Aloha France!

We arrived in France several days ago and have been on the go since our arrival. We left Dublin on Monday, following a 3:45AM wake up call to get to the airport in time for our 7:30AM flight. Ha! Let me set the stage for this one. It was 51F, raining and the winds (according to weather app) were 20-25mph. At 7:20AM, we are told we can start boarding the plane, which we have to walk to by crossing the tarmac a fair ways. It had stopped raining but you could see your breath outside. We get outside prepared to cross the tarmac and board our jet to Bordeaux (where it is 70F and sunny). Not so fast my friends. Security stops us all from proceeding across the tarmac. ONE HOUR later, we board the plane. We stood outside for the entire time. The plane had not yet deboarded its passengers from the incoming flight because some knucklehead on the plane had caused a scene requiring immigration to come and board the plane. We could not go back inside the terminal to wait because we had all been checked in and boarding passes scanned. So we all waited outside in the very cold temperatures until immigration came, led the culprit off the plane, the plane got emptied out of its passengers and cleaned.

Aloha on the move, my fanny! I was cold and hopping mad. Jim kept saying, it’s all going to be okay, it will get resolved, we are headed to wine country, I’ll keep you warm”, all in an attempt to calm the storm brewing in my soul. Eventually it all worked out and we boarded and landed in Bordeaux, safe and sound and only 90 minutes late.

Our flat in Bordeaux is really quite lovely. It is near the city center, bright and airy and clean. It has 2 nice sized bedrooms but it is missing the 2nd bathroom that was in its sales description upon which I based our booking. I looked high and low for said 2nd bathroom – in the closets, under the bed, in the hallway and down the outside hallway. Alas, no 2nd bathroom to be found. After 34 years of being happily married to Jim Flynn, I know that he is motivated by basic creature comforts: good food (we have established this already), good beer/wine and having access to a bathroom, when he wants to have access to it and not when I’m done with my bath, blow drying my hair, giving myself a facial, doing nail touch up and putting on my makeup (hey, don’t judge now – it takes a lot to make “this look” happen!). Anyway, I could see the storm brewing as I frantically searched for the 2nd bathroom all the time telling Jim, “it will be okay, we are in wine country, I won’t stay in the bathroom long”….all in an attempt to calm the storm brewing in his soul at the thought that we will be sharing a toilet for the next 2 weeks. I finally broke the bad news, showed him proof that I had been misled by the apartment owner and then went about setting up my hair dryer, my nail station and my make up mirror in the bedroom. Aloha in the Flynn-household was restored!

Aloha on the Move in Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a very old city with a fascinating history, dating back to between 1000BC and 750BC. For much of its “life”, it has been occupied by outsiders. The Romans camped out here for 300 years, the Vikings another 150 or so years, the English era was about 300 years as well and finally, Germany was a pre and post-Nazis occupier of Bordeaux. She finally stood on her own as a glorious unoccupied melting pot following WW2. All of these civilizations had a hand in shaping Bordeaux, impacting the culture, the people, architecture, food, art, and the economic status of Bordeaux. Bordeaux has realized times of incredible prosperity and status in the world and times of decay and near abandonment. Today it is one of the largest cities in France with more than 250,000 people in its metropolitan area and another 1M in the surrounding suburbs. It is undergoing a significant renaissance with major restoration of the city’s architecture, increase in economic well-being and commerce and a new influx of tourism. Since COVID, many French people from other larger cities (such as Paris) have migrated to Bordeaux to find a more relaxed and affordable lifestyle.

Bordeaux is very walkable and generally, easy to navigate with great train options to outlying towns. On our 2nd day in Bordeaux, we embarked on a 3-hour walking tour with our Tours by Locals guide, Stephanie. Stephanie knows a great deal about her beloved city and is a delightful host (she even treated us to the best cream puffs I have ever tasted in my life!). Stephanie walked us around the city of Bordeaux, sharing its rich history and how its geography helped shaped its destiny. It is a city on the River Garonne, making it a center of commerce, and has always been a factor in its economy, status and attractiveness to “invaders”. It is also home to some of the most famous wine makers around as it’s limestone and clay soils make it primo wine-growing land.

