The Renault Dealer advised that they had found a new float for the carburetor, but it would take 5 days to get to them. It must have been coming from some 3rd world country, where they still use 20 year old vans. We didn't ask, they didn't tell.
They offered to let us camp in their lot while we waited, but Dax had nothing new to offer, so we decided to take the train to Bordeaux.
Bordeaux is the largest (in area) World Heritage site. It encompasses the entire port and city core. We stayed at an apartment hotel on the edge of the core and bought 3 day passes that allowed us free access to the public museums / art galleries and all public transport. It also provided discounts at many private facilities. We found that this was not a super deal as many of the private facilities were closed and the others were on restricted off season hours. The highlight was the waking tour. The group was small, consisting of us, an American, two Australians and a Spanish couple.
The city has been an important transportation hub since before Roman times. It was on a major pilgrimage route and was the main port for the French colonies and slave trade. It was also controlled by the English for hundreds of years.
The city has always been rich, so was rebuilt many times, with most of the buildings older then the French Revolution lost to redevelopment.
The city is a center of the French wine trade and we were sure to sample as much as possible. The vast majority is red wine so Sandra had more "enjoyment" then I.
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| The Cathedral, with the separate bell tower at right. |
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| Eleanor of Aquitaine graces the top of the bell tower. |
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| City view from the top of the tower. |
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| Trams provided the most convenient public transportation. |
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| Cathedral from the tower top. |
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| Gargoyle, cute eh? |
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| Sculpture in the main square. |
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| Main square. |
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| Opera House. |
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| The busiest pedestrian only shopping district I have ever been in. |
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| Giant flee market |
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| St Micheal's Tower. |
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| Gate/Arch |
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| Medieval gate. |
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| Gate clock. |
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| Entrance to Art Gallery |
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| Gate/Arch in the Classical style. |
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| Oldest bridge remaining. |
1 comment:
Wasn't that long ago we passed just west of there taking the ferry across the Gironde from Royal to Verdon sur Mer hugging the Atlantic coast. We are saving Bordeaux for later. Despite the delays soundsvlike you are enjoying it depite having to drink too much red wine.
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