It was a strange thing. We never got a great restaurant meal during our time in Bordeaux. But what we did get was, fabulous cheese, great wine, and a city with a wonderfully relaxed vibe….in some ways it was what I'd always thought France would be….folks polite and to the point, very honest, the wonderfully perfect posture of women, young and old riding bicycles, almost taken out of some movie set somewhere….. All wrapped up with the shopping and such.
We had headed down Cours de l’Intendance, the major upscale shopping street, taking time out to stop at the Church of Notre Dame (Eglise Notre-Dame). We ended up at the Basilique Saint-Seurin, which dates back to the Sixth Century. The current structure dates back to the Eleventh Century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This is Bordeaux's oldest church.
There's a necropolis below the church which dates back to the Eleventh Century. The place is quite haunting…..
From here we decided to head back to Place des Quinconces. Along the way, there was a place I had marked for a lunch stop; Baud et Millet.
This little restaurant did basically one…make that two things; cheese and wine.
The décor is quite simple; a few tables on one side; crates of wine on the other. The menu is also simple various pairings, from the simple cheese and appetizer combinations; all the way up to all the cheese you want from the cellar for 32 Euros.
We took a simple combination of three cheese each paired with a glass of wine. The highlight of this was being able to go down into "la cave", the cheese room.
Where we got to see our cheese cut…..it did smell like they cut the cheese here…..
And yes, it smelt like we were lying at "the feet of angels……"
After this, lunch was sort of anti-climatic……..though we did have some memorable cheeses…..
The Selles sur Cher; the cheese coated with ash on the left; was so distinctively nutty and creamy…..
The Pithiviers au Foin, a very creamy raw cow's milk cheese (which I believe is not legal in the US) coated with hay was so earthy with strong mushroom tones. Also, you'll never taste brie in the US (because it's made from unpasteurized milk is also illegal to import) like the real deal in France. Bummer for us. This was served with a huge basket of bread and a bowl of simply dressed greens.
The young lady who served us was very sweet.
It was a nice introduction to French cheeses and was a good, light lunch. I'm not sure I'd do it again; especially if I'm staying in Bordeaux for more than a day or two and have a fridge. We did enjoy it though….
Baud et Millet
19 rue Huguerie
Bordeaux, France
Instead of continuing back to our apartment after lunch; the Missus decided to do some (thankfully only) window shopping on Cours de l’Intendance.
Right down the street, where the tram turns is the Cathedral of Saint Andre – Bordeaux Cathedral, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Right next to the Cathedral was something we found even more impressive – Pey-Berland Tower. There's an interesting story about this bell tower. It was built separate from the church (in the 15th century) so that the vibrations from the bells ringing would not harm or disturb the church. Unfortunately, after building such a grand tower, the church ran out of money….so no bells were installed in the tower….until 1851!
There are always mysterious statues in our travels. I often take statues photos without even knowing who the subject of the statue is….until I get home.
Jacques Chaban-Delmas was a former Prime Minister of France and served 8 terms as the Mayor of Bordeaux.
We walked onward toward the Garonne River, ending up at the Porte Cailhau, also known as the Palace Gate. From what I read, this used to be the main entrance to the city of Bordeaux.
As you can tell by the dates I've been throwing out; Bordeaux has been around since Roman times, when it was known as Burdigala….so there's more than a little history to go around. There are two other medieval gates in the city….which the Missus just had to see. Those will be in upcoming posts.
Right up the street is Place de la Bourse, commissioned by Louis XIV as the Royal Square, it might be the most well known landmark in Bordeaux. For us however, it's what is right across from the square that got our attention.
Miroir d'eau is the largest reflecting pool in the world and a wonderful place to people watch….the folks running across the shallow pool seem to running on the water instead of in it. People seem drawn to this place.
On this day, we watched a young man take his dog into the pool….the dog looked a bit terrified at first. But obediently followed his master. Soon enough, the young man was first pouring water on the pooch's legs, then splashing the dog….he was teaching the dog about water! It was a lovely sight.
In some ways, this was much more fun than checking out cathedrals……just hanging out on the river's edge……
Watching the joggers on the bridge……
Checking out all the historical sights, it's easy to forget that yes, real people live here and their daily life goes on….much like ours does back home.
By now the sun was slowly sinking in the West. We decided it was time to head back and just relax for the evening. But first, we decided to make one more stop. Back to Bar a Vins, for a glass of wine (or two). This time around, it was much more busy, with what looked like more of a local crowd. Folks relaxing and unwinding…socializing over a glass of wine.
We really loved this place….it was perhaps our favorite in Bordeaux.
In the end, I decided to go for the gusto and got a glass of the Saint Emillion Gran Cru, which was the most expensive wine on the list (6 Euros), it was lovely. If you'd like to read about the craziness of just classifications of Saint Emillion wine, read this.
Bar a Vin
3 Cours du 30 Juillet
Bordeaux, France
It was a lovely day….with visits to Bar a Vin as bookends.