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Bordeaux Diaries

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Since my arrival in France one particular city hasn't left my mind: Bordeaux. I originally planned on visiting last weekend but after looking at the weather forecast I decided that postponing it for a week might be a good idea. So this Saturday, I finally did it. I got up early, walked to the train station and hopped on the next train to the city of wine. Arriving at Bordeaux St Jean train station I noticed some dark clouds looming over the city (so much about avoid bad weather by postponing the trip!) and decided I'd better get to the centre fast so that I could take pictures while the sun was still out. Long story short, after getting a bit lost I finally found the Basilica of St. Michael, a stunning gothic church in the middle of a large square. As it was Saturday the place was turned into a marketplace and I wandered around for a bit enjoying the flair and hunting for bargains. I didn't stay for long though as I really wanted to visit the Place de la Bourse with its fascinating Water Mirror before the dark clouds let out their first drops of rain. So I walked all the way along the river, past the famous Pont de Pierre, and finally arrived at my destination.

What I saw blew me away. The square was beautiful by itself but the 'Miroir d'eau' added a different dimension to it, transforming it into a breath-taking place so stunning that words can't describe it. I spent about 40 minutes at this square trying to capture its beauty and unique character. I witnessed how the mirror was 'watered' and how it went from a blurry mirror to a sharp and clear one. As if the weather had senses my passion for this project it started raining the second I left and I escaped into a museum, the CAPC (a museum of contemporary art) and it was by far the strangest and most unique museum I have ever visited. The ground floor just consisted of a large hall with plenty of lamps and the collections were interesting and partly upsetting, with images of the war. Upsetting art isn't bad art though, not at all. In my opinion the purpose of art is to make you feel something, whatever that might be. Art often evokes emotions that are buried deep inside us. A piece that sprung to my eye was a simple yet very powerful quote: 'Everyone is an artist but only the artist knows it'. YES. We are all creative beings but often restrict ourselves instead of letting that creativity flow. 

After visiting the museum I walked towards the centre of the city, visiting the Grand Theatre and of course, buying some macarons. Life is too short not to indulge in desserts. For the rest of the day it continued raining with only short breaks in between (which luckily allowed me to take some pictures of my favourite sights) but I didn't mind, it didn't affect the beauty of the city at all, if anything it made it more attractive in my eyes. And I loved the effect of the rain on the brown statue (the head) near the theatre, it looked like he was crying. Strolling through the city I utterly fell in love with the architecture, almost every street seemed noteworthy and I don't think I have ever seen so much beauty in a place, maybe apart from London. Bordeaux also has plenty of little copper lamps which obviously impressed me as I got a copper lamp in my bedroom at home (and love everything copper). I visited the city hall of Bordeaux, the Bordeaux Cathedral and on my way I came across many other beautiful buildings, churches and plenty of cute cafés. If you are a lover of wine and food, then this city is for you.

When the rain suddenly started splashing down I took a break at Starbucks, indulging in my Hot Cocoa with soy milk at the busiest Starbucks of world history, admiring their spring cups and catching up with some blog posts - I really don't know what it is but Starbucks is my favourite place for working on my blog. If the prices keep going up, I'll have to ask for an Espresso sized Hot Cocoa (just imagine haha). Before taking the train back I paid a visit to the Grosse Cloche which turned out to be another beautiful sight contributing to the uniqueness of the city. If I could review Bordeaux I would give it a 10/10 without hesitation. I have seen some beautiful cities but in terms of architecture and flair this was definitely one of my favourites, if not my favourite together with London. I am hoping I can visit again one day, maybe in summer so I can finally defeat the rain.

Have you ever visited Bordeaux? x


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