Bordeaux and beyond

Today we are back at home after a short break away discovering new, at least to us, areas of France. We rented the only rental car in town and headed southwest to Bordeaux. Heather and Marion had told us of their adventures there, so it seemed to check a few of our boxes. It is an easy drive from Bellac but there are several areas where nice 4 lane freeways turn into 2 lane roads running right through small towns and then open up again. Since most of the freight in Europe is delivered by trucks, there are hordes of them on the highways. On certain highways their speed is restricted and they form a line in the right lane while cars pass by in the left. There is ongoing highway construction to complete these freeways but you are never quite sure what you will get, and now without a map, and relying solely on the GPS means having to trust virtual reality over my own instincts, which are usually pretty good. On our way home from this trip, we entered home into the GPS and told it to take the shortest distance, not necessarily the quickest, as we were paying ,20 €/km.

Sunflower Fields

 It took us off the main highways through picturesque villages, and alongside fields of sunflowers. On looking at the maps online when we got home, she did take us the most direct route home, so next trip we will trust her.

Bordeaux is La Cite du Vin and is on the banks of the La Garonne. The best way to describe the city would be to take best of Paris, and compress it into a nice walkable package. The only thing missing was a park like the Jardin du Tuileries or Luxembourg Gardens, but we must admit we didn't make it up to the Jardin Public.

Steve at the Mirror Fountain

 The fountains were wonderful, especially the Miroir d'Eau, which is a fountain you can walk through. It was an nice relief from the 40° heat. Considering the heat and our heart attack patient, we saw the major sites of the city in our day and a half, and enjoyed watching people from the river side pub with a happy few hours. Cutting through the heart of the city is Rue Sainte-Catherine which is the longest pedestrian street in Europe and has great shopping and eating opportunities.

From Place de la Victoire to the Apple Store in Place De la Comedie, Rue Sainte-Catherine offers something for almost everyone. At the far end of the core of the city was La Cite du Vin. A museum/wine centre for everything wine. Not only is it a museum of wine making, it also has tastings and wine appreciation programs. Not far along the river back to town, was an outlet mall and many restaurants. We stopped for an overpriced Frappacino from Starbucks, at least it was cold.
Away from the modern we stumbled into the Village Notre-Dame. It is an old neighbourhood with many antique stores and a stunning church.

Happy Hour

A picnic was held on the steps of the Temple Notre Dame.  With the heat and an all day tram pass we were back and forth to the hotel for some air conditioning and then back out for more exploring. Later that evening as we wandered looking for a place to eat, we both were taken with a back lane that ended at a small restaurant. We checked out Chez Marcel et Lilly. Here we had the best burgers we have had in a long time. The service was great, local beer was cold, and the burgers were delicious. It ended an excellent day. As we were heading back to the tram, the winds whipped up, and we were in the middle of a thunder storm. It was an abrupt ending to the heat, but the cool rain was a nice change.

Vern on Pont De Pierre

Port de Bourgogne

Place de la Bourse

Place des Quinconces

Monument aux Girondins

Sculpture in Bordeaux

Grosse Cloche

Saint-Andre

We left Bordeaux the next morning and headed to The Great Dune of Pyla, the largest sand dune in Europe. From the huddle of gift shops and restaurants, you can either hike up through the sand or take the stairs. We took the stairs and they were a workout in themselves.

The Great Dune of Pyla

 At the top of the stairs the dune kept going and going..... The views were magnificent of both inland and out to the Atlantic Ocean. The dune stretches out to the south, and we could see specks of people trekking across the top of the dune. We stayed closer to the stairs, and sat down to enjoy the views. Heading down the west side towards the ocean, we kept expecting to see the shore, but there always seemed to be another ridge blocking our view. It was an unexpected gem and well worth the drive and €4 for parking. Another surprise was the restaurant we picked on the way back to the car for lunch. The moules et frites were a wonderful treat. This meal set us up for the next adventure in getting to La Rochelle. The dune was a bit out of the way, and we had to retrace our steps back to Bordeaux and around the ring road to get onto the A10 heading north.

Great Dune of Pyla

 Up until this time, the GPS had all of our hotels listed in and so we didn't give it a second thought to check for the hotel in La Rochelle. As we were getting closer, there was not sign of it listed on the screen. Entering the suburbs of La Rochelle, we tried a hotel in the same chain of hotels and let her take us there. Driving in any city can be confusing and stressful as it is all new with ins and outs all over the place. Well we passed by the train station, and then down a main boulevard to wards the old harbour.

Harbour in La Rochelle

 As we turned into a square we saw the Ibis hotel, and luckily found a place to pull over. I got out to plead for help from the nice woman at the front desk. She pulled out a map and traced the route to our hotel, which included a stretch right through a normally pedestrian only block.

Grosse Horloge in La Rochelle, and our hotel in the background (green sign)

 The desk clerk said it would be fine since we had reservations at the hotel. Steve was hesitant, but I said we need to go for it, and with a few strange looks and a comment or two from the street performer on the high unicycle, we made it across to our hotel. The next challenge was to find parking, which can sometimes be a problem when you stay in the centre of cities. The parking lot we were sent to was closed for the set up of a festival or performance, so we kept trying further away. The main parking lot in town was full, and we kept going as our frustration level was rising.

Us in La Rochelle

 We finally made an illegal left turn and down the wrong way down the ramp into a large parking area, which at the time we thought was in the middle of nowhere. Trolling up and down the rows, we finally found one of the few empty spots. The next challenge was figuring out how to use the parking meter. You only had to pay for parking between 9:00 am and 12:00 and then again from 2:00 to 6:30 pm. Overnight was free. So I put in enough coins to get us through until 9:00 am the next morning. Then we headed back to the hotel on foot, finding that the walk was less than 15 minutes. Not so bad after all.  The next morning, I headed out before breakfast to check the car, and discovered that the largest part of the parking lot was free all the time, and at this early hour, there were a few empty spots, so we were able to solve our parking dilemma. So even though our introduction to La Rochelle was slightly tarnished by the parking issue, we quickly got over it as we discovered what a lovely town it is. La Rochelle is a harbour town that has been redeveloped into a tourist treat. Along the harbour front are shops, restaurants, bars, stalls selling tourist and artisan items and street performers. In the older part of town leading up from the harbour are more shops, boutiques and a bustling market place. It is a wonderful town to wander in.

Vern at the Plage de la Concurrence

 There is even a beach just off the main part of the harbour. Across the bay are two islands to continue a beach type holiday. We hear the aquarium is a destination, but it is not our cup of tea. We are so glad that during the endless parking lot search we didn't just keep going home in desperation.

Friday was departure day, and after filling up at the breakfast buffet at the hotel,  we were back up the same streets to return to the car. We enjoyed the scenic drive home and while travel is fun, it is always nice to come home. It wasn't long home that we were planning our next adventure, a few days in Paris in early August.

We have also had the first visit by the plumber who came by to fix our water heater. Well he did arrive, but he had recently lost his credit card, and didn't realized that he would have to drill a hole in the wall, and leaving for Blackpool tomorrow, he thought it best to postpone the new tank until next Monday. After a pot of tea and sharing travel adventures Gary was on his way, and we were back to writing, gardening, painting........ We will just have to keep emptying the drip pan for one more week.