Just us 2025

 On Saturday, we packed up our fabulous apartment in Rue des Trois Conils and headed to the train station. Before I had time to take a good nap, the TGV (travelling at 310kms per hour) had us in Paris. It took approximately 10 mins before our decision to not spend too much time in Paris was confirmed. The taxi drivers are so rude! The hotel staff are lazy and dismissive. Not a great start. We didn't have a lot of time left in the day and I had one job to do - buy some souvenirs for my students. We headed out in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. Found a souvenir shop and did a deal to buy 21 "I Love Paris" pens. Job done. As we were close to the ET, we thought we would have a look at it. We got a shock when we realised there is a huge fence around the base of the tower! The last time we visited Paris (28 years ago), you could walk under the Eiffel Tower. There were no big ticket gates. Just an orderly queue. Things have changed a lot since our first visit. The crowds in P...

 I have called today the Mary Robinson day because a lot of what we did today was based on recommendations from our lovely friend, Mary. And her recommendations were spot on. We started our day with coffee at Books and Coffee , a a gorgeous cafe under the Grosse Cloche . Mary said it was the best coffee in Bordeaux and I wouldn't disagree with her. Next, we went to the Musee des Beaux-Arts . I really like visiting museums and art galleries in smaller cities because they are nowhere near as busy and you get more opportunity to really enjoy the paintings. The Musee has a small number of well known artists such as Matisse and Rubens but most of its works are from more obscure artists from the 16th to the 20th century. The temperature was climbing in Bordeaux so we decided that our next stop was better made earlier rather than later. We went to the absolutely beautiful rooftop bar at the Intercontinental Hotel.  Such a swanky hotel, gorgeous decor. Great views of Bordeaux from the...

 Great day today. After our big day out on Wednesday, we took it easy this morning. We headed out around 10.30 for our morning coffee. We were aware that Thursday was the big strike day in France so we weren't sure what would be open. The gendarmerie were on the streets early which was a bit disconcerting.  We headed to La Cite du Vin (the Wine Museum) but thanks to the preparations for the protest, some of our tram route was closed. We had a very pleasant walk to Quinconces and, thankfully, the trams began running from there. With the temperature heading up to 32 degrees, we didn't want to walk all the way. La Cite du Vin is amazing! The museum explains how wine grows, where it grows, what the different varieties are and how best to enjoy them. The graphics and the presentation are TOP CLASS. So, so interesting. Ian and I feel ready to become winemakers after everything we have learnt in the last 2 days. We finished the visit with a complementary glass of wine on the 8th flo...

 Today, we went on a beautiful wine tour to St Emilion. This is one of the main wine regions of Bordeaux and it is on the left bank of the Garonne River. Like our trip to Sintra, it was another small group tour. which we really love. There were 7 of us on the tour along with our incredibly funny and incredibly French guide, Helene. She was fantastic. She taught us so much about wine making and the complicated way that wines are classified in France. We visited Chateau Haut-Chaigneau-Vignobles Chatonnet , Chateau Balestard La Tournelle   and Chateau Bellevue.  They are all in the Grand Cru Classe which means they are the fancy vineyards. I definitely developed an appreciation for red wine and the differences between different wines. They are all located in the most beautiful countryside. Sipping wine under the glorious blue sky in a French winery made for a fantastic day. We also had some time to explore the village of St Emilion. I realised that the buildings in Bordeaux ...

 Another lovely day in Bordeaux. Late breakfast followed by coffee in the sun opposite the Cathedral. We spent a little while at the Transport Office sorting out tram tickets. The trams here are really modern and clean and they run every few minutes. The ticketing system, however, isn't quite so user friendly. After a little bit of queueing, we got 72 hour transport passes sorted. I had a thought of going to the beach later this week as the weather is forecast to be hot. Thankfully, I asked someone at the Tourist Office about my idea. She told me that the beach is 1-2 hours away by bus (depending on the route). But she discouraged us from going as there are strikes happening all over France right now and we may not be able to depend on the bus. I'm glad we asked. Next, we headed to the beautiful Place de la Bourse  with the even more beautiful Le miroir d'eau (Water Mirror) in front of it. They really know how to build a public space in France. The sandstone buildings are...