So, most of today’s photos seem to be buggered. Thought the camera had developed an issue but it turns out that I had it set on “effects”, and whatever the effect was supposed to have been, it’s made the photos all look a bit like finger painting.
A closer examination reveals that this fault seemed to have developed around about 3pm yesterday, which was about the same time I was finishing off my third beer. Given that the beers were 500ml, I’d downed 1.5 litres of beer during a late lunch. Probably just a coincidence.
So, sans decent photos, we started the day off at the Wine Museum, taking the correct tram and enjoying breakfast at one of the small 50 million or so cafes in this country.
Apparently there are two wine museums in town – what I’d call the greater and lesser museums. We had picked the lesser, the Musée du Vin et du Négoce de Bordeaux. It was interesting, not compelling, but interesting. Only €10 and we got to sample a couple of wines at the end. We might do the greater museum tomorrow just to compare the two. I think it’s €22 a head, so the wine had better be twice as good.
After the museum, we decided to walk through the town centre in the general direction of our apartment and see what there was to see. The first thing there was to see was a little electric Tuk Tuk, which promised us a more focussed wander through town, with a tour guide and without the need for the actual walking bit.
It also meant that someone who knew what they were doing was looking left and right and giving way at the correct time. Seriously, you take your life in your hands here every time you cross a road. There are tramways, roadways and bikeways, as well as footpaths, to contend with. And often it’s hard to tell which is which.
We were walking down a wide footpath near the tram tracks when it occurred to me we were actually casually walking up the middle of a one way road, and there were cars coming, from behind us.
Anyway, much better than a bus, the Tuk Tuk can go anywhere and there are a lot of places that you probably shouldn’t go, other than on foot (or via Tuk Tuk). Some Bordeaux streets make the Parisian streets around Montmartre look like broad avenues.
Great tour, lots of useful information and heaps of artistic, but useless, photos.
We were close to our apartment, it was past lunchtime and it had really started to look like rain, so we beat a hasty retreat home and had lunch while watching it bucket down outside. Then, suddenly, it was sunny again. What now?
We booked a short river cruise for 5pm and ventured out into the sunshine. Sunshine which lasted until we got to the quayside. Then it bucketed down again, before we could get on the boat, ensuring everyone was drenched from head to foot. Funnily enough, no one wanted to sit up the top. So, again, no photos.
It fined up though, then poured again, then fined up as we got off the boat.
That’s it, home via the supermarche and the day is done.
And I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but if a young women gets up and offers me her seat on the tram again, I swear there is going to be an international incident.
Stephen and Michelle
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