Bordeaux

 Blog 07-16-22 Bilbao, Saturday

Bordeaux is, undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful cities on earth. Much of it was built of local stone more than 700 years ago, but the real story begins in the 1970´s. The place was inundated with automobiles, crowding every available space. The river, The Garonne, was bordered by ugly warehouses that denied access to the public. 

the bike tour

The city leaders made the hard decision to invest in a rework of the entire metropolis. The warehouses were torn down, giving the river back to the citizenry. Tram lines were constructed to all corners of the area and cars were banned from many of the city streets. In places where cars could still travel the roads were narrowed to mostly one lane. Traffic slowing measures were instituted on most avenues. They even mandated that all property owners clean the outsides of their buildings. {Itś interesting to observe a few holdouts within the city. A handful of owners refused to comply and their blackened exteriors really stand out.}

14th century gate into Bordeaux

Just like so many other European cities the attempt to make the place more liveable is based on the bicycle. Bike paths criss-cross Bordeaux and its environs and the streets are crowded with such vehicles. {I´ve learned that you can really tell if a city values bikes by looking for those bikes that are fronted by large kid-carriers. If you see a few of those you know two-wheeled vehicles are a part of the city culture.} It´s fair to say, though, that Bordeaux is far behind Amsterdam or Rotterdam in the percentage of people who commute by bike. That may be partially because the public transit system is so good. 

Today the number of cars has declined radically. The transportation system is so good that it makes the cost of car ownership seem pointless. The Garonne is a tidal waterway (like Lake Merritt) so it will never be a clean, shining glory. The tides roil up the sediment below making the river a brown, muddy slosh. But my guide alleged that their river is ´the least polluted river in Europe´. No way to tell if that is true. 

Standing on the tram station the first thing you notice is that Bordeaux is a city of young people. Unfortunately it is also a French city so everyone smokes, especially the young. Vaping is a thing here. 

I stayed in a nice Airbnb on the west side of the city less than a block from the tram. It was very hot the three days I was here so I didn't get around as much as Paris or Amsterdam. I spent most of one day sheltering in my room. 

On my last day I went on a half-day wine tour to Saint Emilion, a small city east of Bordeaux. I learned a lot. 

$110/bottle

the ancient town of St. Emilion

Wine growing country, SW France

cobblestone streets of St. Emilion

The odd thing is that the wine country around Bordeaux is like a very scenic, very pretty…….factory. To make a living as a wine maker in this region you are a slave to ¨The Appellation¨. The whole game is very different from California. You don't buy wine by the variety (“I’ll have a glass of Cabernet”). You buy it by town or region. {“I’d like a bottle of Saint Emilion 1999”) How do you know what that is? The government sets arduous rules for each region. If you obey those rules you get to label your wine with the local appellation (name). That just about guarantees profit. Everyone trusts the name because it is backed by all these rules (how far apart the vines must be; how long the wine is aged; what chemicals can be used to combat pests; what kind of wood in the aging kegs; etc., etc. etc.) If you break one of the rules you lose the right to label your wine profitably. Since the cost of land is outrageous that can quickly sink you. Making cheap wine in SW France isn’t an option. And being a renegade grower is suicide, apparently. 

The wine region is, as you might imagine, beautiful. Mile upon mile of estates with ancient farm houses bordered by rows of vines. Every estate is identical to its neighbor except for the palatial stone buildings that act as homes for the growers. Many have been passed down for dozens of generations. 

I’m headed for Spain (Bilbao) via the trusty FlixBus.