Bordeaux, 27 April 2012

We are great supporters of public transport and know from past experience that this is the best way to see the suburbs.  Bordeaux has an excellent system, the backbone of which is the three line tram system.  The trams are efficient, clean and have great windows out of which one can see the city and suburbs. Today we bought day passes and travelled the full length of one of the lines which took us up to the port area and back through the city and out to the university district.

The Tram Line

The University is a conglomerate of four universities and three technical schools.  As such it has thousands of students and is spread over various campuses in and around the city of Bordeaux.

Later in the day we walked in the city again, going to the various gates.  Just off the river-front is the "Porte Cailhau." Built in 1494, this was one of the main entries to the city and the one that the great of the day used to enter Bordeaux.

Porte Cailhau

Our ramble took us to the Place de la Victoire where, in addition to another gate there is a 16 metre high pink marble obelisk and, best of all, a giant lettuce-eating tortoise and her baby which add a playful touch to the décor and make a good landmark for meeting people. On closer inspection one can see the different wine appellations engraved on the shell.

The Magic Turtle

Another walk in the later afternoon took us to the Place de la Bourse.

Place de la Bourse

Open to the river, dedicated to Louis XV, the square remains one of the purest "classics" of 18th century style. An equestrian statue of Louis XV used to stand in the middle. It was destroyed during the revolution and later replaced by the Fountain of the Three Graces (Queen Victoria, the Empress Eugénie and the Queen of Spain).

Guess which Queen is which

The three graces are, of course, nude figures but oddly enough the greatest concern for the rather underdressed Queen Victoria came from the burghers of  Bordeaux. Try as I might, I was unable to tell which was Victoria.