Days 19-21 - June 16-19 Bordeaux

June 16 

We had breakfast on the boat Tuesday, June 16, then disembarked around 9 am.  We schlepped our luggage – we each have one carry-on, a personal item and I have my CPAP - plus we found these neck pillows that we can stuff with underwear and t-shirts – into Esplanade des Quinconces where our hotel is located. It wasn’t far, but my hip thing slowed us down. Didn’t make any difference, we couldn’t check in to the hotel until 2 pm, but we stored our luggage and went exploring.

The Place des Quinconces is among the largest city squares in Europe. It was laid out in 1820 on the site of Chateau Trompette and was intended to prevent rebellion against the city. Its guns were turned toward the center. Its current shape (a lengthened rectangle rounded off with a semicircle) was adopted in 1816. Trees were planted (in quincunxes, hence the name of the square) in 1818.

With the installation of a tram system in 2003, the place has become the most important public transport hub of the area, with the Quinconces tram stop serving three tram lines, 21 bus lines (including 3 night buses), an electric shuttle, and 12 coach lines. It’s a GREAT location to get anywhere we want to go.

 Beth needed some art supplies so she could continue doing her travel journal in watercolor, so we wandered down to the art supplies store, got her supplies and wandered again through the streets and plazas. One plaza in particular was interesting because when they were excavating for an underground parking garage, they found Roman Baths but there was nothing there that would indicate it except a plaque. Apparently, they went ahead and built the underground parking garage. 

Found an Aldi store and bought cheap sandwiches and a bevvie. We returned to Quinconces and ate our lunch on a bench in the shade. Just as we were doing so, we spotted Debbie and Sandy, who had ventured into the old center and were doing some more wandering. We visited before they took off.

 On the square is the Opera National de Bordeaux, a beautiful and large building with a façade dating from 1780. It hosts operas, dance & music performances. We actually thought we might see an orchestral performance there but when we returned at 1 pm to purchase our tickets to a concert titled Love Stories (Jean Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev), we learned it was in another auditorium. So all I could do was take a photo of the entrance to the opera house. We thought the concert was on Thursday, but – alas – it was on Wednesday.

They let us into our hotel room around 1:30 pm, and thank goodness it has air conditioning. It’s been brutally hot here since we arrived, so we showered and hunkered down for the evening. We needed some down time. Went downstairs to a small café and had some supper, then returned to our room to watch a Lynx WNBA game. Back to “normal,” sort of.

June 17 

The next morning we met Debbie and Sandy for a visit to La Citi du Vin, a newer museum that opened in 2017. Anouk Legendre and Nicolas Desmazières, the architects, designed a space shaped by symbols of identity: gnarled vine stock, wine swirling in a glass, eddies on the Garonne. Every detail of the architecture evokes wine’s soul and liquid nature: ‘seamless roundness, intangible and sensual.’ Apparently, the locals think it looks like a big turd. It’s interesting.

It’s very modern with an immersive and sensory experience to its permanent collection, which we viewed with one wine tasting on the rooftop. It was a journey around the world of wine and the vine, from antiquity to the present day and over five continents including Australia and China. Having learned more than we ever wanted to know about wine, the museum gave us a different perspective of winemakers outside the Bordeaux area. 

There was an interesting exhibit called At the Table. It was digital imagery but not really about wine. ??? Also, you could take a quiz to see what kind of wine you are. I took it, and here’s what it said:

“You have a unique, one-of-kind personality and are not to everyone’s taste! But for those who know how to appreciate you, you are a real treasure. You understand the virtues of taking it easy, and you have rested for years to get to where you are today. That said, now you are far from inactive; your oxidative flavor holds no punches, endowed with notes of walnut, fig, honey and spices. You matured in the beautiful Jura countryside and you have kept that festive, assertive character. It’s impossible not to notice you: you are a vin jaune du Jura.”

We each had a glass of wine on the rooftop from which you could see 360 degrees of Bordeaux. Beth and I both had wines from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both were really good.

Debbie and Sandy returned to the boat, we returned to our air conditioned hotel room. I caught up on my blog, Beth did some work on her watercolor travel journal.

We then took off for the orchestra concert that was in a different location than the opera house; it was in the Auditorium of Opera National De Bordeaux, which was about a half-mile from our hotel. We left early and caught the tram, so we could find somewhere to eat and be on time to the concert. 

We found a tiny place to eat, that was opening in ten minutes.  We wanted a cheap place, and found it. I got a crepe stuffed with sausage and cheese. I had wanted a crepe, and I got it!  Beth had Caesar salad.  The guy who ran it was very funny.  He kept teasing us and saying, “But I love you.” 

