John & Lynne's French Odyssey: Ile d'Oleron and Bordeaux

After a last look at the boats

 cars (the future of city transport? A tiny 2 seater electric Renault)

and beaches

 of Ile d'Oléron,

we drove back to Bordeaux, where Lynne had found us a beautiful central city ground floor flat, owned by a lawyer who rented it to us for less than we would have paid for a grotty one star hotel

 with a terrace and a private garden

 and a good kitchen

 After the first day (Sunday) of Vinexpo, we took a stroll down through the city,  looking at the restaurants

the shops

a chocolate Fiat 500 for Father's Day: only 63€ (R850)

and the sights

Bordeaux has some innovative ideas about public transport, tricycle rickshaws outside the Opera House

very modern trams

 and city-owned bicycles - put your money in the slot to unlock one

and nobody steals them!

At the riverside, a mirror of water, just deep enough to reflect everything

 

A bridge across the Gironde

 Bordeaux cathedral

 We had breakfast in the kitchen, listening to Cape Talk on the laptop to keep up with events at home. 

At the end of another day, relaxing in the garden, when it wasn't raining 

 with a much needed beer

In the square (Place des Martyrs de la Resistance) we were next to the ancient Church of St Seurin de Bordeaux - the original cathedral

 

 

 

 The crypt is supported by the pillars of the Roman temple to Jupiter, the original temple on the site

On Sunday, we relaxed with the birds and the fruit in the garden

 

 Lynne always finds a cat

Bordeaux airport, Monday 04h30  

 for our 06h00 flight to Amsterdam

 to catch the 10h30 flight to Cape Town

 where our dear friend Loraine came to fetch us

home to enjoy some of the wines we brought home 

 including a few home-grown wines given to us as the WOSA stand was closing. Thank you Evan!
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 © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013