Bordeaux on a Wednesday

April 24.

We started with an overcast morning with occasional bouts of rainy drizzle, a phenomenon that remained with us off and on today.

After a leisurely breakfast we headed out to explore Bordeaux. Fortunately our hotel was located right at the edge of the old quarter. In fact it was just a stone's throw from the Saint-André Cathedral, our first stop of the day. 

the cathedral rear left

entrance

Cardinal de Cheverus 1768-1836

learning about the restoration of the church organ

Archbishop Ferdinand-François Donnet 1795-1882

Archbishop Victor-Lucien Lecot 1831-1908

Cardinal Pierre-Paulin Andrieu 1849-1935

Back outside the cathedral we plunged back into the drizzle and headed off in search of the tourist information (TI) office. We walked to the corner of the cathedral where there was a small open air food market with one vendor selling Venezuelan specialities and another various spice and herb mixtures.

We continued our stroll down a number of narrow streets, many lined with shops, some posh some not so. . . Anyway, we were getting a pretty good sense of the old part of the city.

As we continued our search for the TI office we passed one of the staples of Bordeaux, a Baillardran canelés shop. Canelés, small caramelized flans, are unique to Bordeaux -- although they can certainly be found further afield -- and are absolutely scrumptious.

Heading for the TI

A main pedestrian shopping street (notice Apple on the left)

Once we reached the tourist information office we each picked up a 24-hour city pass (they also come in 48- and 72-hour versions), which will give us unlimited public transport in the city as well as free entry to La Citè du Vin and a number of other places we may wish to visit.

Leaving the TI office we headed back in the direction of Galeries Lafayette. I was in search of a scarf and another sweater - the temperatures have been quite cold and the brisk wind just adds to the chill. 

Place de la Comédie near the TI office

on Place de la Comédie

We popped into Galeries Lafayette and discovered there was a separate store just for men across the street. After a bit of browsing I purchased a new scarf and sweater in short order.

Galeries Lafayette

Across from Galeries Lafayette was an older original galeries space that had few shops and was warm and full of light.

We opted to settle into one of the cafes there and have a bite of lunch. It was a rather hectic arrangement having to queue up to order then find a table to sit and wait until our little beeper device went off telling us it was time to go get our food. But we were out of the chilly air in a place we could relax for a bit.

From the restaurant we walked the few blocks down to the Garonne River and strolled along the riverfront past the place de Quinconces. 

The rain picked up so we decided to pop into a bar for a coffee then grabbed a tram back to the hotel. A good day of exploring the city, topped off by picking up our city passes and finding the city tram system a real pleasure to use.

For dinner Pauline found Le Bistro du Musée just a 3-minute walk from our hotel. The food was delicious and the setting warm and inviting.

Pauline and Susie each had white asparagus with mustard sauce for a starter

sea bass with grilled endive and mashed potatoes for me

Richard had a leg of lamb

Susie and Pauline both had Merlu (Hake)

Susie had a cafe gourmand

Richard and I each had canelés with ice cream

It was a short walk back to the hotel. Rain notwithstanding, it was a lovely day.

Next: More wandering in Bordeaux.