Bordeaux, France

We got an early start on Wednesday from St. Malo and drove almost the entire way to Bordeaux in the pouring rain.  It was pretty exhausting and finally Kevin agreed to switch and let me drive.  I was very proud of myself, even though it's been years since I drove a stick shift, I didn't even stall once!  Although I did lose our toll road ticket at a rest stop, which ended up costing us a ten-euro fine at the toll booth when we got to Bordeaux.  Whoops.

Of course as soon as we neared Bordeaux the rain cleared up.  The plan was to meet up with our friends Renee and Don at their home exchange in Talence (a Bordeaux suburb), drive into town and return the rental car, then walk around and explore the city a little.  Things went *almost* according to plan, except that when we filled up the tank prior to returning, the pump shut off before it got past the "F" on the gauge (actually the "1".  For some reason "0" means empty and "1" means full...).  We didn't notice it until we were nearly at the Hertz return.  So returning the car took considerably more time than we thought since we then drove to two more gas stations looking for one that would accept our credit card to fill the last teensy bit of the tank to avoid the 60 euro fuel surcharge.

After all that hassle we were ready for a glass (or two!) of wine.  First stop: the Bar a Vin, a great place to order various Bordeaux wines by the glass.

Confession time: the prices were so good at the Bar a Vin that we actually have been there twice since we arrived.  For just a few euros you can relax at a table, order a plate of cheese or fois gras and sample some very nice wines.

Our friends Renee and Don

Thursday we went back into town and checked out the P'tit Train, which drives around town.

The fountain at the Place de Quinconces

Friday was a gorgeous day.  We all had a nice lunch at a brasserie in town, then walked up Sainte-Catherine street (the main shopping street in Bordeaux) to the Opera House to have a look around.

The interior of the theater was gorgeously lit, and all the surfaces seemed to glitter under the colorful lights.  It was very small, so I imagine any seat there would be a good one.

In addition to displaying costumes and set pieces from some of the recent shows, there were some weirdly interesting Alice-in-Wonderland themed displays.