Bordeaux is for lovers...

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After leaving Bilbao our Captain made an announcement over the intercom which informed us that we would no longer be stopping in La Rochelle, France. Unfortunately, La Rochelle has recently been experiencing numerous strikes by the workers at the port. The Captain said that he was afraid that the workers may try to throw ropes into our ship’s propellers in an attempt to block marine traffic from entering. Based on this information, they decided to alter our schedule and cancel the visit. We were given an extra night in Boredaux, France to compensate since they weren’t impacted by the strike.

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With that being said, Bordeaux was absolutely beautiful and I’m happy we were given the extra night! This port has been my favorite so far, hands down. This has got to be one of the most romantic places I’ve ever been to. Bordeaux is like an 18^th century architecture gem. Anyway, we started the day by roaming the streets of Bordeaux. While we were walking we kept seeing everyone munching on loaves of bread (that’s not a stereotype, that’s just reality) so we decided to do like the locals and popped into a corner bakery and grabbed a loaf of French bread. I got to practice my horrible French skills. I should have paid more attention in French class. It was funny, the only French that I could think of was what I learned from Eddie Izzard. Saying “’the monkey is in the branch’ won’t help me in France.” Anyway, with our loaf of bread in hand, we managed to make our way to the botanical garden in Jardin Park for a nice little picnic beneath the weeping willows.

"This has got to be one of the most romantic places I've ever been to."

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After our fancy picnic we walked to just about every church we could find on our map. We visited Saint Louis des Chartons church, Sainte Marie de la Bastide church, and Saint Andre Cathedral. Walking around Bordeaux was a piece of cake because the city is relatively flat. A welcomed relief after the hills in Lisbon!

We continued our little walking tour of Bordeaux by walking along the banks of the Garonne River and took photos of the stunning bridges. On our stroll we noticed this really neat fountain/pool thing that was filled with about two inches of water. Babies and dogs where playing in the center of the pool. All of a sudden the pool quickly drained and mist started shooting out of the tiny holes that filled the pool. The mist created a sort of blanket over the waterfront. It was surreal. Jacob and I both ran into the center of the pool and tried to disappear in the mist.

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We stayed over night in Bordeaux (because of the strikes) so we were also able to get a ton of photos of the cathedrals and the waterfront when it was lit up.

Onward to Guernsey!