There is a gorgeous city garden in the middle of the town. There is an opera, a wine institute and museum, a submarine museum, a stunning fountain to rival some of those we have seen in Rome and a Cathedral that is older than Notre Dame. There is fabulous shopping and a cafe or 2 on every block for maximum people watching and lazing away the day. These are just a few of the things to keep you busy within the city. In less than an hour, you can travel to Saint Emillion and other world famous wine-producing areas or take the train to spend the day at the the lovely seaside towns of Arcachon or Libroune .

 

There is some really cool architecture to visit while in Bordeaux. One of these is The Place de la Bourse (“Stock Exchange Square”). Not only is the building beautiful, its added attraction comes from the fact that it sits across from the Miroir d’eau (translated to “Water Mirror”). It is a reflecting pool that covers almost 40,000 sq feet and is made up of granite slabs, with a water system installed under the slabs that mists them every 20 minutes. The effect is a reflecting pool that mirror images the Place de la Bourse, which is nicely captured in this photo to the left.. We learned that it is the most photographed place in Bordeaux! I’m not entirely sure how they can measure the number of photos taken of the reflecting pool so I am just going to trust it is true, that is until we visit the Monument aux Girondins!

We took a photo standing in the middle of the reflecting pool; unfortunately it did not come out so we may be going back for another shot!

 

The Monument aux Girondins is an enormous fountain that sits in a square on the river said to be the largest in Europe. It is a memorial to the “political martyrs”, the Girondins, and the Reign of Terror. When you walk towards the river, you cannot help but notice this breathtaking monument. This monument also claims to be the most photographed in Bordeaux! I took 4 pictures of it and 2 of the reflecting pool so I am thinking, the fountain wins!

The City Gardens

The public gardens of Bordeaux are just lovely. There is an arboretum to visit, a natural history museum, walking paths and beautiful lawns where one can sit and relax, read a book, sun yourself or have a picnic. There is also a pond that runs through the public gardens, adding to its beauty and tranquility. You can take a kayak for a spin or just sit and surround yourself with the beauty of aloha.

 

There are many old and beautiful buildings in Bordeaux. My friends in the building trades will appreciate that these buildings are built with limestone. Limestone is like a sponge, it soaks up dirt, moisture, general atmosphere “yuk”, as I like to call it. Over centuries of not correctly dealing with the aging of the limestone, there is a serious restoration of the buildings happening throughout the city. However, it takes years to clean these buildings. The limestone is very fragile so apply too much pressure and it will crumble into powder. In fact, in previous centuries (before the enlightened age of building restoration), when the limestone would crumble, they simply covered up the crumbling holes with concrete. Guess what? all of that moisture built up behind the concrete and seriously did some damage to the limestone, which sucked up the moisture and then, sat wet for centuries. So, in some cases, all of the concrete must be very delicately removed so as not to damage the limestone under it. It is tedious work and requires a skilled hand. If you are a talented builder, stone mason, etc., my guess is you can find work in the lovely city of Bordeaux. Well enough of that as I really digressed from my original point, which is that there are many interesting and beautiful buildings in Bordeaux. A few that we saw were especially worthy of a picture – mostly for their playfulness, beauty or both!

All of the walking and building sight seeing will leave you very hungry and very thirsty! So, take time to smell the croissants! The wine and food scenes are tres magnifique!

 

L’Entrecote (this restaurant deserves its own heading!)

