Jan's Blog: Bordeaux 14: Cruising the Garonne

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Bordeaux 14: Cruising the Garonne

Saturday 15th February 2020.

Stuart bought jonquils from the market. I thought they looked quite good in the beaker that he was given at the Louvre for his red wine. I put my new phone (thanks Laura) into portrait mode to take this photo, as it puts the background out of focus.

We had lunch at a restaurant where the table tops were like an ipad where you ordered your meal. I had a tuna poke bowl which was nothing like the ones I had had in Hawaii. For a start, the tuna was cooked, not raw, and the taste was completely different (and scrumptiously delicious.) It also included some divine cooked figs.

Stuart had something to do with veal, which he seems to be enjoying.

We were going on a river cruise, so I posed casually beside the boat moored at the designated spot to leave. Even though Bordeaux is 90 km from the mouth of the river, the effects of the tides are very obvious in the city, especially in the way the clay river bed is constantly stirred up. The locals lovingly call the colour of the river "blonde." (Sounds much nicer than "muddy".)

Woops, wrong boat. This is the right one. Le Luna is a post-war Riviera yacht which now takes tourists up and down the Garonne. Posing casually again. You can see "my" lovely Pont de Pierre in the background.

A glass of wine and a canelé pastry (a specialty of the Bordeaux region) were a part of the deal. Stuart ate his canelé before I could photograph it, which is why he looks a bit odd.

Our guide gave us a brief history of Bordeaux and pointed out some of the major landmarks as we passed them. Here, using Stuart's drink, she is explaining how the architecture of the Cite du Vin suggests the action of wine swirling in the glass.