Biking Through Bordeaux

After the Impossible of the train ride (see post below) we (my roommate Quade and I) arrived in sunny Bordeaux! Bordeaux is more like Paris than the French Riveria in that it has stone buildings and cobblestones galore. It also is a very pedestrian-friendly and bike-friendly city with tons of bike lanes and a long boardwalk along the river la Garonne. Which was perfect because in Bordeaux I tried out the bike taxi system (known as the VCUB in Bordeaux) for the first time! See, I had always been convinced that if I were to die in Montreal or Paris, it would be upon a bixi or velib due to the fact that French drivers on both sides of the Atlantic are crazy and my bike riding skills are such that I seem to have an internal magnetism towards cars. However, in Bordeaux, with the extensive bike network and it being a smaller town, there was limited exposure to cars and only the occasional risk of being hit by a tram. Biking was the perfect way to see Bordeaux especially as it was beautiful weather for the two days we were there.

The first day we biked around and saw the sights outlined by my France guidebook plus other things we stumbled across. We found an amazing park that reminded me of Stanley Park so we chilled in the sun and had ice cream. That night we went for french cuisine; I had confit de canard and tarte tatin.

The next day we went to the Bordeaux tourism office to try and book a wine tour. All of the formal tours were booked however the office was able to call up a winery close by and arrange a private tour for us. The winery - le Chateau Taillan - was about a 30 minute bus ride from Bordeaux and situated on a beautiful old estate. We got a tour of the cellars (the oldest cellars in Bordeaux - from the 1600s!) and learned about the wine making process before having a tasting of the Chateau's red, white, and rose. All Bordeaux red wines are fine wines - meaning that they are a mix of various grapes and never just a Merlot or just a Cab Sauvignon. It's funny - it turned out that the Chateau's biggest customer is Quebec, specifically the SAQ (liquor store of Quebec). However, the price tag in Canada (at $22) is quite pricey compared to my usual bottle of L'Auberge at $7 so I'll buy Chateau Taillan when I have the urge to splurge and show off my newfound knowledge about wine.

The rest of the day was spent doing more VCUB exploration and chilling along the river boardwalk before getting ready for our 10 hour bus to Barcelona. I'm really glad I got to see Bordeaux but I'll have to go back as the wine region is huge and there's many more Chateaus to see and wine to taste!

Also, my time spent in Europe has oddly been defined by understanding how various types of alcohol are made. There was the Heineken tour in Amsterdam, the scotch whiskey tour in Edinburgh, and now the wine tour. All I have left to do is find a vodka factory and all my liquids will be covered.