Bordeaux

Yesterday I did two things. I bought a Seniors' Rail card and I went to Bordeaux for the day! Sarah, a young friend from university, and I had talked about going there before our time was up, as it were, and if it had to be just a whistle stop tour then so be it. And indeed, so beed it!
In fact, I bought the train card the day before when we went to get our tickets. We could have done that on line but it was a bit complicated for reasons which I won't trouble you with, so we went to the station. Sarah convinced me that it was worth getting a Seniors' Card even at this late stage, as after just one more trip it will have paid for itself. Apparently you get very good fare reductions. And I have used the train so much!! I just can't believe I didn't get one 8 months ago. No one had told me about them, and then when I did find out a little while ago I couldn't face all the form filling and thought it was probably too late anyway. But the young woman only needed to see some ID and she sorted it for me then and there. Just like that! At no stage was I required to provide information on my father's previous cricket clubs or name all my teachers from primer 1 onwards. (But I can, you know! Well, the teachers. Dad may have played for one or two other cricket clubs besides Dunedin and Telgineers that I didn't know about. Dunedin used to practise at Tonga Park and I remember.... oops! Sidetracking 101.)
As I was saying.... I hope I get good value from the flash new pass anyway.
So yesterday Sarah and I met at the station just before 7.30am and TGVed off to Bordeaux, world famous for wine and the 5th largest city in France. It straddles the Garonne River and is the capital of the Aquitaine region. We hopped off at the station, a lovely atmospheric station which looked as if Monet might have wanted to paint it.
We caught a very modern looking tram into Centre Ville and our first stop was the Information Office, where we found that we were just in time for a bus tour which was about to leave. It was actually a darned good value bus tour. 1 1/2 hours in the bus and 1/2 hour walking round a few places. Frommer's France (like the Lonely Planet) says that Bordeaux is slightly seedy looking, but that some renewal projects are in the works. We saw evidence of both. Driving along beside the river many of the buildings were in a very sorry state and were almost crying out for redevelopment. (And I don't mean aluminium window frames!)
London's Docklands area sprang to mind of an example of what could be done. I guess it's all in hand. (Actually, a large part of the city of Bordeaux has been listed as a UNESCO World heritage Site, with many listed buildings, classified monuments etc.) We saw an interesting old submarine base which the Germans had built during the war.
Unfortunately the bus didn't have open windows, so in the photo you get a bit of bus as well. The drive around had good views, especially looking back across the river.
We saw the usual churches and sculptures and also the open square where a spot of guillotining took place during the French Revolution. Just to provide a bit of entertainment.

We got back to the Information Office at lunchtime and spent a bit of time wandering round looking for a place to eat that was affordable! We got that sorted and had a very pleasant meal indeed. After lunch we would have liked to have done a river cruise but there weren't any in the offing so we just walked round the inner city and soaked up the atmosphere. I tried on a vey nice looking skirt, only to discover that it was actually one of those sort of skirt-trousers thingees that look like incontinence pants!
We also spent a bit of time in the Cathedrale St Andre. (Imagine some accents there please.) We just sat in there quietly for a little while. Then we walked back down to the river to see the Miroir D'Eau, which was probably our favourite thing. Part of the waterfront redevelopment, it is a large rectangular area filled with just a centimetre or two of water. The buildings behind are beautifully reflected, but also people walk through it, little (and big!) kids splash round in it and it is a great focal point. Then all of a sudden there are fountains of fine spray which delight the little kids even more. I don't think I'm describing it very well, but actually it was quite lovely.


Time for a coffee, then we headed back to the station.
We got back to Poitiers about 20 to 9 at night. Sure, you can't really do justice to a place in just a day, but we got to see a bit, and a day is a great deal more satisfactory than no days at all! So that was Bordeaux, home town of L'Homme Des Toilettes, for those who may wish to know about such things. :-)