Just back from symphony. See you tomorrow, StCirq and hi to all whose emails to which I have not yet responded.

I can only emphasize the importance of finding your way BACK to your hotel.

Bon soir!

I can only emphasize the importance of finding your way BACK to your hotel.>>

I spy a story there, TD. Care to share it with us?

Day 5, 28 Avril 2016 Bordeaux!

Short:

Sights: Fields of yellow, Opera house, Parlement Squar

Breakfast: croissant, high top, OJ and cafe au lait

Lunch: Ham/sandwich, pringles, water (on train)

Dinner: Bistrot Edouard

St. Emilion;
Dorade deglace au vinaigre de cidre;
Fondant chocolate
25 euros
A-

Long:

Nice, TDudette! I am following along and enjoying. Sounds like a wonderful trip.

Eagerly awaiting Long;)

Long, ii:

Said goodbye to the nice folks ar Le Clement.

They called a cab and it is G7. Driver says this is the best cab company. Les chauffeurs are held to a higher standard. Accordingly, he took me to Gare Montparnasse entrance with an escalator.

By worrying about being late, I am over an hour early and it is downright cold in the gare. They have not posted the track (voie) yet so I find a spot to sit and read. To warm up, I visited the nearby heated info room with various questions. Is the train to Tarbes the TGV I take? Is my e-ticket all I need?

First class on the TGV doesn't look measurably more lux than second--more leg room? In years past, someone came by with a food cart. This time, one went to another car.

The seat nnumbers were on little electronic squares atop each seat. Very smart for re-arranging train cars.

Good trip to Bordeaux and we pass fields with the most yellow plants. StCirq will tell me it is colza which she and Steven believe is for canola oil.

Wifi goes caput but I have books on the Kindle and enjoy the scenery. A toddler runs up and down the aisle until he falls. He sidled up to me when I opened the can of pringles, puts his hand on my leg, and stares out of puppy dog brown eyes.

Thanks to all kind for words above. I have lost posts twice on this Kindle. Or is it the connection? Forgive poor spelling and no French accents.

Note to self to check map for all the rivers the train crosses. At the Bordeaux Gare, one is greeted with full scaffolding and almost a half hour to reach the toilets. ,70 euros for a stop in a nice potapotty.

Tram desk is empty but the sncf folks point me to the tracks and ticket machine. It takes me watching for another 20 minutes a French woman to get her credit card accepted but I finally get one. Just keep hitting "valider" after you choose the type of ticket and number of riders until the icon of coin slot appears. The tram is wonderful and hotel is 1/2 block from Quinconces stop. Another Yippee.

I meant to write that with a first class ticket, our was first on BUT last in line upon arrival in Bordeaux.

This hotel is very nice. Room is brighter and larger than previous one. Wait till you see photo of carpet and curtain in this music-oriented area.

Front desk folks are friendlier than before and we sort out some laundry (my free day the holiday 1 May is also a Sunday so much closed), and directions to places open early enough for pre-symphony dinner.

I unpack and head out around 5:45. It is an easy walk to Place du Parlement and I pass many eateries and young folks. A street with a tattoo place gives me pause. I note location of nearby and immense Opera house. Old (and maybe empty?) huge buildings. I hope to get a closer look.

Dinner!

Chose Bistrot Edouard randomly and it is best meal yet, however, my table gave me a good view of the boxes of wine lining the serving area. The cider vinaigrette gave the dourade a wonderful taste. Another however, was the entire fish on the plate. If you knew DH you knew we rarely ate in fancy places. But servers always made a big deal of de-boning whole fish. With the exception of 5 or 6 bones, I did a good job and buried its head beneath a pile of oranges. Nice salad with a mild vinaigrette.

Server hooked me up to wifi. Have you all noticed that places are more quiet these days?

With perfect timing and planning I leave for the Opera house. "Oh Madame, this performance is at the Auditorium. Do not worry. If you walk quickly you will make it." Moi, walk quickly?

so they are still working on Bordeaux station - they were doing so a year or so ago. I think they like making people walk - we thought it would be easy renting a car from the station but it turned out that we had to walk a mile or so to the rental depot which is allegedly sited there.

i hope you made it to the correct place for the opera!

Sounds terrible, annhig. You were brave to drive.

Moi, walk? So, directions received and asthma inhaler clenched, I hustled up the street to Auditorium. The Hippopotamus store is on the corner and made it with 2 minutes to spare.

