MaineGG

Information on current mask policy for Bordeaux, in French only. Scroll down the page to "Port du Masque" to see their rules. Similar to those for Paris including the E135 fine for non-compliance. Copy and paste into Google Translate if you don't read French.

https://www.bordeaux-metropole.fr/Ac...eponses#masque

Have a good visit to Bordeaux. It's one of the cities I hope to visit someday.

scrb11

It's been scorching hot in France. Well muggy and overcast in Paris and burning hot in Provence.

One thing I'm seeing in grocery stores is gazpacho. I'd seen them in Spain, in San Sebastian actually. Not as good as what you'd get at a restaurant of course but if your hotel room has a mini bar, it hit the spot.

I tried one in Paris, wasn't that impressed with it, taste wasn't quite like the ones in Spain.

Then down here in Rousillon, a local supermarket had the Casino Bio Gazpacho and that is quite good.

I don't recall seeing them in France before, so I wonder if it's a recent thing.

With that it became a thing in the US.

zebec

Yo SCRB, glad to hear that you finally made it down there on this voyage. Gazpacho is indeed perfect on such hot days. As for Roussillon, we just chanced across an audio recording that we once made there in '90. There was a wedding at the local church and the result was a fair amount of noise, flutes playing (or were they recorders?), folks cheering and general excitement in a very public communal setting. An hour later, we chanced across an American couple who had rented somewhere in town for several weeks, a great idea that had never occurred to us prior to that.
Are you renting or staying elsewhere?
Keep having a great trip!
cheers
I am done. the red dust on white shorts

scrb11

Towards the end of my trip, been to Paris, Nice, Villefranche our Mer, Moustiers Sainte Marie, Rousillon.

Then a few days in Aix and then coming back.

Lot of tourists in Gordes and Rousillon. Much quieter when you go to places like Bonnieux and Lacoste. Menerbes had some people but not too much.

Seems like Gordes and Rousillon are the only villages charging for parking while the rest make free parking available. In fact I had to wait 5-10 minutes to pay at the meter kiosk in Gordes. But apparently the tourist volume is down. In Nice one operator said it's about 25% though it may pick up over the next couple of months.

Yeah I've only visited these villages on day trips, first time staying in them. It may be nice when it gets dark, to see the red buildings lit up. But I've been watching World Cup at 10 PM when it's gets dark this time of the year.

StuDudley

We always get gazpachio in groceries when visiting France. We've been doing that for about 5 years. We stay in Gites for multiple weeks a year (usually 8 weeks). Great for lunches or as an appetizer before a main course prepared at our Gite. Can't find gazpachio here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Stu Dudley

kerouac

Alvalle gazpacho can be found in every supermarket in France, in about 4 different variations. I would imagine that when approaching the Spanish border, a few other brands might be available. Alvalle is made in Spain owned by... Pepsico.

scrb11

Other thing I notice about France is more "Bio" products everywhere. At the supermarket, then little takeout places offering Bio poke bowls or Bio salads.

I'd seen a few bio things before, like milk and such. Now I see Bio chips and a number of other things.

My previous trip was in 2017.

kerouac

Besides "bio" (organic) products you will also sometimes come across "conversion" products. I had to look it up myself and learned that when a producer wants to change from traditional polluted chemical processes and agriculture that we know and love, it takes 3 years to obtain a "bio" label. Hence the conversion products.