Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
The trams in Bordeaux are sleek, modern, comfortable and clean as they quietly surf about 50 miles of track in the city. We tend to walk wherever we head, but they certainly were easy and convenient when we wanted to go to the train station for excursions or, ultimately after a month, to leave town.
Leaving behind a smattering of snapshots.
Continue reading “Postcard from Bordeaux, France: Last images before pulling out”
Above: Grilled fresh sardines at La Pointe Chartrons
We’ve taken you to eat, virtually only, in Bordeaux’s Marche des Capucins and along Rue du Ha, so now we’re going to wander willy-nilly through the city for a final wrap-up of restaurants we sampled.
Located along the Quai des Chartrons, Pastel was among our favorite contemporary French restaurants in Bordeaux. Lunch requires reservations, and, waiting late, we only succeeded in obtaining those once. The soft lemony cheese appetizer with eggplant and tomato confit was particularly refreshing and memorable.
Continue reading “Postcard from Bordeaux, France: French and other worldly flavors”
Above: The view from our bedroom window in our rental in Bordeaux
Mysterious mushrooms appeared popping up from the traditional tile rooftops surrounding our temporary headquarters in the midst of the historic center of Bordeaux. And tucked behind the residential building next door was a contemporary adaptation of space for brightening up offices – most likely for attorneys, as shingles on first floors all around us seemed to have as primary occupants.
As we explored, we found the mushrooms sprout up from a major ultra-modern addition behind the 1846 Palais de Justice fronting Place de Republique. Architect Joseph Adolphe Thiac (1800-1865) drew his inspiration for the impressive façade of the original structure from the Parthenon. Not visible from the square, the new construction does not intrude upon the classical majesty of Thiac’s design.
Continue reading “Postcard from Bordeaux, France: Blending touches of modernity in with the old”
Postcards from Barton Springs 