....and Day 3 in Bordeaux

We left the next morning for the city of Bordeaux, driving through vineyard after vineyard, through villages with such names as Bergerac, Cognac, Cadillac (does -ac mean something?). Lyle wanted to head north of Bordeaux to the Medoc wine region, another favorite wine of ours. 

The Medoc region was a bit disappointing.  Very flat country with only a few roads up the peninsula.  It is filled with more vineyards and chateaux.  We drove by picturesque ones such as the Palmer chateaux and finally stopped at a little wine store where a Brit sold us a few bottles.  Our first wine purchase, but because we were travelling back by train, neither of us wanted to drag a case home.

So we arrived into Bordeaux, a pretty big city of 650,000,  around noon and took in the sights.  This city has been undergoing lots of renovation in the past few years, so it appeared modern and progressive with its new tram and built-up quai along the river. It belonged to the British for 300 years, but the old parts still looked French to me!

                                               The quai along the river....over 5 km long

          An appropriate name for a bar....the Frog and Rosbif,  slang names for the French and Brits!

         The Grand Theatre, built in 1773, and one of the last remaining 18th century theaters in the world.....

The Monument aux Girondins, commemorating the Girondists sent to the guillotine by Robespierre....

                                                     This reminded me of Chicago....

The afternoon was almost HOT, so while Lyle took a work phone call, I wandered into the Basilique St-Michel, which took 200 years to build starting in 1350.  It was of interest to me because I had read a book about Eleanor of Aquitane, who was married in this church to one of the Louie's.....

By the evening, we drove around the rail station looking for the Avis place to drop the car.  We went around in circles for a bit until we found a tiny street in the back of the station where Avis was located in a garage.  GPS would have been helpful!  But heading back to Paris on the train was a welcome bonus, taking only 3 hours on the fast TGV train.  What a weekend!  What an anniversary!