France: Bordeaux, Part II
I have always maintained that if I had to pick one country other
than the U.S. or Germany where I could not only survive, but possibly live and
thrive, then it would be France. I have been an unapologetic francophone for
all of my life. As a kid in the 1970’s, this started when my mother would
listen to old French chansonniers like Maurice Chevalier, Yves Montand, Edith
Piaff or Gilbert Becaud. I used to dream of France. I wondered if France would
be as beautiful as the French chansonniers singing about it from the vinyl. I was never disappointed.
In the 1980’s, by now in the middle of my German school
years, I would become an exchange student near Paris in the summer of 1986. I
was overwhelmed. France had gorgeous people with an equally gorgeous language,
plus the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame cathedral to boot. Paris was the way I
imagined it. Over the years, I would add to my travels in France, including
trips to cities like Marseilles and Lyons, not to mention the Aix-en-Provence,
in the south, or excursions into the north, from the beaches of Normandy to Le
Havre. I knew about Strassbourg and had been to Bordeaux once. Bordeaux in the
year 2019 is just as wonderful. A city can change its walls and office
buildings, and that still won’t change its character.
Bordeaux, from the moment we get there, is piping hot. We’ll
have to protect both ourselves and the kids, or we will burn, in quite a
literal sense. We start from our apartment and head toward the Garonne
river, which stretches through the city like a wide ocean. Bordeaux has a
modern promenade for pedestrians, cyclists and e-scooters alike, and people use
every available inch of it. This is a city that neither depends on fossil fuels
to drive it, nor wishes to. The results are plenty of public spaces only accessible
by, you guessed it, bike or foot.
Along the river promenade are spray mist sprinklers to keep
the city alive during heat waves such as this one. The four of us stroll
through the sprinklers and snap a few pictures of the boys. People look happy
here. We try to locate the Contemporary Art Museum, which is one of our
destinations. Plus, with the kids we have, we know a visit to any museum has
foreseeable results. The kids have their own theories about art, but have
remained open-minded. The Contemporary Art Museum is perfect for them.
One of the features that jumps out at me is the Modern
Civilization meets the Environment exhibit, which offers models - some real,
some planned, although all of them suggest how to meet the needs of the modern city dweller while
considering the needs of the planet.
Although not high on the list of destinations, we visit the Botanic Gardens, since both Liebi and I have developed green thumbs over the years. The French can garden with anybody, and we gain valuable insight on how to develop our own when we get back to either the U.S. or Germany. And the kids march along, happy to be there.
We skip the wine museum, our kids wouldn't stand for that. For the entire day, and in 95-degree heat, we tally over 10 klicks on our feet and feel good. I pity the tourist who feels he needs to drive through this city.
After two days in Bordeaux, we pack our things and head south. Our destination: the Basque Country in Spain.
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