Speaking of food scenes, there is a restaurant much revered by locals and tourists alike, L’Entrecote. There is only one menu item and that is Steak and Pomme Frites. Your choices are limited to how you like your steak done and what type of wine you would like to drink. The steak arrives in a platter with the most delicious butter/garlic/olive oil sauce in the entire civilized world. The steak is perfectly cooked and sliced into razor thin pieces.. The pomme frites (french fries to us) are the most delicious fries in the entire universe, civilized or otherwise, and guess what? every 10 minutes or so, a member of the waitstaff walks around with a huge platter of steaming-hot pomme frites and replenishes the supply on your plate. Oh, you also receive a small Caesar salad to begin the meal. If you travel to Bordeaux, do not pass GO, just proceed directly to L’Entrecote for the best dinner (or lunch) ever. Even if you are a vegetarian, you may have to just give it up for one tiny little moment in your life (I know that is not possible but I’m just sayin…..). Oh, and no reservations. Locals and tourists alike stand in line waiting to get a table, whether it is for lunch or dinner. We stood in line for about 35 minutes, something we NEVER typically do for any meal. Tell you what, I would have stood in line for 35 hours to get my hands on those french fries!

Across the street from L’Entrecote is the Wine Trade Counseil. It is a place of education about wine and they have a small bar area where they offer you great wine at very affordable prices. They also serve a mean charcuterie board. Local residents and tour guides consider the Counseil a must-see on your Bordeaux visit agenda. In fact, we ended our 3-hour walking tour with a glass of wine, charcuterie board and great conversation with our lovely tour guide, Stephanie D.

In the short time that we have been here, we have sampled a few cafes (great people watching) and have yet to have a bad meal or pastry or gelato or glass of wine or baguette. Oh my gosh, the BREAD is to die for! Be prepared for great dining experiences should you visit Bordeaux.

Speaking of food, we have also been to the farmers’ market twice and the grocery store a few times as well (I cannot divulge the number of times we have been to the wine store for fear that my liver will rise up in protest). Even though English is not widely spoken, shopping here really is very manageable. Just knowing a few words like bonjour, merci, and au revoir and the French will be very welcoming. Like anyone, they want to know you respect their culture and most of all, are a polite world-citizen. Spread some aloha and you will be treated with aloha in return.

That said, it is quite hilarious trying to shop for groceries when you cannot read the labels! Every food shopping excursion is double or triple the time we would take at home to shop for groceries. We spend about 50% of the time on Google Translate to make sure we are really buying hamburger and not sheep intestines! Every trip to the market ends with a glass of wine somewhere to (a) celebrate our success in completing a shopping experience and (b) let’s be serious, to have a glass of wine.

Here is Cheers! to a successful shopping endeavor at the Grandes Hommes market center, while we sit admiring the beautiful Grand Theater, an 18th century opera house with a grand staircase and beautiful frescos inside.

This plaza also is home to the Intercontinental Hotel where the “Black Cars” are all lined up and waiting for their high-society passengers. Trust me, the people-watching in this plaza is to die-for. So sit back, enjoy that wine and ogle to your heart’s content!

 

Speaking of wine, we visited the Wine Museum (of course we did!), which was really fascinating. The exhibits are all very interactive and high-tech, using self-guided touring devices to initiate the interactive exhibits. You can take in the exhibits at your own pace, which is really nice. They include immersive experiences that take you through the calendar in a vineyard, a walk through the history of wine production and commerce back to medieval times, the details of growing and producing different types of wine and an animated depiction of the grapevine and its ecosystem. It was all really interesting and fun. I’m not a big “museum” fan; however, this was really a great experience. We then upgraded to a tasting experience led by a sommelier (of course we did!). During the immersive wine tasting, you move between 4 different rooms with each room depicting a season. In Spring, you hear birds singing and in the Fall, you hear thunder and rain, for example. Each season tells its own “nature story” and the wine being tasted corresponds to the season. For example, Rose in Summer or a Red in Winter, and so on. The sommelier explains each type of wine, its grape varietal(s), and describes the complexities of aromas and taste. There were only 10 of us in the tasting which made it especially intimate, with the opportunity to ask the sommelier a lot of questions.

I must admit that when the idea was first proposed to me by my husband, I viewed it as just another excuse to drink wine. I mean, we can stay home and do that for god’s sake. I don’t need to get dressed up, walk 3 miles to catch a train and then walk another mile to the museum (again, not a fan of museums generally) to drink wine. However, I must admit to everyone (but Jim, of course), that Jim was right. The experience was well worth the time expended to get there and I highly recommend visiting the wine museum, should you find yourself in Bordeaux, bonus is you leave with an increased appreciation of what goes into that delightful liquid we call “wine” and potentially, a nice little buzz!

