Thursday morning, John drove us from Saint-Emillion to the Bordeaux airport Comfort Inn, so we could check in and stow our luggage before heading into the historic city center, to explore.
We dodged the Bordeaux rush hour traffic at 9am on our way to the airport. While we checked in, John asked about transportation at the desk and then called the Tourist office in Bordeaux to find the cheapest transport between the city and airport. Cab fares were steep, and buses and trains were complicated, so he drove us into the city and told us about the tourist shuttle which would take us to the airport at a reasonable price. We said goodbye at the Tourist Office - John had a long drive home to Normandy. We had a city to see.
The tourist office helped us with maps of Bordeaux and sold us the shuttle tickets for 7 euros. Janet and I located the bus stop we would need a couple of blocks away, then we set off to see the sights.
It was a beautiful day.
Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, owner of Chateau Angelus had told us the day before how gorgeous the Bordeaux stone buildings would look in the sunshine when we got there.
We headed toward the Garonne River to the huge esplanade - the Place des Quinconces with the Girondins Column and fountain and statues of Montaigne and Montesquieu nearby.
Next we walked to Notre Dame - another beautiful Romanesque church.
We found a darling tea shop which served lunch at noon. We stopped in for tea and vowed to return later for lunch. A tiny
spiral staircase went up to the lavatory (and down to the kitchen). We were old hands at spirals by now after climbing the Saint-Emillion bell tower and climbing up to our hotel rooms.
We traveled the shopping streets, mostly window shopping, but stopping occasionally to try on clothes in the chic boutiques. We saw a caneles truck and behind it the kind of caneles and macaroon shop we had been looking for. At last, we found the missing items on our list of things to try. We had to buy 12 macaroons in order to get a box, so we purchased "rose", "cassis" and "nutella" macaroons as well as standard flavors. Supper and breakfast were now under control.
We found Cathedral Saint Andre the largest church in Bordeaux. It is the cathedral where Eleanor of Aquataine and the Future King of France, Louis VII were married. Francois I was formally received in the cathedral. Napoleon restored worship in the cathedral after the Revolution. The walls are gradually being cleaned and the work uncovers gorgeous stonework beneath the soot. Sandblasting is occurring all over the city as Bordeaux works to become even more beautiful than it already is.We returned to our lovely tea room for lunch. On the way out, I spotted a hat store and fell in love with a soft gray hat. It was an impulse buy, but I love it. I had purchased three linen roses in Delft? and pinned one on for my trip home. See our last post for a picture!
We found the Opera House and went in to see the entrance hall and grand staircase. On the way out, we passed an open window - the opera chorus was rehearsing. We stopped along the tree and flower filled walking street to listen. I shot several pictures through the window, reminiscent of creepy movies I have seen - just to remember the unusual moment.We walked and shopped some more.
We made one last sprint to The Great Bell: La Grosse Cloche before heading back to the bus stop. We purchased sandwiches and drinks for our supper. As we approached our bus stop, one bus just pulled away. We ran for the bus but missed it - so we sat on a curb in the shade and drank the drinks - it was hot. The next bus was late, but the previous one had been late, too and knew we were at the right stop, so did not worry.The air conditioned bus was a welcomed treat. We cooled off during the ride to the airport. Asked to exit early near our hotel, but had to ride to the terminal and walk back. We found walkways and shortcuts and arrived at the hotel safe in no time.
The hotel had a patio bar and we ordered kir, connected my iPhone to wifi, checked in with family at home, and saw John Bromage come online. He had arrived home after his long drive. All was well.
We tried to confirm our flights for the next day from the computer, but couldn't get through. Worried, we walked back to the airport terminal in hopes of finding an Air France rep to help us. "No Problem." they said. "Can't do it now. Come back tomorrow - everything is fine. We will not cancel your reservation."
We walked back to the hotel. On the way, we noticed that magpies were out. John had identified the birds for us earlier in the trip. He quoted a chidren's poem which our friend Mary tells us begins "One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy......" We had only seen one or two before. This time we saw four and have the picture to prove it.We finished our dinner snacks and turned in, sad that our vacation was over. We are a little tired of dragging our things from hotel to van to hotel. Yet we brought so many things, we could have stayed another month without running out of clothes. Tomorrow we would make the trip home. This has been the longest trip in my life, but there were so many different things to do, the time passed in a flash. John had arranged the trip and the hotels so that time never dragged - there was always something new to enjoy. In a way, it seemed we had just left home. Funny about time...
Good night to you again.
We will see you soon, now.
Love from
Janet and Rozanne
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