Doggone, they switched from Prokofiev to Charles the 4th and an amazing Russian hymn about Mother Russia's enemies, wars, dead boys and rebirth with full and outstanding chorus. I will furnish details later. Few things enchant me as much as watching an energetic conductor who knows the music fluently. A conductor who almost jumps in the air, who makes a tight upward twirl or a grand sweep with the baton.

The British narrator of the Shakespeare sounded very much like the late actor Alan Rickman. Although I would not have chosen this performance, it was very enjoyable.

To beat the crowd, I followed a less used sortie sign and ended up in a dark alley. Just the place we are warned against, eh? I made myself invisible like the grandfather in "Little Big Man" and found tthe Hippo store and the opera house in view. There are fewer tourists and more youngsters out. Two pass me and either ask me for a date or said I am too out to be abroad.

Back to room and it is too late to call StCirq so sent her an email and crashed.

Bon soir!

Day 6: Friday, 29 Avril, sunny cool.

Short:

Lunch, only lunch: Auberge de Layotte with

StCirq and Runningtab ("MS")

Course 1: Terrine ortilles (nettles)
Course 2: Pate of wild boar; smoked ham; red cabbage salad with fern, wisteria and primavera.
Course 3: Duck confit with rhubarb; pommes de terre a la saladaise.
Course 4: Boar and stag stew.
Course 5: Des fromage
Course 6: Walnut cake with side sirops of green tomato, dandelion, sorrel, roses, and dill

Cafe (no lait) with sugared sage or sugar. Digestif choices of coriander, juniper, rose or plum.

I will editorialize and more fully describe this resto and our lovely meal ere long. Hopefully MS can correct and add in the meantime!

Long:

You write a nice report, TDu, through good times and travel niggles. You have the right spirit for travel.

But I think you made a mistake going past that tattoo place. Can you go back and get a tattoo? Then you could call yourself Tat2TDuTwo on Fodor's.

TDu, you didn't stay overnight at St Cirq?

Good point, Coquelicot, go find that tat parlor!
Still loving following along with your journey.

LOL, coquelicot about the tat possibilities. Where could it be placed for maximum interest? And thanks for your nice words.

Long:

I was up at 6:30 to catch the 8:05 train for St. Cirq. On the tram yesterday, I see my plan to use it on sunday to tour Bordeaux is dashed. There will be no tram on Sunday. I regretfully decide to make my MS trip a day one. I convey this in last night's email to StCirq. They are pooped from Paris, so I hope the will be relieved.

It is a 2 hour trip on the train. The views around Libourne and St Emilion show wine and more wine--plantings on huge and small scales but all staked and about a foot high. The height of the tractors could could be adjusted as plants grow.

As we proceed, landscape becomes more rolling. Trees hugged the sides until they are growing from rocks! Poppies pop up from between and beside the rails.

There were quitena few stops and I wished for an alarm clock so as not to go to Sarlat. All is well and it is a treat to see MS. They have not received my email but understand about my decision. With her fluent French, StCirq and the sncf gal sign me up for the 5;30 train.

We go off to the Le Bouisson market where we get vin noix, candied fruit, and a cool antique coffee pot. Then to a specialty store for some saffron, and finally to Julien's cave for peach wine.

And now--drum roll please--MS and I are off to our amazing lunch. Steven (a super driver) takes us through Les Elysies (sp?) where StCirq says streets are packed in the summer with folks here to see the cave drawings thought to date back 40,000 years.

The sign for resto would be easy to miss and the rutty road dismayed but the day is warmer and still sunny. Owner lives here and welcomes SM with open arms and we are led to a table by a fireplace with fire.


I neglected to say above that a bottle of red wine, water and an aperitif (I forget--rose?) are provided for our table, but with one short plastic tumbler to use for all. I daresay the courses consisted of enough food to feed at least twice our number. One does not order; food that has been grow on site ot bought locally served. Cheese but no milk. Since I don't know what some of this food is SUPPOSED to taste like, I am giving this meal an A- for food but an A+ on originality. SM can say more.



We ate and talked for over 2 hours. Much about the food, the area,

what to see in and around Paris, how MS got to the area, and how happy they are. Only grrr is bureaucracy.

yestravel, your post appeared while I was typing. Maybe Fodors can provide body stickers for our next gtg.

Off to take a nap....

Oops, just remembered your upcoming trip, cmcfong. I think Bordeaux would make a great base for exploring this area. Mind you, I don't have a car. annhig can tell you more about driving to and from. Looking at the tram maps, I think you can see most of the sights easily.

StCirq said that the current mayor has improved the historic area immensely. The words 'formerly glorious' have come to mind a couple of times.

Sarlat is a straight shot by local train. I don't know how far from the center it is.

Can others contribute here?