Time to move on (24 October 2024)

Sitting by the Garonne late afternoon in Bordeaux


It was a transition day, one of two we were having as we travelled from Bayonne to Paris.  We had visited Bordeaux a number of years earlier and Bev and I had both liked its vibe. 

 

It was sad after five action packed days to pack our bags and drive to Bordeaux.  This time I took the fast route but without using the tolled autoroute. 

 

After saying goodbye to the host’s agent Evelyne, who was a lovely woman and spoke French only, we followed the Adour river for a number of kilometres.  It was another narrow road and I had to contend with cyclists as well as speedy motorists.  All co-operated well. After leaving the river we joined a wider road and went through a number of villages looking for a boulangerie which did coffee.  Finally Bev suggested one and we did 360 around a roundabout and called into what was actually something like a general store  selling just about everything. 

 

Where we stopped for lunch

It was clearly a key part of the community as there were people coming and going, whether it was for a coffee and pastry, or to pick up their groceries.  The woman who served us was a delight who congratulated us on our attempts at French.  We  got some practice and she got to practice her English.  The coffee was ok and pastries were good. 

 

The road took us through pine forest that it seemed to go on for ages.  One of the roads we were taken down was clearly a logging road and essentially one way.  Fortunately we did not meet a logging truck.

 

As we left the forest we came to a huge mill and shortly after there was a town, Parantis-en-born where we were able to get lunch. 

 

At that point we were not too far away from Bordeaux where we joined the motorway into the city (no tolls to pay).  All went well until I missed a turn but the GPS accurately directed us to our hotel.  After we unloaded the luggage the car needed to be filled up with fuel.  I saw where we needed to go but missed the turnoff which necessitated an illegal entry to the petrol station.  The next challenge was to find the parking building.  I missed the road to get there the GPS took us through some very narrow streets to finally get into the building where the drop off was.  It took us two goes to get to the right floor but eventually we made it to my relief. 

Squeezing in

 

The building was right next to Gare de Bordeaux St Jean where all the trains left from.  It also had a tram stop there which would take us to the Bourse which is a central area.  We were surprised when we got there that there were so many people around enjoying the late afternoon sun. Later we found out that it was the school holidays.  We wandered into the bar and entertainment area and found a nice place to have a celebratory drink.  Then there was a search for a nice restaurant in which to have a traditional French meal.  The one we chose was not very full and I had my doubts but Bev and Graham wanted to stop.  The meal was turned out to be good and the place proved to be very popular with it filling up quickly. 

 

So ended the day.


One of the several portes to the city

Where we had a drink

Brass model of the area

Traffic free areas to enable socialising

Reflections

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