Rain and Cooler Temps are Coming

Today is said to be the last day of extreme heat here.  The sky today was clear and a scorching 102 degrees but rain is coming.  It’s on the radar inching our way.  I cannot wait.  I’m going to put on my boots and my raincoat and walk in the rain!  I’m going to jump in puddles.  I’m going to raise my face to the sky and feel the rain run down my chin and thank God.

Stan and I have been traveling for the better part of a year now, and I can count on just one hand the days we’ve walked in rain.  Rain came mostly at the night in Panama; there was no rain in Columbia; but all of Europe is dry, very dry and it’s hot.  To God’s glory, that will change tonight.  I cannot wait to hear thunder.  I cannot wait to hear rain falling on the roof.  I cannot wait to open a window.  What a joy that will be!

Even in the heat, we have tried to make the most of our days here in Bordeaux.  Hopefully, in the final count of our Bordeaux stay, we will have had two weeks hot and two weeks much cooler.  We get out but as we walk, we make a point of walking in shade.  So does everyone else.

We hopped a bus to the Bordeaux Saint-Jean, the city’s main train station.  Picture in your mind, Union Station in Saint Louis, Chicago, or Little Rock in its heyday in the 1940s.  Picture the hubbub of wives, families, and soldiers going this way and that.   Listen for the whistles and the calls of the conductors.  Hear the grind of the wheels of steel tracks as engines begin to pull.

Things have changed.  Those exact sounds are not heard today but the trains are here and so is the hubbub.  People with baggage in hand crowd in front of great electronic screens to find out on which track their train will be and what time it arrives and leaves the station.  Tickets can be purchased via self-service ticket machines or they can be purchased from a clerk at a window.  Good signage directs passengers here and there to the network of tracks.  And as a train approaches the station, in this age of electronic media, a uniformed flag person guides each train safely into the station to its stop. 

In the main gallery, there is a piano with a sign saying it’s for all to enjoy. A young man put down his packs and bicycle, sat at the piano and played pretty music while he waited for his train. 

I love this stuff!

En route to Saint-Jean, we saw an old steepled church a few blocks off the beaten path.  As we left the train station, we set out to see the church.  We like finding out the age of these buildings.  The walk was quiet and we found shade.  The pretty little neighborhood church, Église du Sacré Coeur was built in the late 19^th century and is dedicated to the devotion of the Sacred Heart.  Its bells rang as we visited.

Craving something different, we headed to Restaurant CeHa.  We visited Vietnam and nearly all of Southeast Asia in 2018 and loved the delicious fresh food there.

Restaurant CeHa was recommended to me by Tran who gave me a manicure and pedicure a few days ago.  Although she gave me expert nail care, she did not give me anything.  My mani and pedi cost a lot!   I must say, this is France!  But it was a quality job and as we chatted, we talked about Vietnam and shared stories about our families. Hearing that the food was one of my favorite things about visiting Vietnam, she gave me the tip about Restaurant CeHa.   She said it was a family-run business and served true authentic Vietnamese food. Of course, we went!  A couple of fresh spring rolls with chili and vinegar and a bowl of pho were a welcome change.  What needed to be cold was cold and what needed to be hot was hot and so very flavorful.  Plus the owner/cook/waiter/dad was a delight – two young kids sat in the back quietly playing on a laptop.   

French food is magnificent but Vietnamese food is real.