Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a gorgeous city full of ancient (compared to the US) buildings and beautiful courtyards. As a seaport, it has a huge tidal river, the Garrone, that separates new and old Bordeaux as well as the wine appellations for Bordeaux wines.

We have figured out the tram system which runs right in front of our VRBO flat (notice I am using the European name for apartment). We have spent a lot of time in cafés drinking coffee and wine and watching the world go by.  We are not sure anyone works in Bordeaux because they are all at the cafes drinking and smoking.

Fountains and monuments are everywhere.  Not just little tiny fountains but huge, magnificent fountains with horses blowing water out their nostrils, naked Greek figures rising from clam shells, military men in the struggles of war and lots of Greek women adorning the corners of buildings and fountains. It is fascinating to see old structures some dating back to the 1100's. 

One of the art pieces is a giant reflecting pond that is in front of the old palace.  It fills with about 2 inches of water and drains to just a skim over a huge area of tiles.  Everyone plays in the reflecting pond, kids roll and splash in the water and we even saw some young people dancing. It is a very popular area since the temperatures have been in the 90's.

The contrasts between ancient buildings and new creative structures are spectacular to see. Bordeaux is a UNESCO site so the old part of the city is protected and no high rises are allowed so as to keep the skyline just as it has been for hundreds of years. Originally, Bordeaux was developed beginning 2700 years ago.

We went to a museum that was a converted WWII German Nazi submarine base. It was a four bay structure with 6 feet thick concrete walls and ceiling.  Water still fills the bays.  They show wonderful Renaissance and modern art by projecting it on the walls and floors with reflections in the water.  It was so interesting to see how they turned an ugly wartime symbol of hate into a beautiful museum. It was awesome.

Every city and village has a church.  Bordeaux has a spectacular cathedral and bell tower.  The bell tower is separate from the church. When it was first built it was such a heavy structure and the bells were so large and loud that they shook the cathedral.  So a separate bell tower was constructed.

The parks in Bordeaux are beautiful and filled with trees and flowers and ponds. The public park (Jardin du Public) was filled with people enjoying the outdoors.  We even found a café over looking the park where we had a glass of wine and once again, did people watching.