A Touch of Bordeaux

The transportation system here is widespread, modern, and reliable, and unlike other things in France, it is inexpensive.  Trams traverse the city in several directions and buses fill in the rest.  If that doesn’t work, electric scooters and bicycles are available everywhere.  Cars are not necessary.

We are not walking as much here as we have in other locations.  It’s simply too hot to do that.  When we first arrived here we walked to the supermarket about 30 minutes away.  Carrying several bags of food and supplies in the heat was quite draining. Once we bought our 30-day, unlimited trip bus/tram card, we tram everywhere.

Where to begin?  We’ve seen a lot so far.

We enjoyed special treats almost all day for my birthday. We had canelés at La Toque Cuivrée Pastry Shop which has a 30-year history in the city of Bordeaux.  A canelé is a tiny little muffin flavored with rum with a soft custard cake center and a chewy, caramelized crust.  They were delicious but not something I will ever crave.  Stan had a taste for chocolate.  I had the best place in mind already, Hasnaâ Chocolats Grands Crus.  It is said to be the place for all chocolate lovers in Bordeaux. I once had a candied orange slice dipped in rich dark chocolate in Zurich.  It was one of the best pieces of chocolate I have ever tasted and have never forgotten.  Ordinarily, I don’t dream of chocolate but on my birthday, a chocolate orange slice seemed to make a real celebration.  Those particular chocolates were not at Hasnaâ but we bought a tiny box of Orangettes – candied orange-infused chocolates.  They were very fine.  Naturally, we struck up a conversation with the young man who served us.  He gave us several recommendations – personal recommendations are always the best.  He suggested we visit the L’ecole du Vin, the school of wine.  This is not a place to study to be a sommelier, it offers brief classes to teach casual wine enthusiasts how to appreciate wine’s unique aromas, colors, structures, and tastes.  But enrolling in a class is not necessary.  It’s a lovely place to sit in a sophisticated atmosphere, sample a glass of French wine for only 3-5 euros, and have a bit of bread with paté or cheeses for only 10 euros.  By French standards, those are amazing offerings.

France is expensive.  Lunch will cost at least 10 euros for a simple sandwich; 18 for a plate du jour; 40 euros for a menu main course and additional 18 euros for an entreé (starter).  Double that or more for dinner.  A typical dinner with wine starts at 200 euros.  And if not seated by 2 pm for lunch, a sandwich shop or café is often the only choice.

But the food is fabulous.  The French do nothing simply.  When they serve a dish it is from the heart, it’s complex, with marinates, confits, sauces, or chutneys and always artfully plated and served.  The flavors and textures are stimulating.  Each dish invites you to slow down, savor and get to know every bite.  The plates are not large.  Stan and I are accustomed to sharing a plate of this or that.  But that does not work here.  The French do not serve dishes big enough to share or to take a bit home for tomorrow.  Most servings are usually nice-sized for one person, but Stan usually gets a few bites of mine. 

My birthday dinner was at 7 Restaurant at the Wine Museum.  On the 7^th floor of the museum, we overlooked the city of Bordeaux and the brown-colored River Garron that like the Mighty Mississippi, leads to the sea.  Although our dinner was fantastic, the highlight was chatting with two couples, one was Australian ex-pats now living in Japan – and some think we are adventuresome.  We met while taking photos of the sunset outside after dinner.  The other nice people were from Belgium. They drove here on a trek to meet with friends on the beach somewhere.  We never seek out meeting other people; it just seems to happen.  But it’s crazy, rewarding, thrilling, and very equalizing to meet and talk with people from other countries.  Invariably we find connections and learn our lives are very similar, often having similar challenges, wants, dreams, and love for our families.

Since that very special day of birthday celebrations, we have explored the natural history museum, Musee de Aquitaine, and the wine museum, Cité du Vin, housed in an ultramodern 8-story building that makes me think of Chicago’s The Bean. At the wine museum, there are 33,000 square feet of multi-media presentations teaching everything about wine growing, production, history, religious importance, grape varieties, barrel-making, and more. The most popular exhibit is the sniffing area where visitors pump rubber bulbs to emit faint odors and nuances often found in wines and then the challlenge is to identify the fragrance. Lots of fun.

The next day after an hour bus ride east we wandered the streets of Saint-Émilion.  Walking through the stone streets of this medieval village is like going back in time.  Like so many European villages, Saint-Émilion is ancient and absolutely charming. Because it sits in the middle of Bordeaux wine country and has French chateaus in the nearby countryside and numerous wine caves in the village for wine tastings, Saint-Émilion is a very popular tourist destination.  We had a fine lunch there but after finding much more to do and see than we expected, we made plans to return in a week or two when the weather has cooled a bit to thoroughly explore this beautiful village and visit a few of its beautiful wine chateaus.