le 31 octobre
Happy Halloween! We are on the road to Bordeaux right now, snacking on pistachios and listening to hits like The Boy Is Mine (Brand & Monica, ca. 1998) and I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher, ca. 1965) on French radio stations. La vie est tellement belle!
A few hours later...
Upon arriving in Bordeaux, Habibi and I discovered that the GPS system we were using vehemently disagreed with our chosen route. Eventually we hit a stalemate but ended up compromising.
As we waited in line behind about ten very eager international tourists to check in at our hotel, I drank it in: the sketchy neighborhood, the stained carpet in the lobby, the names scratched into the paint of the elevator doors... Was this Bordeaux, one of the most famous wine regions in the world? Had the entire city already drunk all the wine, then made all its municipal decisions? I could appreciate the hotel's attempt of a nautical theme (i.e. decorated with anchors, helms, etc.) but it was more of a dinghy than a cruise ship.
Once it was our turn to check in (at last!), I found myself at a loss for words; Habibi had been talking to me in his best pirate voice and I had failed to get the SNL Digital Short I'm On A Boat out of my head. (If you are not familiar with this sketch, I do apologize in advance for the profanity.) However, I mustered up enough mental functions to get through the check-in process before we left to park and unload the car.
As we dragged our suitcases through the garage (that the nice hotel just next door generously shared with our little dive) we happened upon two flattened, dead mice on the floor. Hoping to find more luck than they had (Had they also dared to reserve a room at the Stars Bordeaux Gare?), we trekked up to the room.
As it turned out, the theme of "disgusting boat trip" complemented the rooms as well, as it reminded us of what it must have been like to die on the Titanic. A double bed took up the majority of the room with a tiny bathroom no bigger than a porthole; I could have taken a shit while washing my hair. Forget about washing your hands afterwards, though, because the shower and the sink ran on the same pipes and were connected by a hose. Good thing it was Halloween because we were staying in a haunted house.
le 1 novembre
Fortunately, Bordeaux did turn out to be quite lovely itself. Over the next day and a half, we discovered that the people were friendly and willing to help, the wine is delicious and inexpensive, and the architecture is nothing short of exquisite. The shopping was excellent, despite the holiday (Toussaint or All Saints' Day), so we took advantage of that. If you do choose to buy liquor, try Badie for wine (and maybe you'll get a regional wine education from one of the très suave merchants) or Cognac Only for -you guessed it- cognac (where the Parisian proprietor is animated and outgoing).
Although this lively city is not likely to make it in my top ten, I would still highly recommend visiting...
...provided you stay on a nicer boat.
Happy Halloween! We are on the road to Bordeaux right now, snacking on pistachios and listening to hits like The Boy Is Mine (Brand & Monica, ca. 1998) and I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher, ca. 1965) on French radio stations. La vie est tellement belle!
A few hours later...
Upon arriving in Bordeaux, Habibi and I discovered that the GPS system we were using vehemently disagreed with our chosen route. Eventually we hit a stalemate but ended up compromising.
As we waited in line behind about ten very eager international tourists to check in at our hotel, I drank it in: the sketchy neighborhood, the stained carpet in the lobby, the names scratched into the paint of the elevator doors... Was this Bordeaux, one of the most famous wine regions in the world? Had the entire city already drunk all the wine, then made all its municipal decisions? I could appreciate the hotel's attempt of a nautical theme (i.e. decorated with anchors, helms, etc.) but it was more of a dinghy than a cruise ship.
Once it was our turn to check in (at last!), I found myself at a loss for words; Habibi had been talking to me in his best pirate voice and I had failed to get the SNL Digital Short I'm On A Boat out of my head. (If you are not familiar with this sketch, I do apologize in advance for the profanity.) However, I mustered up enough mental functions to get through the check-in process before we left to park and unload the car.
As we dragged our suitcases through the garage (that the nice hotel just next door generously shared with our little dive) we happened upon two flattened, dead mice on the floor. Hoping to find more luck than they had (Had they also dared to reserve a room at the Stars Bordeaux Gare?), we trekked up to the room.
As it turned out, the theme of "disgusting boat trip" complemented the rooms as well, as it reminded us of what it must have been like to die on the Titanic. A double bed took up the majority of the room with a tiny bathroom no bigger than a porthole; I could have taken a shit while washing my hair. Forget about washing your hands afterwards, though, because the shower and the sink ran on the same pipes and were connected by a hose. Good thing it was Halloween because we were staying in a haunted house.
le 1 novembre
Fortunately, Bordeaux did turn out to be quite lovely itself. Over the next day and a half, we discovered that the people were friendly and willing to help, the wine is delicious and inexpensive, and the architecture is nothing short of exquisite. The shopping was excellent, despite the holiday (Toussaint or All Saints' Day), so we took advantage of that. If you do choose to buy liquor, try Badie for wine (and maybe you'll get a regional wine education from one of the très suave merchants) or Cognac Only for -you guessed it- cognac (where the Parisian proprietor is animated and outgoing).
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| At a carrefour (crossroads) similar to this one, Habibi and I witnessed a disgruntled pedestrian waggle his twig and berries at a motorist who had dared to honk at him. Tee hee. |
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| La Place du Parlement (Neoclassical square in the center of town) in the daytime |
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| Another angle of La Place du Parlement at nighttime |
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| La Cathédrale
St-André located at La Place Pey-Berland, the marriage site of Eleanor d'Aquitaine and King Louis VII in 1137 (See below for a video of the interior.) |
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| A view onto La Rue Ste-Catherine, the longest pedestrian shopping street in Bordeaux (1 mile) |
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| La Rue Ste-Catherine |
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| A view of the city from the other side of the river |
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| Bordeaux has excellent seafood, as shown in this platter |
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| More of Bordeaux's delicious seafood options |
...provided you stay on a nicer boat.
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