Exploring Bordeaux

Despite having a university, the city of Bordeaux is dreary and not very active, socially. Nevertheless, it provides a good base or starting point to explore the region and there is at least one good restaurant.

Quick Tips:

Go to the tourist office in the train station complex for information about transportation around town. One would think it goes without saying to be courteous, but the couple in front of us in line were very demanding, impatient and rude. They got very little help. We took the hint and our patience was met with lots of good information and tips about getting around.

Best Way To Get Around:

There is an excellent bus system for getting around town. Schedules and routes are available in the tourist office at the train station. There is a shuttle bus from the airport that stops at the train station. You can fly or take the train from Paris. There are also major car rental agencies at the train station, including Hertz. To explore the surrounding villages, you will probably need a car.

Sometimes you want a nice, reliable, comfortable place to stay, even without 'local charm.' Holiday Inns usually provide that. The Holiday Inn City Centre was no exception. It was a very comfortable, convenient hotel. The decor was a little tired and the rooms were not luxurious, but the beds were good and the bathrooms were modern. The staff was very helpful (even finding a better rate than we had reserved for the same room when we checked in) and spoke English. The rates were also very good. (Ask if a 'Great Rate' is available when you book.) The hotel is about a 10 minute walk (at most) from the train station, and is a few blocks from a bus stop, two fine bakeries and a laundromat. We were very happy here and would choose it again if we return to Bordeaux.

Chateau d'Arbieu has been in the family of Count Philippe de Chenerilles for generations. He and his wife have turned this lovely chateau into a bed and breakfast, mostly to help with the renovations and upkeep. They are a delightful, hospitable couple. Breakfast, served in the billards room, is included in the room rate. You can also choose to have dinner at the chateau for an additional (and very reasonable price). Dinner is served family-style around a large dining table. We joined M. Chenerilles and two other guests -- a young woman from Reunion and her 6-year old daughter -- in the living room for a before-dinner glass of wine and some snacks. There we all got acquainted, with M. Chenerilles adeptly translating and keeping the conversation going between the woman, who spoke no English, and my husband and me, who speak only minimal French. When Mme. Chenerilles announced dinner was ready, we were all seated at the family dining table. Dinner started with a simple tossed salad. The main course was a very interesting and tasty casserole of pork, tomatoes and cornichons (pickles), served with sauteed diced potatoes and onions (like home fries). It was simple cooking, but very good. After the main course, a cheese board of five very nice local cheeses was passed around. Dessert was a fresh fruit salad with ice cream. A very nice red wine (Bordeaux, of course!) was poured freely and included in the price. The room was large, and had a private toilet and bath. The bed was extremely comfortable, firm and not saggy in the middle.

The village of Bazas is 1 km away. It has an old church and several crafts shops, including a tile maker. We bought a hand painted tile and treasure it as a souvenir of our stay at the chateau, where we were welcomed as if we were family members.

Bordeaux is about 43 miles from the chateau; there is a train station in Langon, 9 miles away.

Located off the beaten path, but nevertheless walking distance from Place Gambetta, L'Alhambra was a fortuitous discovery. It was the only truly fine meal we had in Bordeaux. I started with a very fresh, simple salmon tartare and my husband had expertly prepared breaded, sauteed sweetbreads served with a delicate sabayon sauce. We both had roast squab, which was done just to our liking. It was served with the bird feet attached; sounds gross, but they made a good handle for nibbling the little drumsticks! Finger bowls were provided, so that was obviously the intent. My husband had a cherry tarte, made from fresh cherries, for dessert and I had a beautifully presented plate: a hunk of melting chocolate wrapped in phyllo, garnished with orange and strawberry sauces. The restaurant was not large, and service was very smooth and professional. Although we selected the fixed-price menu, a la carte selections are available.

This elegantly decorated bistro is located in the shopping district. The classy locale, plus a good recommendation from the Gault-Millau guide led us to have dinner here. Mistake. My husband and I both selected the fixed price menu. I started with a plate of 9 oysters on the half shell, garnished with a sausage which I would call a Slim Jim pepperoni if I had seen it in the U.S. The oysters were fresh and tasty, but I didn't understand what relationship the sausage had to them. My husband started with a squid and red pepper salad, which was good for what it was, but not distinctive. For the main course, my husband had pork in a 'sweet and sour' sauce, which turned out to be just as the menu promised -- perhaps catsup, sugar and vinegar -- and nothing special. My main dish was supposed to be grilled duck, but I never quite figured out what PART of the duck they grilled. It was a huge chunk of fat and some bones. Closest I could figure, they took a cross section just above the tail! And I wasn't the only one who was mystified; a native French-speaker seated near us ordered the same thing and quizzed the waiter at length about her dish. He went into the kitchen and returned with an explanation. She finished eating her food, but did not look happy about it. My dessert was their 'special' version of tiramisu: sponge cake with cream topping. My husband had orange 'salad,' in reality a fruit cup. The positive spin on the dinner is that it has provided us with many laughs since then. Roast duck butt anyone?

We were driving out to Sauternes, a town famous for its sweet dessert wines, passing through vineyards and fields, when we suddenly came upon Chateau Roquetaillade sticking up from the countryside like a movie set. This was a stereotypical castle the likes of which you've seen in movies like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but would not think really existed. We expected the Knights Who Say Nyih to pop out of the shrubbery at any moment. It is actually a complex of 2 castles on spacious grounds, dating from the 12th -14th century. It has been occupied by the same family for 700 years. You can tour the castles themselves (small admission fee), or just wander around the grounds gazing up at it, being amazed at the actual drawbridge. Inside and out, it is what you expect a castle would be. The following night, we drove past it again, this time in a torrential rain. With the castle lit up in the otherwise dark and remote countryside, it was an eerie sight. Worth a visit.