Beautiful Bordeaux

Here we come Bordeaux, are you ready for us?  We packed up the next morning and drove on down. Why in the world have I not heard much about this city before?  That's my question.  Because it was awesome.  Yes, I had heard about the region, and the wines, but not much about the city.  And I can't figure out why.  I didn't really have any expectations, as it was just on our route as we traveled throughout France, just another city to check off on our list.  However, was I in for a pleasant surprise.

First off, our hotel was fantastic, it was owned and operated by the Monaco Consulate.  Our room was actually the old stable, it had tangerine walls and cement floors--very industrial, but super neat. I loved it, and it also had a courtyard with beautiful roses right outside our door.  It was just a 5-minute walk to the main plaza where we had a wonderful dinner at a cute outdoor cafe, and then we roamed around taking some incredible pictures.

                                                        Our view during dinner...

In the morning we went for a walk and stumbled upon old Roman ruins.  In fact, as we were leaving our hotel to begin exploring a lady flagged us down.  Being American, we were a little skeptical at first (kinda like, what does she want with us?) However, as it turned out, she was a school teacher that didn't want us to walk right on by those beautiful ruins and not notice them.  Does she know us or what?  We took pictures as she shared with us the history of the ruins--they were built in the 300's.  Unbelievable.  I just love how others are able to catch our excitement and our love for foreign cities.  I think they sense our love for Europe and want to become a part of our unquenchable thirst for exploration.  Between the teacher's English and my French, we were able to converse nicely.  I'm so glad that she took time out of her holiday and played tour guide.


After saying our goodbyes and thank you's, we wandered through the city and found a flea market which was to die for.  I have found that I am a total flea market junkie.  Any flea market, anytime, anywhere--my new tag line.  Yes, French flea markets are the best thing going, it is now my prayer that heaven looks like a French flea market, that's how much I love them.  I picked up a little woven hand-basket--with the thinking that it'll be great for future flea markets.



Honestly, we hated to leave Bordeaux and have already discussed going back again--we need more time to explore that city and eat a lot more of their food.
There was a river through the middle of the city that I did not cross, there were vineyards and castles and villages to travel to in nearby regions, and probably a lot more flea markets with my name on them.  I seriously did not want to leave.
Too little time for such a wonderful city.  We will return--I promise.  I really do promise.

However, our next destination was waiting--Toulouse.