It's my last Sunday morning in Bordeaux, and I had planned on meeting my friends to go the the Marché de Capucins near the Place de la Victoire. Unfortunately, I underestimated the time that it would take to get there, and arrived 10 minutes late, too late to meet my friends. Just my luck! And on the way, in my most comfortable shoes, I developed two blisters (ampoules) on my heels. Grr! Apparently lengthening my stride caused increased friction on the soft part of my heels. At this point, my feet are so ugly with recovering and newly appearing blisters that I'm too embarrassed to wear sandals! At least the blisters don't hurt - they just look funny.
Let this be a lesson to anyone who visits France - expect to walk a lot! And bring footwear accordingly!
After waiting in the Place de la Victoire for 15 minutes, I decided to find the Marché de Capuchins on my own. It was supposed to be a big open air market, so it should be easy to find, right?
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| Place de la Victoire |
No. I started out heading north because that seemed to be the most populous area. After 15 minutes and no market, I checked my map and found another road to head back south to look further for the Market. No luck. Then I headed west, away from the river. After 5 minutes, I realized that the area was getting more and more residential, so I doubled back once again. How could a well known market be so hard to find? Finally, I headed southeast. After five minutes, I saw a sign for the market - finally! Feeling like an idiot, I looked at my map and saw that the Marché de Capuchins was actually labeled right where I was now standing. How could I have been so absent-minded as to not have looked for the market on the map?
Alas, I was finally there (http://marchedescapucins.com/), and was hoping to find my friends from class, Hyunju and Jinju, in the market. The market was quite large and reminded me of the big Thanh Pho outdoor market in Saigon, though with half as many vespas. The market mostly had fresh fish, meats and fruits, and thus I didn't buy anything. There were a handful of vendors who were selling clothes that seemed to have come from across the Mediterranean - tunics with embellishments and slippers with gemstones on them that I remember seeing in the souks of Egypt. Some of the tunics were actually quite pretty, and I probably should have bought one for only €10. But then again - I don't need it! It's hard to regret not buying clothes, since I clearly over-packed for this European experience!
I never found my friends at the market, and so I headed east on a road that I expected to meet the river. But once I came across the train station, 3.5 miles from my house, I realized that, unlike the roads in New York, Bordeaux roads curve and don't form a grid. It's incredible how much I take NYC's easily navigable roads for granted! And the circles all around Bordeaux - talk about confusing! I'm just glad that never needed to drive a car in Bordeaux!
From the train station, I took a long minute to find the best way back to familiar territory, and I decided to make my way along the Garonne River where there were parks and there was a big boardwalk along which to walk. And I got to take some final pictures of the beautiful architecture along the Garonne. I can't imagine how expensive that real estate is, but it sure is a beautiful location. The architecture in Bordeaux in general is gorgeous. My host father told me that the zoning regulations ensure that all new construction has a similar facade with wrought iron balconies overlooking the streets. It's unlike anything I've seen in the United States (except maybe New Orleans..).
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| Architecture along the Garonne |
The Pont de Pierre is the most famous bridge across the Garonne, commissioned by Napoleon himself in the 1820s. It was the first bridge across the Garonne, which likely explains why there is much less development across the river. But apparently the river has such a strong current that many of the construction workers died while is was being built. Some of you may have received a post-card from me featuring this bridge. There are 17 arches to the bridge, legend has it that each arch represents a letter in the name Napoleon Bonaparte... talk about French egoism! This was the only bridge over the Garonne until 1965 - can you imagine? I wonder if there are any 1820s-built bridges still in use in the US...! In fact, I hope that there aren't, considering our track record with infrastructure maintenance!
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| Traffic on the Garonne |
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| Un voilier sur la Garonne |
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| Pont de Pierre from the southern banks of the Garonne |
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| Arc entrance to the bridge |
From the river walk, it is easy to spot the gothic spires from all the Catholic churches in the city. I honestly love the church architecture here; it reminds me of an ancient time when churches played a larger part in people's lives. I am going to miss it when I go back to St. Joseph's simple colonial architecture!
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| L'Église St. Michel |
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| La Porte Cailhau |
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| La Place de la Bourse |
Finally, I made it to the Miroire D'Eau, just in time to take a photo of the Place de la Bourse, which boasts a beautiful fountain. Many of you are likely to remember this from the post-cards too!
And finally, going further north on my loop home, I came to the Place Quinconces. The largest city square in all of France, and one of the largest in all of Europe! The two pillars furthest east supposedly guided ships to
the shore of the Garonne to the port, signifying commerce and navigation.
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| The Two Pillars at Quinconces signifying Commerce and Navigation |
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| The Girondist Column |
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| Bronze statues commemorating the Girondists and triumph over Lies, Vice and Ignorance |
Interestingly enough, the horses and the bronze statues in the water were dismantled during the German occupation of WWII, but aftwerards were found in storage and re-erected.
After all that walking, my feet were ragged and I needed a rest, so I headed back to my house for some good eats!
À plus tard!
