Bordeaux
Travels with Anzie: France 2021
September 2021
We’re taking a two-week break from southwest France to travel two regions: the Bordeaux region and the Dordogne. Bordeaux is all about wine. Dordogne is about prehistory and food.
Bordeaux
Rick Steves dismisses Bordeaux as a boring town. Not only is it an important part of France’s wine-growing region, it is a great walking-around town with interesting sites and delectable restaurants around every corner. As a matter of fact, Bordeaux is second only to Paris in number of historic monuments. Bordeaux is also a major port city. The Garonne River flows through the city and out into the Atlantic north of La Rochelle (more later).
We stayed at the All Suites Hotel near the St. Jean railroad station and the University, a good location that included underground parking. On Sunday we cabbed to the center of town along the river across from the buildings that constitute La Place de la Bourse. In front of the buildings is a Water Mirror – a 1” deep, 300 ft. by 50 ft. body of water that produces a beautiful reflection of the buildings.
On this Sunday we witnessed a celebration along the riverbank: all sorts of scooter races were held for children ages approx. 5 to 12. Some races were on a loop; others were obstacle races. We were there to pick up a tour boat, which was delayed for two hours. So we watched lots of races, some even for parents. All of this raised a question in my mind: Why can’t we organize such an event, either in Newburyport or Salisbury?
Our Prestige boat tour cruised up and down the Garonne for two hours. We were accompanied by an attractive bi-lingual guide. I can’t remember much of the info she shared but the views were beautiful. I just remember the relaxed feeling of viewing the city from the river, followed by a nice glass of Bordeaux Red. Unbelievably, when we disembarked two hours later, the scooter races were still going on!
The next day we toured the Citѐ du Vin, a don’t miss. The structure looks like an abstract of a wine decanter. It’s an amusement park for wine lovers. Using wonderfully inter-active methods, the many aspects of wine are presented: history, wines around the world, wine-making, how to appreciate wine with all five senses – even using atomizers you actually smell the different fragrances that make up wines. Finally you ascend to the eighth floor where you get to choose from a variety of wines and enjoy a glass while overlooking all of Bordeaux.
Plenty of fine restaurants. Salad with chicken gizzard (gesier) is popular. Surprisingly good! Enjoyed a wonderful cheese fondue. Just beware of where you drive. We ended up driving on a “pedestrian-only” street, veering around café tables. Thankfully no police appeared.
Lots of history here. The French moved its government from Paris to Bordeaux three different times, all while France was at war, either with England or Germany. The beautiful government buildings give proof of this.
La Rochelle
This jewel of a city is a two-hour ride north of Bordeaux. Another port city, it offers a mild climate year-round thanks to the Gulf Current. I had heard that the city had suffered from severe bombing during WWII. We saw no evidence of it. The buildings that surrounded the port side appeared ancient but well kept. The Vieux Port is surrounded by many restaurants and shops, and is impressive.
The city, along with much of the area, was the object of many struggles between France and England. Much of the antagonism was based upon religion, the Catholics vs. the Hugenots (Protestant). Eventually many Hugenots migrated to the New World, where they founded the New York city of New Rochelle in 1685. They also migrated to South Africa where they established many fine wineries.
I would like to spend an overnite here. We barely scratched the surface of things to see and do.
Isle De Re
We crossed the two-mile long bridge to this island that extends 20 miles out into the Atlantic. Why did we go there? Just to see it. Beautiful beaches. Appears to be a resort and retirement area.
Next time: On to the Dordogne Region – land of Prehistory, Neandertal and Cro Magnon. Oh yes, and truffles and foie gras.
A la prochaine,
Chuck and Anne
