Woke up late and didn’t leave the room till 10:40, out to a cloudy day and 11c.
Walked around the corner and hopped on the tram and took it to the Cite Du Vin centre, which celebrates the Bordeaux wine industry, which was not in the main part of the city but about 15 minutes out.
We didn’t want to go into the centre, but wanted to see a different area and walk back. The weather was still cloudy and a bit chilly, and we walked back along the river to a Starbucks, passing a market which was closed today, we may try it tomorow. The riverside had a wide promenade with lots of joggers and some cyclists, and the sun came out so we took off the coats.
The walk along the promenade was really pleasant; blue skies, sunshine and warming up.
After about 15 minutes we turned back into the main part of town to look for something to eat. We found a square with restaurants and cafes around it, and settled on a bistro which was popular. Along almost every street, and around the squares, there are cafes and bistros with tables outside, and most are quite busy. Most places do a set menu, you choose a starter, main and dessert, or a starter and main or a main and dessert, or just a main and there are 3-4 choices for each. Song had a Thai salad for starter and steak for main, I ordered a pork dish and chocolate dessert. When they came out I offered Song the pork and swapped it for the steak. The food was good, and decent portions, cost 38 Euro all in, about $65.
Got back on a tram (we’d bought a 10 trip ticket each) and ended up at the Notre Dame cathedral that we skipped yesterday and went in. To be honest, not that impressive. Walked around the same area as yesterday, the weather perfect – sunny and around 19C, not a cloud in the sky. Most of the shops that were closed yesterday were now open, but we didn’t do any shopping today. We popped into an antique shop but it was all furniture, we couldn’t fit a writing desk in our hand luggage.
Got back on a tram, ended up at another church, the Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux, one of the biggest here and inside was more impressive than the others.
We also noticed that a lot of the large churches here also have a separate bell tower just next to it.
Walked back to the river front again, this time passed the Porte Cailhau, the old city gate of Bordeaux.
Walked back to where we’d been yesterday, La place de la Bourse, where the large buildings were and took some nicer photos in the sunshine.
Feeling a bit tired, we walked back to the hotel to chill out for the rest of the afternoon and decide if we wanted to go out again for more food, and went past one of the major bridges on the way.
Sat in the hotel for a while, then went out for a walk, it was still sunny at 19:00. Wandered around a bit looking for something to eat but neither of us was very hungry, plus most of the places in the area were bars and filled with young people smoking, vaping and drinking. We walked quite a bit trying to find somewhere, but we didn’t feel like a big meal. In the end we decided to go back and have the French jambon and bread we got in Bayonne, but went via the patisserie and got 2 cakes.
Tomorrow we have another full day, we’ll probably catch the tram to another part of the city and explore.