A Long Weekend in Bordeaux!

Given that my schedule permits me to have only one long weekend, Daisy and I 

decided to go to Bordeaux in the southwestern corner of France. Bordeaux 

was on my bucket list this summer as I heard great things about this city

from friends here in Paris. From the newly renovated buildings and the quaint 

streets to the city's (and Euro Cup's) lively atmosphere and the great wines we had, Daisy

and I had a marvelous three days in Bordeaux and would recommend it

as a great weekend getaway from Paris!

DAY 1: Seeing Bordeaux 

Place de la Bourse (or the Stock market Plaza):
Inaugurated in 1749, it represents the symbol of prosperity for
this once bustling port town and was recently renovated by mayor and
presidential candidate Alain Juppé. It still remains the symbol of Bordeaux and scroll
down further to see how this place magically transforms at sunset. 

The weekend warriors 

Bordeaux's famous Opera:
Note that at the bottom of the screen, you can see Germans wearing German
soccer gear. That night, Germany played Italy in the Euro Cup quarter-final
in Bordeaux so this tiny village was swarming with enthusiastic Italians and Germans
all day and night!

Place des Quinconce: one of France's largest
public squares and the now the current site
of Bordeaux's fan zone

Allée de Tourny

Musée de Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux

A museum dedicated to art collected by Bordelais (people of Bordeaux)
or painted by Bordelais artists
Overall, a very nice museum!

Hotel de Ville (the Mayor's Office)

Cathedrale Saint André

Saint Michel and the farmer's market

The tower of Saint Michel

The long bridge connecting both sides of the city
(Although we spent all of our time on the left bank because that is
where the city center and historical parts of Bordeaux are situated)

Our Airbnb

Daisy and I stayed in a darling Airbnb appartment located right next to Saint Michel. We stayed with
a very nice and artistic young couple, and their apartment quite frankly
reminded me of SoCal style!

Daisy and I's room

The boyfriend is a professional photographer, and their apartment
was filled with neat, little installations like this one here.

Watching the Italy vs. Germany game in a small square in Bordeaux 

(while enjoying a glass of Bordeaux as well)

DAY 2: MORE SIGHTSEEING IN BORDEAUX

 The Grand Cloche of Bordea

Place de la Bourse in the morning

 Walking along the River Garonne

 The fan zone from the river walk

 The newly inaugurated Cité du Vin, a museum that
recounts the history of wine making not only in Bordeaux, but also
in the world

My photos do not do justice to how cool and interactive this museum is.

 Along with our ticket came a free glass of wine of our choice on the
museum's roof top deck!

AFTERNOON BIKE TOUR OF BORDEAUX

 Daisy signed us up for a bike tour of Bordeaux, and my oh my
was it a great idea. Although we had seen most of the sites the
previous day (as Bordeaux is by no means a large city), we were not able
to learn about the sites' history nor signifigance, and our tour guide did a tremendous
job in explaining both.

Half-way through the tour, we had a wine and cheese break in the Jardin Publique
and were able to chat with the other members of the bike tour
who were from around the world.

 Our leader (in the burgundy) explaining the history
of this ancient Roman amphitheater stuck away in a small
Bordelais nieghborhood

 Grand smiles in front of the Grand Cloche

One of the many small, cute streets in Bordeaux

Porte Cailhau, one of five-six medieval
entrances to the once-walled city

 We walked across the bridge to the right bank to get a view of the other side

During our trip, the garage collectors had been on strike for two weeks.....

meaning that many of the roads and back alleys were piled with trash

While the main city center was pretty clean, the surrounding neighborhoods were not

 Saint Michel at sunset (meaning 10:00 at night)

Place de la Bourse at sunset, meaning that you could clearly
see its reflection in the reflecting pool just in front of it

 Daisy playing in the misters

 We came here during the second half of the France vs. Iceland quarter-final
as France was already winning 4-0, and we knew that no one would be here since they
were still watching the game!

An example of everyone crowding around a TV at a local restaurant

DAY 3: A MORNING IN SAINT EMILION AND ONE LAST AFTERNOON IN BORDEAUX

On Monday, Daisy and I signed up for a half-day trip to Saint Emilion, one of Bordeaux's most famous wine making towns. During the tour, we visited both the medieval village and a chateau and tasted nine different wines by 1:

The Monastery

 Saint Emilion himself

 The courtyard

The village from above

 One of the many charming streets

 A wine shop where we tasted 5 different wines and learned more about
the wine tasting process, which was quite good and informative!

 A ta santé! Cheers! Chin chin!

 The courtyard right below the church

 The different wines we tasted
(the one on the far left costs 200 euros!)

 Saint Emilion from a distance

 A chateau at which we tried some wines

The restaurant in Bordeaux at which
we had delicious sea food (as Bordeaux is not far from the Atlantic Ocean!)

 Post cards of Bordeaux

Climbing the tower of Saint André

 The view from above

 The interior of Saint André

A small coffee break after the wine tasting and tower climbing

Once last walk along the River Garonne and the Place de la Bourse before

taking the train back to Paris...