Day 34 - Bordeaux
Saturday, August 4th, 2018.
It felt very nice to sleep with air conditioning, I felt like a human being again. Air conditioning seems like a luxury but it is more of a need when the temperature reaches above 95 F. We had a fast breakfast, luckily we had gone to the grocery store the night before and I brought everything with me. Because we hadn’t heard back from our Airbnb host, I went downstairs and paid for another night and we decided to go ahead and tour the city despite the heat.
We took the tram to Saint Michel square. For locals, this is a less bourgeois and more bohemian part of town where you can see ethnic diversity. There was a market in the plaza when we got there and once again, I felt like we were back in Morrocco. I was fascinated watching the covered women negotiating and walking around in the heat of the sun as if was a perfectly cool day. I was taking some pictures and somehow, an older African-Muslim man started to talk to me about his many years in France and how it had changed. He was so cute but after a while, we told him we had to go. We visited the Basilica of Saint Michael which was built between the 14th and 16th century. We went up the separate bell tower (La Flèche St Michel) for an amazing view of the city.
After going up all those stairs, the kids started to ask for food. We could only see Moroccan, Turkish, and Asian restaurants -- not exactly classic French food but definitely less expensive. We settled for some kebabs with fries. With full tummies, we walked to see La Grosse Cloche (the Fat Bell), a beautiful 13th-century bell tower and one of the few remaining medieval monuments in Bordeaux. We decided to go back to our hotel to escape from the heat during the peak hours. I took a nap while Gregory continued to look for a place for us to stay in Bordeaux. The original plan was to stay for a week but the Airbnb host canceled due to a break-in. No big deal, we could find another. So we requested another, and another and each time, it got canceled for different reasons. We were very frustrated because we really wanted to stay but even hotels were booked! We thought it was a sign that we should move on and look for the next place to go but before that, we decided to do some wine tasting before leaving.
Our previous host had recommended a local place to go where wine is inexpensive. Gregory was on a mission looking for the Bar à Vin. There was a long line when we got there and I thought that Gregory was going to change his mind, but he waited patiently. It was a neat, modern place and we had a great time. Of course, I only had one glass but Gregory was in heaven with his Margaux and St Emilion. We really needed a date like this!
We had a very agreeable conversation with the bartender who made us see that the French people like to complain about everything! My friend Virginie had made a similar comment about her family, so it must be a national pastime. Gregory likes to say (when he's feeling diplomatic) that the French have an opinion on everything.
After we left, we walked around some more, discovering more churches and old streets and then we decided to go pick up the kids to take them to see the “mirroir d’eau” which is a large water fountain that works as a mirror in front of the very impressive Place de la Bourse. We got there and it looked like a huge party, with dozens of children playing in the water, people walking, rollerblading, playing music, groups of locals with their picnic blankets eating, drinking and just having a good time.
We spent a good hour there and then the kiddos asked for ice cream of course! I thought it was bedtime but how can you say no when you see so many little children running around eating ice cream? We walked and walked looking for a glacier. I’m glad we did because we discovered some awesome squares! After finding an Italian ice cream store, we walked towards our tram. We didn’t want to miss the midnight tram to our hotel!
St. Michel square market
St. Michel Basilica
La flèche du St. Michel
La Grosse Cloche
Going out for wine tasting!
Bordeau at night!
It felt very nice to sleep with air conditioning, I felt like a human being again. Air conditioning seems like a luxury but it is more of a need when the temperature reaches above 95 F. We had a fast breakfast, luckily we had gone to the grocery store the night before and I brought everything with me. Because we hadn’t heard back from our Airbnb host, I went downstairs and paid for another night and we decided to go ahead and tour the city despite the heat.
We took the tram to Saint Michel square. For locals, this is a less bourgeois and more bohemian part of town where you can see ethnic diversity. There was a market in the plaza when we got there and once again, I felt like we were back in Morrocco. I was fascinated watching the covered women negotiating and walking around in the heat of the sun as if was a perfectly cool day. I was taking some pictures and somehow, an older African-Muslim man started to talk to me about his many years in France and how it had changed. He was so cute but after a while, we told him we had to go. We visited the Basilica of Saint Michael which was built between the 14th and 16th century. We went up the separate bell tower (La Flèche St Michel) for an amazing view of the city.
After going up all those stairs, the kids started to ask for food. We could only see Moroccan, Turkish, and Asian restaurants -- not exactly classic French food but definitely less expensive. We settled for some kebabs with fries. With full tummies, we walked to see La Grosse Cloche (the Fat Bell), a beautiful 13th-century bell tower and one of the few remaining medieval monuments in Bordeaux. We decided to go back to our hotel to escape from the heat during the peak hours. I took a nap while Gregory continued to look for a place for us to stay in Bordeaux. The original plan was to stay for a week but the Airbnb host canceled due to a break-in. No big deal, we could find another. So we requested another, and another and each time, it got canceled for different reasons. We were very frustrated because we really wanted to stay but even hotels were booked! We thought it was a sign that we should move on and look for the next place to go but before that, we decided to do some wine tasting before leaving.
Our previous host had recommended a local place to go where wine is inexpensive. Gregory was on a mission looking for the Bar à Vin. There was a long line when we got there and I thought that Gregory was going to change his mind, but he waited patiently. It was a neat, modern place and we had a great time. Of course, I only had one glass but Gregory was in heaven with his Margaux and St Emilion. We really needed a date like this!
We had a very agreeable conversation with the bartender who made us see that the French people like to complain about everything! My friend Virginie had made a similar comment about her family, so it must be a national pastime. Gregory likes to say (when he's feeling diplomatic) that the French have an opinion on everything.
After we left, we walked around some more, discovering more churches and old streets and then we decided to go pick up the kids to take them to see the “mirroir d’eau” which is a large water fountain that works as a mirror in front of the very impressive Place de la Bourse. We got there and it looked like a huge party, with dozens of children playing in the water, people walking, rollerblading, playing music, groups of locals with their picnic blankets eating, drinking and just having a good time.
We spent a good hour there and then the kiddos asked for ice cream of course! I thought it was bedtime but how can you say no when you see so many little children running around eating ice cream? We walked and walked looking for a glacier. I’m glad we did because we discovered some awesome squares! After finding an Italian ice cream store, we walked towards our tram. We didn’t want to miss the midnight tram to our hotel!
St. Michel square market
St. Michel Basilica
La flèche du St. Michel
La Grosse Cloche
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| Our Appart-city Hotel looked like a rainbow! |
Going out for wine tasting!
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| Dish of cheeses, yummy! |
Bordeau at night!
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| Place de la Bourse |
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| Waiting for the last tram to go to our hotel! |
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