2nd July

We had planned to meet at reception at 8:30 so we could check out and catch the 9:15 train to Hendaia.  It was all so efficient though, we found ourselves on an even earlier one which connected immediately with the 2.5 hr train to Bordeaux.  We were at the end of our journey by lunchtime.  We are staying at the Mercure Bordeaux Chartrons Hotel located in the former wine merchants' district which still has its Victorian facade like many of the other buildings in the area.  UNESCO have this city on their World Heritage List because of its beautiful architecture, public squares and gardens. While Chartrons is not the most glamorous area, our hotel is quite close the Garrone River and we headed there for lunch in the sunshine on the riverbank. 

Then we caught a very modern tram into the city centre and took a bus tour around town.  Very difficult not to doze off in the warm sunshine after the lunchtime Beaujulais but I did learn that Bordeaux was once one of Europe’s busiest and most lucrative ports transporting goods to Africa, swapping cargo there for slaves for the American market and bringing goods from there back to Europe.  It is the world’s major wine industry capital and hosts the world wine fair which just took place last week.

 We saw lots of people out enjoying the open spaces, along the riverbank particularly. One really popular feature was the Water Mirror, a set of granite slabs covering about 500 sq m under which lies a computer controlled mechanism to supply water with many different effects in a fifteen minute cycle.  The paving is covered with two inches of water that turn the slab into a huge mirror in which the Place de la Bourse is reflected. Apparently in good weather and at night, when the facade of the palace is lit, the visual effect is captivating but today as we went passed there were too many people just having fun paddling on it.  We’ll have to walk by here at night.  We were also impressed with a very original advertisement for a public car park, see pic below. 

After an afternoon siesta we took a bus back into town and explored the food and wine expo.  Apparently this exhibition sets up for a week in each location and rotates throughout the region.  Tonight we selected a venue that specialises in meat but we could have chosen gumbo, seafood or Moroccan to name a few.  On the way home I convinced the other 2 to call in at the water mirror for photos and once again there were plenty of people out enjoying the night.