The Auditorium is located in the heart of the city's historic center, and opened its doors on Jan. 24, 2013. It has 1,440 seats in the round and is the largest orchestra pit in Europe. Yepper, the pit is surrounded by seats, something we’ve never seen, but the acoustics were awesome thanks to the work of Belgian acoustics expert Eckhard Kahle.

Of course, the structure was financed by the City of Bordeaux with the support of the State and Aquitaine Regional Council. The Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine traces its origins to the orchestra of the Sainte-Cécile Society of Bordeaux, founded in 1853 by Charles Mezeray, conductor of the Grand-Theatre. Since its opening, it has welcomed many prestigious artists, including Lang Lang, Karita Mattila, Jordi Savall, Anne Gastinel.

We assume the orchestra is supported by the state; it was huge: 30 violins, eight cellos, eight basses, a large wind section and percussion section. The conductor, Joseph Swensen, was rather odd, we thought, but he has quite the resume.

Anywho, the program was: Jean Sibelius (a Finnish composer), Pelléas et Mélisande, Op. 46; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture; and Sergei Prokofiev, Symphony No. 5, Op. 100. We really didn’t like the Sibelius, and we liked portions of Prokofiev. We LOVED Tchaikovsky. It was well executed, as the others we thought were kind of sloppy.

We emerged from the concert around 10 pm and discovered that the trams weren’t running because they were cleaning the tracks so we ambled back to our hotel at dusk (yes, 10 pm – it’s not really dark yet). The crescent moon and I believe Venus were lovely.

June 18

Our last full day in Bordeaux. I had come across a digital art center that offers immersive and digital exhibitions – Bassins des Lumieres, so I bought tickets for an 11 am entry. We wandered across the square and got lattes and croissants before taking off on the tram, then the bus. It took it us about 20 minutes to get to the bus stop where we got off. We got confused about where the center was located so we walked about a third of a mile from the bus stop to the venue, which was not well marked.

The long program was Matisse: A Symphony of Colors; the short program was Frida Kahlo: At the Very Heart. We expected it to be a lot like the Van Gogh immersive we attended in Chicago and, well, it was kind of like it but totally different.

It was in a submarine base built by the Nazis during World War II, repurposed for the arts. Bordeaux was occupied by German troops at the end of June 1940, and the submarine base was a strategic base for the German occupying forces because of its location near the ocean, its port facilities and its distance from the British enemy. It was initially a base for Italian submarines: the Betasom base. Camouflage nets were placed along the quays to conceal the 32 submarines from Allied aircraft.

It is a structure that has around 2,000 reinforced concrete piles, a 30-foot thick roof made of concrete poured on corrugated iron sheeting, whose top was covered by a bomb trap framework composed of rows of concrete beams that protected the construction from any aerial attacks.

Taken over by the French Navy, the U-Boat Bunker, which was almost intact, was entrusted to the autonomous port of Bordeaux, on June 6, 1945. From the beginning of the 1960s until the end of the 1990s, the units were partly occupied by companies, including the base’s metalworking workshops. 

Culturespaces submitted its Bassins des Lumieres project for four of the 11 cells in the submarine base. It was awarded the operating contract for 15 years and opened June 10, 2020. It comprises four water basins that are 361 feet long by 72 feet wide and 39 feet high. Ninety video projectors project the images at each end as well as along the walls of the bassins. Eighty speakers enhance the experience.

The Bassins des Lumières is the world's largest digital art center. It represents three times the surface area of the Carrieres des Lumieres in Les Baux-de-Provence, and five times the Atelier des Lumieres in Paris, two other sites managed by the company Culturespaces.

It was a total immersive experience and so unusual – so unlike the Van Gogh experience in the United States. So it’s difficult to describe but the digital program was projected at each end of the basins and along the walls. The Matisse program had a narrative and focused more on his philosophy of color and form, while the shorter program about Frida had no narrative but focused on her art. The digital imagery broke down the art for each in interesting visual ways. Both were accompanied by music. You have to be there to experience it.

It has been brutally hot here, so we retreated into our air-conditioned hotel room around 3 pm to nap, work on the blog, do watercolor travel journal entries then slip downstairs for something light to eat and a beer.

We leave tomorrow for Arcachon, a seaside resort town about an hour south of Bordeaux that is known for its oyster harvesting. Don’t think I like oysters, but I’m willing to try one. Our friend Jae from our Eugene days who lives in Angers, France, north of here is joining us. There is NO air conditioning in our Airbnb. Ugh.

