A day in Bordeaux

parkWe got up in the morning and began our day.  It was beautiful outside although rain was coming later in the afternoon.  We strolled through the park and walked over to the Centre of Contemporary Visual Arts.

museumThe physical museum is amazing.  The installations were all cutting edge contemporary art.

rooftopwhiterocksWe walked all the up to the roof where they have a little cafe.  Worth the walk up there.  One on side is an installation called White Rock Line by Richard Long.

rooftop rocksOn the other side is the Grey Rock Line.

fred gettingthruPeople were definitely smaller when they built this building.  Fred couldn’t even get out without bending down.

marketWe got on the tram and got off near the Marche des Capucins.  Their open air daily greenmarket.  It is really old school and very cool.

herbmanThis is the herb man.

herbmanmoreHere is the other side of more herbs.  If I were in NYC I would have taken one of each home with me.

butterstrawberryjamYou know you are back in France when you see a fridge with just massive butter and a huge tub of beautiful strawberry jam.

oystersWe sat down in one of the restaurants inside the market and had some oysters.  Elderly guy just sits there and shucks.  So great!

fernandThen we walked over to the area called Fernand LaFargue.  Lots of great shops and cafes on small windy streets.

herbshopLoved this spice shop.  They carried everything from curries to vanilla sticks to oregano.

potterThis guy had a kiln and potters wheel inside and was filled with his own ceramics.

lerayonLe Rayon Frais is a mens concept shop.  Very cool stuff.

conceptshopThis was another mens shop.  Very fresh.

garageplaceWe got back on the tram and made our way out to Le Garage Moderne.  This was wild.   This is still a full service car shop and also a bike and motorcycle shop but half of it is open up for art showings.  Many of the shops are using old buses as their offices.  This entire area is going through a huge transformation.  There is a large art gallery being built down the street and several very large apartment building complexes.  Come back in a year and this place will be a very different neighborhood.

othershopBack on the tram and we got off in the Chatrons area.  We were looking for something light to eat but was 2pm no one was serving lunch anymore. Very different than Spain where 2pm is about lunch time.  This area is about 15 large blocks from the La Garage Moderne area.  In between there are some large buildings that have been erected on the waterfront and some have new shops in them and others are still vacant and not yet finished.  Eventually these neighborhoods will just blend into the other.  Right now this area is just a few streets with stores and shops.

epicureshopsWe finally found a place to feed us.  They have a restaurant on the right side of the street and an epicure shop on the left.  They go back and forth in between them for food.  Super cute.

saladlunchWe had two specials of the day to split.  A shaved zucchini, arugula, smoked mozzarella salad with olive oil which was just perfect.

lunchmoreA glass filled with tartare of tomato, eggplant and a huge scoop of ricotta cheese.  Italian place.

chocolatehspWe were going to hit up the shops but the thunder and big ominous black clouds set in so we scurried back to the tram and went to the area where our hotel was.  I want to return to this area tomorrow before heading out of town to see St. Emilion.  It didn’t rain yet so we walked into this incredible chocolate shop around the corner from our hotel.  You serve yourself and these are house made treats vs Hersheys kisses!

hatstoreLike Paris, there are covered alleys in between buildings where stores are.  Always love a good hat store.  Got one for summer and one for rain.  Might come in handy later this afternoon.  Back to the hotel for a little relaxation before dinner.

sardinesDinner was at Petit Commerce.  We walked down to the restaurant passing many shops and other restaurants.  The food there is
simple grilled fish.  We had sardines, cuttlefish and a whole fish for two.  It was perfect.

hotelAfterward we walked back to our hotel and sat outside at a cafe and had an after dinner drink.  The city was humming.

beatlemanWe listened to the local musician play tunes from the Beatles.  Nothing loud all melodic.  It was truly a perfect evening.

Comments (Archived):

  1. JimHirshfield

    Love this post!Great shots and great prose that describe (what sounds like) a wonderful day.Nice shot of Fred’s back. Just like him to look for an exit that doesn’t make his head hurt. 😉

  2. JLM

    .Great pictures.JLM.

  3. William Mougayar

    Good mix of cement, shops and food. You’re back in your skin!

  4. awaldstein

    This sounds like a vacation in Europe to me.Enjoy!

  5. denmeade

    thank you for sharing your travels with us. some delicious looking food and art. lovely!

  6. pointsnfigures

    We have that same sculpture in Chicago this year. Cool.

  7. Tom Labus

    What are you reading?

    1. Gotham Gal

      We Are Not Ourselves, Matthew Thomas. Ok not great.