We have done a few things in Bordeaux that did not involve eating or drinking wine! Bordeaux has a fabulous little movie theater called Cinema Utopia Bordeaux. It is located in a former church and combines a firm theater, cafe and social gathering spot. Jim & I saw The Bikeriders on an afternoon. It’s cool because all of the films are shown in their original language with French subtitles, So, The Bikeriders, a film showing now in the US, was in English. The French subtitles allowed us to figure out how the “F” word is said in French! Here Jim is settling in for an afternoon of movie-going, sans popcorn!

Today, Bordeaux is a UNESCO World Heritage city. The fountains, the river, the churches, the shopping, the eating, the wine, Oh My! There is so much to do and you really don’t need a car if you intend to stay within the city. It is a very walkable city. Besides, between the bread and the wine, walking is a very good thing or the jeans will not fit when you leave here! Be sure you wear your Exercise Tracker of choice and get credit for all of those steps!

We are off to St. Emillion to do some touring and wine tasting. Tonight, there will be dreams of sugar plums dancing in my head!

St. Emillion

Speaking of wine (I will be doing a lot of “speaking of wine” during this review of Bordeaux), Bordeaux is arguably one of the premier wine producing areas in the world. There is the “Left Bank” and the “Right Bank” wineries (so called depending on which side of the river you are located). The Left Bank is on the west side of the river and is dominated by the cabernet sauvignon grape in its blends and the Right Bank is to the east of the river and is dominated by the merlot grape in its blends. Either way, you can “take it to the bank” that any wine from the Bordeaux area is going to be good!

We treated ourselves to a private wine tasting tour in the St. Emillion region, which is on the Right Bank. St, Emillion is a medieval town with lovely old buildings, tasting rooms tucked in here and there and little shops and cafes, including a Chocolaterie (OMG, so good!). It sits on a hilltop with stunning views of the surrounding vineyards and wine chateaus. Our guide, Romain, grew up in St. Emillion and was extremely knowledgeable about the wines of Bordeaux, generally and St. Emillion, in particular. We visited 3 tasting rooms, had lunch at a charming restaurant overlooking the vineyards and took a tour of the town of St. Emillion during the course of our day-long tour. We also learned from Romain a good bit of the rich history of the area which really made the countryside “come alive”. You could almost imagine yourself living in St. Emillion, working at a wine chateau (or owning one, which would be my vote) and tasting delightful wine day after day after day. So, to make sure we were not just living a dream, we bought enough wine to drink day after day after day for the rest of our lives (just kidding, Customs Police!).

Romain explained to us that St. Emillion is more than just a pretty wine-face. Turns out, this town played a very crucial role during WW2. Short story, there is an underground church built 800 years before the War that became the perfect shelter for hundreds of some of the most significant works of medieval art, stained glass windows from the cathedrals and other precious artifacts. Buried in this underground tomb, the German soldiers were completely unaware of what lay below their marching feet. When the War ended, the precious cargo was restored to its rightful origins!

So, if you find yourself in this area of the world, look up Tours by Elodie and ask for Romain. He is delightful and it is especially nice that he was born and raised in St. Emillion. Even today, he and his wife, son and daughter, live just a few minutes from his childhood home. His being a local lends a unique perspective and a wine vat full of knowledge to your Right Bank wine experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With more than a week left to our stay in Bordeaux, we still have plenty to see and lots more wine to taste in the days to come (I may be forced to do a self-imposed cleansing of the liver if I stay here much longer!).

Libourne

Tomorrow we will take a train from Bordeaux to visit the town of Libourne. The known history of Libourne dates back to the late 1200’s and is supposed to be a quaint and lovely place to visit outside of Bordeaux. It comes highly recommended by both Stephanie and Romain (our guides in Bordeaux and St. Emillion, respectively).

The main square has one of the largest fresh food markets in the region, where we plan to do some grocery shopping to carry us through until we leave for Italy on Monday, 7/15/24. There are short cruises to be taken on the Dordogne River, followed by lunch at a local cafe.

