My musings after 3 days in Bordeaux

It’s been several years since I’ve spent any time in France. This time I chose a destination I had not been to before. Bordeaux obviously brings to mind quality French wines, just as Chianti in Tuscany does for Italy.

However the city of Bordeaux does little to remind one of the beautiful bucolic areas where vineyards abound, just a short drive from the city. 

The hotel I chose for this trip is “Le Grand Hotel”, a 5 star Intercontinental establishment with more than one restaurant (including one by Gordon Ramsey), a Guerlaine Spa and a vibrant rooftop bar with a nautical theme called “Night Beach”.

It is directly across the Grand Théâtre, one of the most important monuments in the city. The hotel has been named “France’s Leading Hotel” and it is part of the Signature group of hotels, which my agency is affiliated with. The service here is nonpareil, the staff is attentive without being intrusive. There is great care in keeping this the rare gem that it is in the international hotel realm. Applause to the staff!

I spent the days walking. Each morning, exiting my centrally located hotel, I chose a different direction. 

There are many pedestrian areas in town, making it easy to avoid cars, but not bicycles, scooters and other two wheeled vehicles which abound and seem to have the right of way no matter what. France has become a secular country in the last decades, so the worship of Saints has obviously been replaced by the worship of bikes and dogs…yes it does seem every French household has at least one of each.

I made o point of finding a bench or a seat at an outdoor café, intermittently during my walks, in order to observe the flow of the city, the people going about their business, the groups of tourists taking photos of buildings not having a single clue what they were capturing, grandparents walking their restless grandchildren, vagrants asking for alms, women doing their daily shopping. In other words observing the Bordolaise in their own element.

I began noticing some patterns: man buns are obviously de rigueur here for men of all ages! I noticed countless males sporting that particular up-do. It appears that the once elegantly dressed French have evaporated like snow on a warm spring day.

Women are wearing long flowing (matronly) dresses made of cheap and transparent material reminiscent of the “flower power” hippy days. America seems to have breached the shores of this country once again, this time conquering the once tastefully coiffured and bien habillé French population. White sneakers are everywhere, torn jeans, short-shorts, t-shirts white English writings, poorly fitting H&M off the rack anything, I could have been in a mall in Passaic!

I should have been concentrating on the architecture around me, the fountains, the beautiful river crossing the city, but I was obviously distracted.

More patterns emerging: an over abundance of ethnic restaurants. The French are turning from their food, to the food of other countries. Yes there still are countless crêperies, boulangeries, viennoiseries and oenothèques but many are being supplanted by Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Pakistani and an assortment of other ethnically diverse establishments so that you can have a poke bowl, sushi,or a bowl of pasta on almost every street.

Don’t take me wrong, these things are not necessarily all bad, I’m just observing and reporting. I’ve enjoyed Bordeaux overall, but tomorrow begins aa brand new adventure.

At the end of this trip, I’ll be in Paris for a few days. I’ll give you my thoughts on that city which is only two hours away from here, but with quite a different vibe.