and wanting a meal outside of these set hours.

In the afternoon we walked along rue Ste Catherine, which is the longest pedestrian mall in Europe.  It reminded us of the Stroget in Copenhagen.  All the same stores and cafes arranged in a different order and with signs in French rather than Danish. For example, Zara, Macdonalds, Apple, etc.  Surely you get the picture. But it has to be said that off the beaten track it is a much more interesting city.

Because it is so old, Bordeaux still has the "gates" that once allowed entry into the walled city.  They are remarkably well preserved and very beautiful.

Today, too, was a lucky day.  The weather forecasts were for rain, hail, storms and high winds.  But except for an occasional light shower Bordeaux escaped what was forecast until early evening.

Some differences between Bordeaux and Paris are quite intriguing and we don't know why.  For example whereas beggars in Paris seem to have dogs with them for comfort, here they have cats.  Another notable difference is in the chips - yes, we are talking French Fries.  In Paris they are crisp and lightly browned whereas here they are very brown and soggy.  We have agreed to disagree on this.  Bruce likes them, Virginia prefers the Parisian version.