Libourne is reported to be the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and so we will naturally be visiting the Chateau George 7 for a tour and tasting, ending the day with a bicycle ride in the country (after a wine tasting, this part of the itinerary will most likely be cancelled!) and then the train ride home to Bordeaux.

Au revoir! A plus tard!

Libourne: A day of OOPS!

So, as the saying goes, “the best laid plans of mice and men” definitely applies to our trip to Libourne. We did in fact get up early, proceed to the train station and I might add, we successfully navigated which train to board and on which track despite the ticket and the Arrivals/Departures board being 100% in French! That’s about as far as the Flynn Luck carried us this beautiful sunny morning.

We got to Libourne at 9:50am ready to walk to the fresh food market and buy some delightful local produce. We get to the square where the market is to be and find it not there. A quick look at Google reveals that the fresh food market is only open on Tuesdays and Fridays (which we both failed to check before embarking on our trip to Libourne on a Wednesday!). OOPS!

Ok, no problem, we will proceed to the river and take a short cruise on the Dordogne River, as planned. Down to the dock we go only to find that the boats were not running and so no short cruise down the lovely Dordogne River today. OOPS! 

We had hoped to learn more about the history of this once regal, medieval town but that was to be included in the price of the river cruise so no walking tour was arranged by moi. Oops!

So, it is now 10:30AM and our luncheon reservation was set for Noon. What to do? Well, how about a nice stroll around the town, which we did and to my delight, we found the main street where there are located a lot of boutique shops. Ok, now things are looking up! Speaking of which, we look up and here is this beautiful display of Paper Mache in the colors of the rainbow flag running the entire length of the street! It was just beautiful. So, we go to find some goodies to purchase before heading off to lunch, which we did and were then somewhat mollified.

We arrived at the restaurant, The Maritime Bistro and were seated outside on the patio. We had a nice view of the river and the boats that were not operating the aforementioned river cruises. Ha!

 

The restaurant had received rave reviews on Yelp and Trip Advisor and these were well-deserved. We had a delicious lunch and a glass of wine each, followed by artisanal gelatos.  Oh Yum! Things are really, really looking up now!

During lunch, we decided to forego riding bicycles out to the wine chateau where we had scheduled a wine tasting and tour of a very unique winery on the Right Bank, George 7. More on George 7 to follow. Not renting the bicycles turned out to be a really good decision, mostly.

Our appointment with the winery owner was set for 2:30. The chateau is 15 minutes or so from the restaurant. We contacted Uber at 1:50PM. We contacted Uber again at 2:05PM. Oh boy. We keep getting a message that advises, “it is unusually busy right now; we are searching for your ride”. We decide to (practically) run all the way back to the train station, about 1+miles away. There just had to be taxis at the train station! Not a chance. It is now 2:20PM and we will clearly be late. OOPS!

We telephoned the owner and she told us she would call someone she knows in the area who operates a taxi service and get back to us. Across the street is a car rental. We decide to rent a car. Nope, all they have available is 1 car and it is a stick shift. I can drive a stick shift but don’t have my license with me. OOPS! Furthermore, the car rental would be 100 euros. Nope, not going to happen. Now, we are regretting not renting the bike.

Long story, the owner texts there is no luck with locating a taxi and she will send her assistant to pick us up. At 3:30PM, the lovely and kind Gemma arrives and whisks us off to the chateau. 

Back to the bicycle ride for a moment. It turns out that the chateau is out in a rural area which is reached only by a 2-lane road that is extremely narrow and even more extremely hilly, reminiscent of our 2 week stay in Ireland. As my brilliant husband observed, “we would have died on this road if we were on bikes and most definitely you would have killed me, Deb”. He has such a head for knowing, that husband of mine! (do you remember what movie that line is from? (“you have such a head for knowing”)

Back to George 7, the winery and chateau. 

