After a restless night of trying to sleep in the car at a road stop gas station, we made our way on to Bordeaux. A few years back while I was studying in Paris, many people told me that a trip to Bordeaux wasn't worth it because the city just wasn't that nice. Now I know, that's just Parisian speak. For many of them, anything outside the ring road around Paris isn't as good as Paris is. And how could it be? It's only full of nice, down to earth people with tasty, inexpensive food who wear normal clothes. The nerve! We had a host through couchsurfing lined up but getting to her house was a bit of challenge because on Sunday's, Bordeaux cuts off the streets in the city and makes a pedestrian only place. While we appreciated this later on, at first we were a bit annoyed by it. We parked in a parking garage that turned out to be quite expensive later on. Our first impression of Bordeaux was that it looked like an old Disney castle town.
The centrally located Place de la Bourse, or Stock Exchange office of Bordeaux.
In front of the Bourse is the water mirror. It's a spot where locals go on a hot day to cool off. There were tons of people, young and old, soaking up some water to alleviate the day's heat. The pool was made to be like a reflecting pool but most people use it to cool off. At night, its beautiful to walk past it with all of the lights of the city reflecting off of it.
Here is one of the old castle wall gates to the city. Doesn't it look like something Disney would have drawn up or used as inspiration for one of their movies? There were tons of buildings with this kind of whimsical design to them. The city is old and has had settlers since 30,000 BC. The same group that was living in Toulouse, the Aquitaine's, were probably living in the Bordeaux region also. Most people associate the region with its famous wine.
This old cathedral was built in the 11th century and consecrated by Pope Urban II. What kind of name is Urban for a pope?
Our couchsurfing host took us around the city showing us the various famous buildings and must see sites. It's always nice to have a local who can take you around, explain some of the history of the city, and help you order at a bar. Even though getting the idea cross of wanting a beer or wine is fairly simple, it still helps to have someone who speaks the local language.
Another one of the many famous churches of Bordeaux is the Basilica of St. Michael. It was built during the 14th and 15th centuries. It's curious that the bell tower is seperate from the entire building. It was built in the 15th century also but after the church's completion. Most of the stained glass windows were destroyed in 1940 during WW2. Later in the 20th century, a slew of skeletons was found beneath the church. That is kind of creepy.
Another one of the old gates to the city.
After our host showed us around a bit, she headed back to her house to finish some work and we took a walk down the Rue Saint-Catherine. It's a pedestrian only street that runs for 1.2 km and connects the Grand Theater with the Place de Victoire. There's shopping everywhere on this street. The walk along the river is really nice, although the muddy brown water isn't as attractive as I'm sure the city would like it to be.
Even though we only one day in the city, it was a great day. Our couchsurfing host made our time there even better by taking us around and explaining the history of the city. She loves architecture so she made sure to show off the prettiest buildings in the city. We've tried to put them here so you can see, as we did, that Bordeaux is worth your time to visit and enjoy. Try the wine too, its really good.
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