Good bye Bordeaux

I just loved walking along with Garonne River and tried to make it a daily occurence. This is called the Water Mirror and young and old frequent this enormous wading pool to cool off on what has been a hot couple of days. It is bigger than a football field and totally flat with 10" slits within the cement. Every five minutes or so the water mists up and once it dies down your left with a few inches of water in which to cool off in.

Yesterday we ate pizza

So today we opted for a salad. We walked quite aways from the central hub we had become accustomed to and I think we got lost but John won't admit it. We didn't look at a map or have a plan we just started walking which in many ways is the best way to see Bordeaux. Along the way I passed my new fav place which is Paul. A bakery which is quite popular here something like our Tim Hortons but where everything tastes 1,000 times better........especially the fresh chocolate eclairs.

We eventually stopped to try and figure out where we were and to grab some lunch. Because we were more on the outskirts of Bordeaux the language barrier became quite prevalent. Neither our waiter nor anyone else in the cafe spoke English. The menu was written on a chalk board beside our table and we and our waiter tried to bridge the gap. He pointed at a lot of things and then said "duck". Duck is big in France. I don't like duck. The older couple with the tiny dog who hid under their table got into the act as well and soon it became an interesting game of charades. The woman began pulling at her neck saying "gizzard" which didn't sound all that appetizing to me so I made a note not to order that. Eventually we chose a salad which was beautiful. It did come with beef that looked pretty raw to me. John ate that. There were walnuts, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce and small pieces of baguette with warm camembert cheese on top sprinked with rosemary.

On the way back John suddenly pulled me into this store and low and behold the most art supplies I have ever seen in one place. Like dying to going to heaven for me.

Before I sign off I must say something about the women in Bordeaux........probably all of France. They really know something about style. Even when their dressing down it is still 100 times more pulled together than me on my best day.

Matisse/Marquet Correspondences

This exhibit was the only one in which we were charged upon entry. The other museums were all free of charge. I don't know if that is due to the fact that we were tourists or if it's free foreveryone. Regardless I was anxious to take my time and soak it all in. Now Matisse has never been one of my favs but I do admire Marquet's work. I wished so badly I could read French as their correspondence with each other would have been interesting to follow. I didn't know beforehand that they were close friends and that Marquet had painted Matisse's wife. Matisse's letters also included his signature sketches of himself in the sidebar.

Matisse's work

Matisse Self Portrait

Trees in Billancourt

Albert Marquet

We ended up spending the better part of the morning just strolling through the exhibit. Pictures were allowed but "no flash" as I soon found out when I accidently forgot to turn it off. Sorry....


On our way to the Museum of Contemporary Art we stopped at a cafe and had a wonderful pizza and of a course a beer........no Kronenbourg so a Leffe would have to do.

We headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art by way of the Garonne River. Warning: pics of me ahead.

So we arrive and I am so excited because I absolutely adore contemporary art and can't wait to spend the rest of the day taking it all in. John was such a good sport.

Major Disappointment ahead......

First off, the building was beyond anything I had ever seen before. Anyone who loves architecture would weep. The stonework, the archways and the stairs were breathtaking. The building, as far as I was concerned, was the art.

Because of the language barrier I wasn't really sure if paintings were housed within these stone walls or whether they ever would be. There were two small video installations upstairs, one by Christopher Hutins and the other artist I don't remember. As we were wandering around we came upon this quaint rooftop cafe and decided to sit awhile and order a cappucino........this place was dream like.

Here are a few of the installations that were shown at the Museum.........no paintings. Art is and will always be subjective.........I am the first person to say it because it is so, but this wasn't my cup of tea. Perhaps if I knew the language and could read the cards beside the work, I would have a better understanding of what the artist was offering but................wasn't going to happen.











Next post: More food, more wine, more chocolate .........wandering around Bordeaux.

Musee des Beaux-Arts

Day 2 - John has decided we must move to Bordeaux. I listen nodding my head intently with a understanding but quizzical look on my face. After he was done I listed three obstacles standing in our way

1. We could never afford to live here

2. We have no job prospects

3. We do not speak French

He blows off this reasoning seeing obstacles as simple details. I love his optimism and decide to let him run with it.

This morning after a record breaking 12 hour sleep we awoke to find out we had missed breakfast. John ran downstairs and grabbed us a coffee (really strong) and a couple of pastries....you know a nice healthy French breakfast. After that I eat a chocolate covered caramel I find in my purse which I had forgotten about. I thought I devoured them all yesterday.

With map in hand we set out to not only explore the city but to visit the Musee des Beaux-Arts. The grounds of the museum were jaw droppingly gorgeous. Unbelievably well tended to with this sculpture prominently featured which I saw as a mix of the present and the past.

The Musee des Beaux-Arts houses 15th to 20th century works by Titian, Rubens, Delaxroix, Vernonese and others. There was also a Mattise/Marquet exhibit featured at their sister building which was only a few blocks away. More on that in my next post. I also found a textile piece as well as etchings . Here's a few pics...

This was our favourite painting which was entitled "The Building of Bordeaux" by Pierre Lacour. It had to be at least 8' x 10' and the attention to detail was stunning. You could sit for hours just taking it all in as there was so much going on in every section of the work. It was mesermizing.

Next post the Matisse/Marquet exhibit..............

Bordeaux..... Warning: Three Part Post (maybe more) and Vacation Photos

Our flight left for Bordeaux at 4:40pm or was supposed to according to our tickets. When we arrived at the airport we were bumped back a couple of hours due to........ "no idea" they never divulge that information. By the time we arrived in Paris it was around 1 a.m. our time and 7 a.m. theirs. We missed our flight to Bordeaux so we had to wait for the next flight that took off in four hours. I was staggering around both airports in a Gravol induced stupor and you probably could have put me on any plane to anywhere and I would when I arrived I was in France. As I've noted in previous posts, not only am I a nervous flyer but suffer from motion sickness as well. Just the kind of girl you want to have along on a trip!

Eventually we arrived at the hotel exhausted but still moving. Someone we ran into warned us not to sleep but to wait until tonight to crash. We propped open our eyelids and went out for a walk. I came across the first Chocolatier and dove right in to some chocolate covered caramels which they tie up so beautifully in a small bag with brightly covered ribbons. Lots of attention to detail here.

We found a lovely cafe not far from the hotel and stopped for a Caesar salad and a............

Best Caesar salad I've ever tasted. It was slathered in dressing with shaved parmesan on top and no, I wasn't thinking or concerned about the calorie count. I headed for bed around 9pm leaving John in the lobby trying his best to speak (butcher) the French language.

Tomorrow my visit to the Musee des Beaux-Arts.

Home

Here I am back at home, jetlagged but none the worse for wear. There is so much to say about our visit to Bordeaux which I will begin on Monday in a 3 part post........lots of photos.

Au Revoir

Today I left work at noon and spent most of the afternoon grocery shopping and running errands in preperation for my in laws arriving tomorrow. They have so very generously agreed to stay here for a week with the girls while we head off to France.......Bordeaux to be exact. Lots of museums and wine.......right up my alley. The girls were hoping we would leave them here on their own so when they first threw the idea at us I politely paused for at least ten seconds (long enough) before giving them a resounding "no". Lots of pouting and "don't you trust us?". Yeah, maybe in my next lifetime.


I return on the 28th ......jet lagged but with lots of "stuff" to talk about...

Be good until then............