Last day in Bordeaux

We had a so-called day of leisure on the agenda. Good thing as yesterday was pretty intense. Sue skipped breakfast and we tried to book a visit to the funky looking wine museum but were shut out. So we walked to the spacious Public Garden and saw many ponds, nice bridges and a playground with a carousel. On the way we also saw the ruins of a Roman amphitheater. After resting on a shady bench in the park and making reservations for dinner at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant, we googled for a cafe - bad idea as that’s a coffee shop - and ended up walking to the beautiful fountain we had seen from the tram. There were very impressive carvings, including lions with water spouting out their noses.  There were a couple of kids swimming in the fountain. It had a tall column with a winged statue at the top. Later we learned it was comparable to Bordeaux’s Statue of Liberty. 

We spotted a brasserie for lunch but the service was abominable. We ended up leaving before Sue’s, Nick’s and Julie’s entrees (salads) came. Apparently they were waiting for Mary to finish her appetizer before starting those. Even after she had long finished, we still didn’t have our meals. So we left rather perturbed. 

We walked to a boat tour on the Garonne River we had booked the night before. The River is called the half moon river because of the shape. One bank has the old historical buildings and the other is more modern. We found seats inside out of the heat and humidity but we couldn’t understand the commentary so we went upstairs onto the sunny deck. A young woman gave us highlights of Bordeaux, including info about 3 bridges we saw. The stone bridge was built between 1810 and 1822 and features 17 arches. Another bridge had a cabled system that lifted like an elevator to allow the cruise ships access. The third was a little Golden Gate Bridge. We also passed the wine museum - designed by a Paris architecture firm. It looks like a big shoe but is supposed to represent wine swirling in a glass. The River is quite brown looking, but the guide explained that it is a tidal River and the color is the silt that is churned up by the tides. Even though it looks polluted it is actually one of the cleanest rivers in France. It was a lovely boat tour and we all enjoyed it. 

We walked back through a medieval arch, passed a cool Church and saw many Welsh fans decked out in their red jerseys for tonight’s game with Fiji. Mary wished each and every one good luck. Mary bought a cool Bordeaux poster on our walk back and we ended with a pre-dinner drink at the wine bar near our hotel. The staff was very friendly and some Welsh fans stopped by for beers, including one who said he was Tom Jones’ son and he treated us to a few bars of “It’s Not Unusual.”  Sue googled Tom Jones and it seems he had a lot of experiences with groupies, so we suppose it’s possible. Mary kept trying to talk the owner into trading or selling her a vintage Welsh rugby jersey he had on display, but he stood firm and wouldn’t part with it.  

We ate dinner at Le Bordeaux, Gordon Ramsey’s cheaper restaurant in the Intercontinental Hotel. We had a lovely table outside facing the Grand Theater, where we had seen the choir and acrobats the first night. No such entertainment tonight. We had oysters, cucumber gazpacho, duck breast, pork belly and Caesar salad. The highlight for Sue was the desserts, raspberry cheesecake, chocolate peanut mousse and a caramel pastry dessert. (Photo above - the pink hot dog is the cheesecake.) We walked back to the hotel (by now a very familiar route with a left turn at the McDonalds), and had one last nightcap at Mary’s wine bar (last photo above with blindfolded pig on sign - lots of discussion of meaning of name - unresolved in Sue’s mind). We watched the Wales game on our phones. Nick kept tabs on the Brewers as Corbin Burnes had a no hitter going. 

We all agreed Bordeaux is a fabulous city and we had a great time (and great meals) here. Tomorrow we depart for St. Emilion.