We arrive and are greeted by a slight of a woman with a British accent who announces she is Sally and the owner of George 7. This is just not heard of in these here territories. A woman? A British woman? Owning a winery all on her own? Wow! I am impressed. I am even more impressed when I taste the incredible wine coming out of this small production vineyard. Sally had never grown a vine in her life until she bought the vineyard in 2015 and by 2020, she is not only producing wine, she is producing award-winning wines for her 2018 vintage and competing with the “big boys” in the area. Her vineyard is operated at nearly 100% sustainable levels, no pesticides, the most minimal use of tractors and only if absolutely necessary, grapes are hand picked, sorted and selected. All bottling is done on-site. Her wine is 100% merlot grapes, which she ferments and ages in large oak barrels. She also completely renovated the old chateau into an amazing home and entertaining space with beautiful terraces overlooking her vineyards, which she clearly loves and about which she is very passionate. She is also passionate about food, knows a lot about food and wine parings and recently started a website, Wineand2Veg.com. Wine and 2 Veg – Keeping it Green is all about wine parings with the vegetarian in mind. It is brilliant!

We really enjoyed our time with Sally, Gemma and our visit to George 7 (doesn’t Jim look very happy in this picture?)! Sally is quite the inspiration and we certainly wish her much success. If you find yourself in Bordeaux, visiting Sally at Chateau George 7 is well worth the day trip to Libourne. If you wish to skip the trip to Bordeaux and just order her delicious wine, finagle an invite to our house, where we will have a case of her delicious grapes waiting for us on our return. You can have a taste for yourself and then order a case for your own enjoyment!

 

 

 

 

This story does have an even happier ending than what we already experienced at George 7! Sally was able to reach her contact who drives a Taxi and he graciously showed up and drove us back to the train station. And so ends our trip to Libourne. It was a beautiful town to visit. Before visiting, I highly recommend a thorough google search of open and available activities and most importantly, rent your own car and leave the train riding to the commuters!  We arrived back at our flat safe and sound and all’s well that ends well. 

For now, bonsoir mon cheris! 

Our Final Days in Bordeaux

Our last days in Bordeaux are full with boats and farewell fireworks!

We began our boating adventures at the Submarine Museum. It may not sound like a lot of fun (museums seldom are “fun”, in my humble opinion) given the history behind the museum. What they have done with it is really quite interesting and beautiful. 

Of course, getting there was quite the adventure. It is an Uber ride away (and there are lots of Ubers in Bordeaux); however, in the spirit of aloha and living local, we decided to forego the Uber and take a train and a bus and then walk the last 1/4 mile to the museum. This all would have been okay if we had understood that the area in which the museum is located, may not be the safest and if our GPS had not steered us wrong, leading us squarely into a lot filled with trailers that house local refugees. But all ended well enough and we arrived safely at the museum.

A quick history lesson as this is germane to what Bordeaux has done with the museum. The Germans built this structure in 1940 as one of numerous locations where they could house and build their subs. They also used these facilities to load torpedoes on to the subs. I can’t recall all of the details so suffice it to say, this building is enormous and a virtual fortress. Just for reference, the roof is made of  approximately 30 feet of concrete poured on to corrugated iron sheeting and covered by screen composed of rows of concrete beams, all done to protect it from aerial attacks. The building is stabilized by about 2000 concrete piles driven into the ground and it is filled with enough water to allow the subs to “float” while being loaded with torpedoes. There are concrete walkways that act as bridges over the water. It is dark and dreary and cold. It is imposing and frightening and if you listen close enough, you can hear the German commands to load the subs with torpedoes, before releasing the subs into the Atlantic to do their damage. At the risk of being overly dramatic, I swear to you that you can feel the evil in the atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward 80 years…the entire facility is transformed into an immersive art scene that is being heralded as the largest digital art space in Europe! The exhibit we saw is named “From Vanmeer to VanGogh” and it is beautiful! All over the enormous concrete walls are immersive exhibits of the masterpieces of Vanmeer, VanGogh and contemporary art pieces as well. VanGogh is one of my favorite artists of the Golden Age and I have seen his immersive exhibit several times in different cities, all really beautiful. The thing about the immersive visit is that it pulls you in until you feel like you are a part of the canvas; well, that’s my experience at any rate. In 2 really enormous rooms, Vanmeer and VanGogh  artwork float on and around the concrete walls and reflect their beautiful colors on the liquid floors of the building, which used to house the subs. You can see the artwork reflected in the water. It is really stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

There are 3 smaller immersive exhibits in other rooms in the museum. One of my favorites is called The Cube and it is an exhibit by an artist names Mondrian. Mondrian’s work is comprised of grids of primary colors with bold horizontal and vertical lines. It is very modern and really impressive to see.

