Onward and Upward 

Our weary travellers staggered into Bordeaux and were immediately enraptured by the beautiful lighting on the cafés, restaurants and buildings immediately opposite the station. 

(tram shown)

The tram system in Bordeaux is wonderful - goes everywhere you need to go; easy to navigate; and on a Friday night, there's a tram every three minutes or so. Rechargeable paper tickets! The French are really good at the recycling/renewable stuff.

We had a not quite 1km walk from the tram stop to the hotel - which doesn't sound like a lot, but just about EVERY footpath and many of the streets are cobbled! Cobbles are really hard on suitcase wheels. We lost one suitcase (Ferdi's) to cobblestones last trip, and I don't expect Lish's suitcase to make another trip after this one, if indeed it makes it back over the seas.

It was dark, the streets were very, very quiet. It was faintly unnerving! 

However. Lovely hotel, wonderful bathroom. We slept well.

We promised ourselves a day off - go out and find some breakfast, and then probably totter back to the hotel and have a PJs and movies day. We were both still pretty ruffled and needing TLC.

However, our little stroll in search of breakfast took us quickly into the old part of the city, and it's so lovely, and we just kept wandering and looking! 

That, my friends, is a double wisteria. That would be INCREDIBLE come Spring! 

A couple of the most beautiful chocolate croissants it has ever been our pleasure to devour. 

We visited l'Église St. Louis - named after King Louis IX of France,

who (according to the interwebs) wascanonised because he

"combined the role of a powerful medieval monarch with deep personal piety, major legal and administrative reforms, and extensive public charity."

Very interesting how only two of those four panels are windows, the others are painted to look like them

This obviously hand-sewn

We spent a long time reading and Lish translating (doing a really impressive job, with not very much help from me!) these very nice prayers that were put up at various points around the church. I have kept them for future contemplation.

Further along we found a rather epic flea market, only one shop wide, but which went back and back for ages! And out on the front doorstep, we each found a most perfect jacket! I'm usually terrible at op-shopping, but on this day we scored! 

We came home, we did in fact watch a movie. Then we went back out into the city, looking for some dinner -  a little bit gussied up, in our new jackets!

We passed one restaurant which had a fabulous view into their kitchen. I stopped to sticky-beak with professional interest! The lads were totally up for it! 

It's maybe a 2km walk from our hotel to the centre-ville. 

There's a statue of Joan of Arc, who was from around here originally

and a very pretty fountain or several.

There was a great big carnival/fair in the city, near and around a massive monument - 

Monument aux Girondins

I rather loved the juxtaposition of the old and the new here. 

This was the only building still lit up with the Vivid lighting. I was a little bit sad not to have taken any better pics the night before. 

In the place in front of the Opera House, as we approached, there were some loud BANG!!!s, which we thought were firecrackers, but upon coming closer turned out to be flash-bangs set off by the police, plus a monumental deep BOOM! which I found out the hard way was tear gas!  - in response to the demonstrations and subsequent vandalising and looting, which you may have seen on the news. I don't recommend it! 

No Femias were harmed!!

A lot of the restaurants which we had see on our first tram-ride the night before, running a roaring trade, were closed, in anticipation of the bad behaviour.  But we quite easily found a restaurant that was unbothered - it was Greek - and had a very pleasant dinner.  

Yummy Moussaka! Lish had a vegetarian option which was kinda similar only not with the bolognese-y bit. 

Walking back, we passed through where the worst of the looting had happened. The place was a mess! - windows smashed, merchandise broken and scattered, places where something had apparently blown up or been set on fire.... and yet the Bordelais were calmly going about their Saturday evening as if nothing special was going on. 

One of the fountains was wearing a traffic cone at a jaunty angle.

We walked all the way home and never for a moment saw anything untoward, or felt in any danger.

Next morning, we walked back up, so much of the damage had already been cleaned up, workers everywhere continuing to sort things out.

There's a market that runs along the riverside. 

All of this produce is *super* local

This looked to me like the French equivalent of Chiko Rolls 

Wine, sold at the market!

Mead!

This beautiful old lady

Took this pic especially for Lish's friends back home

The plaza where the fountain with its traffic cone topper - by now removed.
We came here for breakfast.

Just gorgeous weather! I think it was recording at about 10C but in the sunshine it was as warm as anything.

Yes, more croissants. 

Still quite a large police presence around the important buildings. 

The cathedral! 

I love me a flying buttress.

We went to the art gallery and spent a delightful time. I love looking at art with Lish, because I know absolutely nothing and Lish knows TONS about art. So informative and interesting! 

This guy with his skull, like a kitty

Cool painting of the quays and the buildings of Bordeaux. 

'Nother skull. 

The expressions on these characters are unlike almost all the other paintings I've ever seen!

A porcupine! How about his sweet little face.

These guys gave me serious Mr.Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennett vibes

This is a marble scuplture of Mozart in his last moments.

Can we please just pause for a moment and take in the textures of his (marble!!!!) textiles! Incredible.

A sweet lil Madame la Liberté in a park on our way home.

We went for dinner in a plaza quite close to the hotel

Right next to Église St. Louis, as it turned out! How pretty the leadlights looked in the dusk.

Next morning, breakfast again - same plaza, different spot.

This sweet tea salon.

The couple at the next table were speaking in Australian accents. I have an appalling (to anyone with/near me) habit of saying (not yelling! I have standards) "Aussie Aussie Aussie!" to which I *always* get an "Oy oy oy!" in response. We had a lovely chat, in the course of which, it turns out the gentleman grew up in Narrabeen! :) 

Off exploring again - through the Jardin Public, which is so restful and beautiful.

Appalling Kinnear shot of a young woman with her knitting, along the Quays.

We took our main meal at lunch, so as not to have to go back out.

Two serves of very nice salmon, with fondue au poireau and creamy black rice.
I have taken notes and will be reverse-engineering this meal when we get home. 

followed by a single profiterol stuffed with icecream that was nearly as big as Lish's head, and a crème brûlée for me

In the continuing series of 'Weird bathrooms in France that I have visited' - this was the picture staring at you from the back of the toilet door as you tried to pee in peace! 

And finally, a proper inside visit to the cathedral!

She was consecrated in 1096, and has been under constant construction from then up to the 19th Century. And now they are undertaking a massive renovation. 

This is the only side-chapel that has been repainted so far. 

I am absolutely nuts about these colours and these patterns. We have an unfinished mural in my study at home. It's never going to happen. I want to paint over it, and probably do something like this. Let's see how that pans out!

Another of the side-chapels, where you can see how the original paintwork has faded and disappeared. I imagine they will get around to restoring this, as the works continue.

The organ is also undergoing a complete restoration. They plan to have it completed and to inaugurate it in 2030. I am bookmarking that for a return visit! 🤞🏻

Last night here! Tomorrow is another biiiiiiig travel day. 

Au revoir, Bordeaux! Tu étais toute belle.