wine – S/V koukla

We decided to temporarily leave the amazingness of Bordeaux and take a side trip to Pau. After an auspicious start — during which Enterprise Rent-A-Car gave away our reserved voiture, then after paying three times the original amount elsewhere we couldn’t figure out how to put the dang thang in reverse … while facing downhill with a large parked car in front of us, all the while wondering why we’d decided to leave Bordeaux in the first place — we took our Renault on a lovely little road trip. Rain was forecast but the sun was rebelliously out in spades, and we navigated the endless ronds points rather expertly, if I do (admittedly as the passenger) say so myself. Nothing but admiration for the verdant countryside, with T salivating over all the castles on the way, most notably the Château de Cazeneuve. We finally arrived in Pau after four leisurely and utterly pleasant hours.

Bordeaux is to Pau what Athens is to Symi: a study in country contrasts. Where Bordeaux is urban cosmopolitan, Pau is — especially en route — rural medieval. Bustling and high brow vs. mild and down to earth. Shiny vs. matte. Pau is a tiny condensed city, with a pretty rough entry once we left the countryside. It didn’t help that it took forever to find the actual apartment, and then longer to find the parking, only to arrive with towels on the floor and paper in the bin. All was blessedly sorted while we went to dinner, though, at a restaurant literally right next door to our place, as we contentedly consumed delicious grilled prawns and a bottle of chilled Sancerre. Things were most certainly looking up.

We spent our first full day exploring the city, which is super cute in the light of day. Beautiful mountains, architecture, and castles galore. Visited the Musee des Beaux-Arts (unexpectedly fantastic), had an excellent Asian fusion prix fixe lunch, and topped it all off with what T described as the best macarons he’d ever tasted in life. High praise from Monsieur. Day two we drove to Lescar and Sauveterre-de-Bearn, two darling little towns a couple hours outside of Pau. Castles, churches, and beautiful countryside, with the perfect combination of majesty and magic, and that fresh, crisp air you can both feel and taste. Everything and everyone welcoming and unassuming.

We left on Halloween — at this point sad we’d miss the festivities that were being prepared directly under our living room window — and arrived back in Bordeaux without incident. The next week and a half would be spent in a different section of the city next to the Gare St. Jean, a little grittier than our previous digs but steps from the train station. Maybe we’ll take advantage of our new location and see the Guggenheim in Bilbao?

We hadn’t been to France in over a decade, and we (especially T) were seriously jonesing. So we made the relatively spontaneous decision to add a Bordeaux jaunt to our Greek getaway.

Très bonne idée.

While it was overcast for much of our time there, the weather just added to the ambience. There’s something romantic and quintessentially European about walking through a rainy cobblestoned city, surrounded by melodic accents, ducking into random (i.e. not Yelp or Google or Tripadvisor-veriified) cafés and restaurants, eating fabulous food and drinking delicious wine. (It was Bordeaux after all, and le vin did not disappoint.) We had perfect little apartments — on Rue Judaïque, just outside the center, for the first part of our stay, and near Gare St. Jean for the second — and we happily and busily explored the city for a lovely and sublimely unforgettable three weeks.

Extensive urban planning is obvious in Bordeaux. Transportation, services, and public spaces have been designed with a clearly pedestrian-forward mindset. It is not a car-friendly city, with scarce parking and meandering routes. Uber is also expensive, slow to arrive, and tedious; it routinely took 15+ minutes to travel less than three miles. Surprisingly homogenous stone building facades aside, Bordeaux is a city you’re meant to soak up and enjoy by foot, bike, or metro.

We visited the famous Cité du Vin and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. Bought some excellent bottles from the Badie wine store. Snagged a designer coat from a vintage clothes shop for less than 100€. Saw One Battle After Another (great after Teyana Taylor exited stage left), Predator Badlands (unexpectedly fantastic, undoubtedly helped by the full-on intense immersive theater experience), and The Conjuring (also highly entertaining). The latter two were shown in French and I actually understood most of the dialogue and subtitles, merci beaucoup. Checked out quite a few (cheaper than the states but still overpriced) places for sale. Found some amazing bookstores. Took advantage of the region and had copious amounts of delicious wine to complement equally delicious, refreshingly and reasonably priced prix fixe menus. And, in part to justify the consistent overindulgence, we walked and walked and walked, only missing bicycles with baskets holding fresh baguettes and flowers to complete the picture.

All told, I would 100% visit Bordeaux again. It reminded me how much I miss the whole experience of France, ensconced in fairy tale-like landscapes and history, dining and imbibing in quaint restaurants, hearing and speaking that melodious language, and enjoying the sheer civility of it all. Mwah/Bisous!