Well, things started rough when we got to the train station (need I go on?) to catch our train to Bordeaux, only to discover that there had been a wreck on the lines and no trains were going to Bordeaux for the rest of the afternoon/ evening. Great. Well, we tossed around the idea of going to Toulouse, but in the end, decided to go to Bordeaux on the bus. 2 hour train ride, 3 hour bus ride, no big deal. So, finally situated on the bus, we head off, only to get stuck in traffic and arrive in Bordeaux after 4 hours on a bus.

But, it builds character!

It was after 8 when we got to Bordeaux, and after catching the awesome trams (really, really wonderful idea. It's like the trains, but local. Better than the bus system, because they're so constant, but safer and less intense than a metro system. They should consider that as a solution for 280.), we headed to the hotel, checked in and put our stuff up. But then, it was a tad tard (late) and what we found to eat was... kebabs!
France's greatest culinary invention (joke)!! Delicious, fast, cheap- what's not to love? In fact, some of us loved them so much we had them for dinner again the next night...


Also this evening, we ran into some skaters. Roller skaters. TONS of them. Apparently, like in Paris, there's a weekly skate club that goes out on Friday night and skates around Bordeaux. There were different age levels that went by at different times, and one very nice guy offered us a brochure. Anyway, we thought it was really comical.

The next day, we just walked around Bordeaux; saw the beaux Arts museum with it's beautiful flowers as well as the interesting enormous crocodile head in shiny material in front. No lie.




Then, there was the important fountain in the square (demonstrating some type of architecture typical of Louis the 16? I'm not sure, but it was in the guidebook).

We also saw the Mirror of water, way too much fun to play in. It was a large area that held about an inch of water. It then drained the water, and when it was dry and you were about to turn away and say "Well, that was strange," it begins to mist. After the mist, water bubbles up from the ground and fills the cauldron again. Pretty fun for us, and probably pretty amusing for the watchful parents of the 5 year olds also playing in the water. what can we say? We're small children.









We tried to go on the walking tour suggested in the guidebook from here, but that was pretty much an exercise in futility. The guidebook was in French (although the others dominated that part), the directions were vague, and who wants to see another back alley anyway? Actually, the problem is that French road signs are more like suggestions: if they are actually on the corner, they're on one of the four corners of the intersection, and they can be on either of the two sides of the four buildings that make up said intersection. So you can see why directions that only use street names would be a little difficult to follow. (: That notwithstanding, we did see the Grosse Cloche (Giant Clock), place de la Victoire, Rue de St. Catherine, and other worthy sights around town.











Saturday evening we saw a fountain that I especially liked (though I have no clear idea as to why). It had some chariots and there was a bunch of symbolism in who was driving the chariot and who pulled the chariot... cha cha cha... I think I really liked that the horses were half horses, half sea creatures. Their hooves were webbed and clawed. It was really cool, anyway.




I liked Bordeaux immensely; I thought it was a lovely city, vibrant but manageable. There was a large public park that was absolutely filled when we went on a lovely Saturday afternoon. I took some pictures to show how the French spend their leisure time (of which they have a lot!), it's really quite beautiful. Hope you enjoyed Bordeaux!