Bordeaux

We had booked our weekend to Bordeaux back in winter - when we thought an autumn trip might be just the thing for us. So, after another busy week at work where we went to the movie the Duchess (and regretted it) , I spent a day in Swansea and Harry went to a graduation evening for his students, more doom and gloom on the housing and banking scenes and more airlines going bankrupt (we had a cancellation to one of our weekends in Spain in December) we caught a mid day flight to France and left Bristol in warm, sunny conditions (a rarity so it is worth mentioning) and arrived in Bordeaux to even warmer weather - bliss. After picking up our rental car (Seat Ibiza), we drove to the hotel which was very close to the airport (real cheap, but relatively new and nice. No restaurant but there was breakfast for 7 euros each, though not on Sundays, a pool and a kitchenette another rarity in European hotels). We then drove into Bordeaux - though quite a distance away it was in a straight line so we had no excuse to get lost and we didn't - we even found a car park after circling the block only twice. The car park was underground and built like a huge downward spiral - we parked in number 366 and after walking and eating we drove back up the spiral completely losing our sense of direction!! One very interesting security device was that without a ticket you couldn't access the lifts to the carpark - but if you were desperate I guess you could wander under the gate and down the spiral until you found what you wanted. Bordeaux is a quaint city - 1.2 million people, but spacious and exceptionally clean. We wandered around the town, past the gardens locked for the night, statues and fountains (Fountain of the Three Graces) and along the water front (River La Garonne). It didn't take long as we couldn't understand any of the inscriptions on various statues and so were left in the dark about the history of the city. The river is wide and muddy, quite deep (deep enough for cruise ships to berth and for a barge to carry a wing of an A380 up the river to the plane factory somewhere inland - Harry reckons Toulouse where there as an assembly plant on the same river) and deep enough to drown a skateboard much to a skateboarder's chagrin when he fell off and watched his board roll under the fence. Bordeauxians were enjoying themselves that sunny afternoon and we watched a bmx biker (doing wonderful tricks going upside down with his bike only to land heavily on his seat - ouch we both said but I think he said something stronger), rollerbladers, children playing (grandad had trouble keeping up with a 2 year old), cyclists and people having a drink or an early evening snack in one of the many old converted storage sheds or at Molly Malones (yes - we also found an Aussie pub). Great to see a city out and about on a Friday evening. Except for eating in Bordeaux that was our full extent of our touring around the city because have car will travel. Harry did well negotiating the right hand corners and anti-clockwise roundabouts as I sat in the passenger seat feeling I was sitting on the wrong side and spending most of my time resisting the temptation to grab the steering wheel to ensure we were on the right side of the road (or should I say left?).

And the next day we headed for the beach. First of all we considered sitting in the sun in 25 degrees and having our first swims (yes that is a plural) of the season a bit of waste of money as there is so much to see - but it was so nice, we just kept enjoying the sun, surf and sea air and in the end didn't regret it. Firstly we ventured to Lacanau-Ocean and then a bit further south to Cap Ferret. Golden sand, lots of dunes, waves, sheltered spots, cafes, shops selling sports and summery clothing, postcards and buckets and spades. The photos say it all - and with all that sand and sand bars it made for some interesting photos.

The French countryside is equally as pretty and we enjoyed driving through forest areas (while listening to a range of french and english songs), stopped by a lake for lunch (see the photo of our 'sandwich'), and on Sunday ventured to Cadillac - wine making and corn growing country. Cadillac was a cute little village, cobble stoned, typical cream coloured stone buildings, with cafes and church bells chiming and with that sleepy Sunday atmosphere. We ended up having crepes in a cafe after visiting the chateau. The chateau de Cadillac was firstly a royal residence and then a prison for 'fallen girls' in the late 18th century. It is now being restored as a royal residence but the the magnificent marble fire places, painted ceilings and window shutters (the first type of double glazing I reckon) could not hide the heavy doors with barred windows where many a poor woman was kept in absolute silence - the punishment imposed on the prisoners.

A little wander around Cadillac didn't give the impression of much more to see (after we spied a patisserie for our lunch) and so we drove back and stopped at a 'ancien village' (we interpreted as perhaps something old and worth seeing) and so ended up in Rions - an ancient village built back in 1295, and I think if I interpret the note above the gate correctly, redesigned and rebuilt in the 1330's and again in the 1800's. It was lovely wandering through the town (again rather sleepy and not a lot going on) looking at the houses and wondering what they were like behind the doors and the shutters. The view from the hill overlooking vineyards and corn fields was rather special particularly with some autumn leaves beginning to show. We then drove to a medieval castle, had a quick wander round before we drove back to the airport for the trip back to Bristol. Back in England Harry was delighted to see Wellington had blitzed Auckland and taken the shield and I was pleased to hear that some of the locals were kicking up a fuss about nudity on the Kapiti Coast beaches.