Steve in another life

c. 1952

 

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.

Train to Bordeaux

April 23.

The day was cool and a bit breezy when we checked out and walked the long two blocks to the train station. We easily found our train listed on the BIG BOARD and made our way through security and then to queue up to await being let down onto the platform -- rather like at the airport. 

It was another 20-30 minutes before the arriving train had unloaded its passengers and we were given the green light. Off we went in search of our train car. A few short minutes and we were aboard, stashed our bags in the closest racks and found our seats. The trip to Narbonne where we would change trains took about 2 hours and was uneventful. For me it was sheer stress-free pleasure watching the highway traffic as we zipped by passing everyone on the 6-lane highway that seemed to match our route much of the way. 

We left our train to continue its journey to Paris while we stepped out onto a chilly windy platform in Narbonne to await our transfer train for Bordeaux. 

And then the trip turned a bit disturbing. A couple of trains -- both heading east to Marseilles and Montpellier -- were cancelled outright and our train, coming from Avignon I believe, was listed as one hour, 10 minutes late. We schlepped our bags into the cramped rather tired waiting area and soon found a couple of seats. Fortunately our train was never reported as cancelled but the schedule board didn't update the arrival/departure times. Hmmmm. 

At last the board showed our train arriving -- I checked with an agent in the ticket office and he said yes indeed it was arriving in about 10 minutes on platform B. 

Off we went down the stairs and up another set to the platform. Sure enough the train did show up, all in all about an hour 20 minutes late. We were thrilled to get on and settle in for the four hour ride to Bordeaux in warmth and comfort.

Narbonne station

Our journey took us past Carcassonne where we could see the ancient walled city from the train, then through Toulouse and along the Canal de Garonne and finally along the Garonne River until we reached Bordeaux.

The Garonne

Getting off the train was easy but after a bit of challenge in finding the taxi stand, we were whizzing our way through town to our hotel. 

Before long we were out of cab and no sooner had we walked into the hotel than Richard and Pauline greeted us at the door with hugs all round -- they had been in the bar waiting for us. 

We hurriedly check in, dropped our bags in the room and met them back in the bar for a much-needed aperitif and toasts all round!

 Ibis Bordeaux Centre Mériadeck

That evening the four of us opted to stay in the hotel for dinner. I had steak frites, Richard had the plat du jour (braised pork with mashed potatoes) and Pauline and Susie each had Dorade. For dessert Richard and I each had the Canelés with ice cream and Susie and Pauline had the tarte aux pommes.

steak frites

dorade

Canelés with ice cream

tarte aux pommes

Next: Bordeaux in the rain!

Barcelona for one more day

 April 22.

The day began with rain. Since we had little on our agenda until early afternoon (timed tickets to Parc Güell), after breakfast we did laundry. OK, Susie did the laundry but I went along for moral support.

On our way back to the hotel yesterday we noticed -- actually I noticed -- a laundromat right around the corner from our lodgings. And since it was open we popped inside to check it out. It was entirely automated, three washers and three dryers, and so we planned to return the next morning.

Talk about one slick operation: you choose a washing machine, place your laundry inside, close the door (no soap required - the machine automatically dispenses it!), stick your card in the chip reader, choose the machine number and hit start on the machine. That's it! Once the wash was done we repeated the process with the dryer. After a total of about 50 minutes and some €7.00, laundry that would have cost €80 done through the hotel was finito!

washers and control panel

the dryers

Back at the hotel we worked on our blog notes until time to head out for the Parc Güell, designed by Antoni Gaudi. (Go here for more information.)

Looking for the Entença Metro stop near our hotel, we somehow got turned around and eventually decided to backtrack one stop to the train station. There we boarded the no. 5 and changed to the familiar no. 3 at Diagonal. Getting off at the Lesseps station we went off in search of Parc Güell. Of course we got lost. We made the mistake of following signs for the parc that were apparently pointing to the bus and car parking areas. We turned to Google maps and soon found our way, a way that was all uphill. In fact most of this particular outing involved going uphill, every single step of the way.

Although we arrived slightly ahead of our time slot the staff kindly let us in. Once inside the park we strolled the gardens with little direction other than following altitude: heading upwards to the views of the city. We passed a series of viaducts that were originally intended for carriages to make their way upwards to the homes that were planned but never built. But the viaducts also provided lots of shade for walkers beneath them as well as many built-in seats to stop and enjoy the moment. Which we did, often.

So, for the next hour or two we simply meandered through this rather fantastic bit of green space, continuing upwards. But the climb was worth it for the views of the city. 

looking across to the fort on Montjuïc where we were yesterday

Near the very top we ran into a couple from Grand Haven, Michigan who had just arrived in Spain the day before. They planned to be in Barcelona for just five days and then back to the US.

across from the top of the park was a view of the Calvary Cross

which was just a short walk away

for even more incredible views of the city

the white house is a look back to the top of the park

Leaving Calvary we made our way down to the park entrance passing some of the more popular tourist spots in the park with the Gaudi designs.

the terrace

the portico

beneath the terrace

the main entrance to the park

looking back to the terrace

From the park we made our way back to the hotel to relax until dinner. A little after 7:00 pm we walked a couple of blocks to El Bierzo, a traditional Catalan restaurant. Susie had a cod omelet and I had a starter of tempura veggies followed by hake with potatoes.

A quick walk back to the hotel and Susie finished packing us up for our morning departure for France.

Next: Off to Bordeaux!