We walked around the entire museum soaking in the beautiful artwork being floated across the walls. I thought, wow, what a great idea it was to take this awful reminder of the past and turn it into something that ALMOST blurs the building’s original intent. To take something so ugly and transform it into a place where beauty and peacefulness can be seen and felt is really sweet revenge! So take that Hitler, you evil little person! Sorry, didn’t mean to go down a Hitler rabbit-hole.  I hope you find sweet aloha in the pictures!

Our last day in Bordeaux started with Mass at the beautiful St. Seurin Basilica, built sometime in the 11th century. There is a crypt under the church where it is said that some very famous saints and precious relics are buried. Following Mass we had our final cafe and chocolate croissant on the small plaza where the Basilica sits and enjoyed more people watching.

Then, on to the next boating excursion – the Hop on Hop off Boat Tour, EXCEPT, one never gets on or off the boat unless it is the beginning or end of the tour. 🙂

We had a delightful day for a ride on the river; beautiful skies, sun and moderate temps made it such a pleasant day to go up and back down the river. We had a delightful tour guide who delivered the information first in French and then in English. We learned many interesting things on this 2-hour excursion. For example, do not ever tell the Bordeaux people that their river Garonne is “brown” as this will be considered an insult worthy of a duel at dawn. The river is “caramel” colored! This is really true. The river bottom is all silt and something happens (I can’t remember what because I was sipping a wine and otherwise distracted) that makes the water caramel colored. Ok, I wasn’t interested in this part so I zoned out. I admit it.

Back to the interesting stuff though…So this river is super important to the economy of Bordeaux. It starts in Spain and it ends in the Atlantic Ocean and has always been a major trade route for delivering wine and other goodies to other parts of the European continent and the world. 

Well, as our guide explained, during WW2 the Nazis camped out in Bordeaux and monopolized the river and its harbor for their own mad intentions, namely, transporting men and materials and shipping wine to the troops and the military elite. Occupying Bordeaux gave them control of the important Garonne estuary. The Nazis occupied Bordeaux from 1940 until the end of the war. When the end of the war came, the Nazis knew they needed to leave the city but first, knowing they could not get all of their ships out of the harbor, they blew them up clogging the river and making passage by anyone else very tricky. Eventually, the French cleared most of the ships from the bottom of the river. Except, fun fact, close to the shore on one side of the river bank there remain 3 or 4 of these ships (not sure why). To this day when the tide is low, you can see remains of these German ships sticking up from the river!  It is the weirdest thing I have seen, but a great conversation piece.

Well, that was a quick 2 hours! The boat tour ended with a complimentary wine tasting, of course.  Jimmy and I can be seen on the top deck enjoying a glass and surveying the beautiful city of Bordeaux. I highly recommend this quick, interesting and fun little boat tour if ever you visit Bordeaux. When the guide is not guiding, they play great Motown music, by the way! 

The Grand Finale!

As we get ready to pack up our gear for the trip to Italy tomorrow, there appeared outside our 3rd story window the most beautiful display of fireworks! The French are so hospitable, seriously! We never expected them to  bid us adieu with such a magnificent and magnanimous display of gratitude for visiting their beautiful city. We are eternally grateful, of course!

On our last day in France, it is the celebration known as Bastille Day. So, that is really what all of the fuss is about and has nothing to do with our leaving, after all. But let’s just pretend it does. It makes a far more fascinating little tale! 

Au revoir and viva la France!  It is time to turn the page and head on over to Italia. Au revoir for now.