Azamar Quest docked in Bordeaux on the River Days 19-21, June 16-19 Bordeaux

June 16 

We had breakfast on the boat Tuesday, June 16, then disembarked around 9 am.  We schlepped our luggage – we each have one carry-on, a personal item and I have my CPAP - plus we found these neck pillows that we can stuff with underwear and t-shirts – into Esplanade des Quinconces where our hotel is located. It wasn’t far, but my hip thing slowed us down. Didn’t make any difference, we couldn’t check in to the hotel until 2 pm, but we stored our luggage and went exploring.

The Place des Quinconces is among the largest city squares in Europe. It was laid out in 1820 on the site of Chateau Trompette and was intended to prevent rebellion against the city. Its guns were turned toward the center. Its current shape (a lengthened rectangle rounded off with a semicircle) was adopted in 1816. Trees were planted (in quincunxes, hence the name of the square) in 1818.

With the installation of a tram system in 2003, the place has become the most important public transport hub of the area, with the Quinconces tram stop serving three tram lines, 21 bus lines (including 3 night buses), an electric shuttle, and 12 coach lines. It’s a GREAT location to get anywhere we want to go.

 Beth needed some art supplies so she could continue doing her travel journal in watercolor, so we wandered down to the art supplies store, got her supplies and wandered again through the streets and plazas. One plaza in particular was interesting because when they were excavating for an underground parking garage, they found Roman Baths but there was nothing there that would indicate it except a plaque. Apparently, they went ahead and built the underground parking garage. 

Found an Aldi store and bought cheap sandwiches and a bevvie. We returned to Quinconces and ate our lunch on a bench in the shade. Just as we were doing so, we spotted Debbie and Sandy, who had ventured into the old center and were doing some more wandering. We visited before they took off.

 On the square is the Opera National de Bordeaux, a beautiful and large building with a façade dating from 1780. It hosts operas, dance & music performances. We actually thought we might see an orchestral performance there but when we returned at 1 pm to purchase our tickets to a concert titled Love Stories (Jean Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev), we learned it was in another auditorium. So all I could do was take a photo of the entrance to the opera house. We thought the concert was on Thursday, but – alas – it was on Wednesday.

They let us into our hotel room around 1:30 pm, and thank goodness it has air conditioning. It’s been brutally hot here since we arrived, so we showered and hunkered down for the evening. We needed some down time. Went downstairs to a small café and had some supper, then returned to our room to watch a Lynx WNBA game. Back to “normal,” sort of.

June 17 

The next morning we met Debbie and Sandy for a visit to La Citi du Vin, a newer museum that opened in 2017. Anouk Legendre and Nicolas Desmazières, the architects, designed a space shaped by symbols of identity: gnarled vine stock, wine swirling in a glass, eddies on the Garonne. Every detail of the architecture evokes wine’s soul and liquid nature: ‘seamless roundness, intangible and sensual.’ Apparently, the locals think it looks like a big turd. It’s interesting.

It’s very modern with an immersive and sensory experience to its permanent collection, which we viewed with one wine tasting on the rooftop. It was a journey around the world of wine and the vine, from antiquity to the present day and over five continents including Australia and China. Having learned more than we ever wanted to know about wine, the museum gave us a different perspective of winemakers outside the Bordeaux area. 

There was an interesting exhibit called At the Table. It was digital imagery but not really about wine. ??? Also, you could take a quiz to see what kind of wine you are. I took it, and here’s what it said:

“You have a unique, one-of-kind personality and are not to everyone’s taste! But for those who know how to appreciate you, you are a real treasure. You understand the virtues of taking it easy, and you have rested for years to get to where you are today. That said, now you are far from inactive; your oxidative flavor holds no punches, endowed with notes of walnut, fig, honey and spices. You matured in the beautiful Jura countryside and you have kept that festive, assertive character. It’s impossible not to notice you: you are a vin jaune du Jura.”

We each had a glass of wine on the rooftop from which you could see 360 degrees of Bordeaux. Beth and I both had wines from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both were really good.

Debbie and Sandy returned to the boat, we returned to our air conditioned hotel room. I caught up on my blog, Beth did some work on her watercolor travel journal.

We then took off for the orchestra concert that was in a different location than the opera house; it was in the Auditorium of Opera National De Bordeaux, which was about a half-mile from our hotel. We left early and caught the tram, so we could find somewhere to eat and be on time to the concert. 

We found a tiny place to eat, that was opening in ten minutes.  We wanted a cheap place, and found it. I got a crepe stuffed with sausage and cheese. I had wanted a crepe, and I got it!  Beth had Caesar salad.  The guy who ran it was very funny.  He kept teasing us and saying, “But I love you.” 

The Auditorium is located in the heart of the city's historic center, and opened its doors on Jan. 24, 2013. It has 1,440 seats in the round and is the largest orchestra pit in Europe. Yepper, the pit is surrounded by seats, something we’ve never seen, but the acoustics were awesome thanks to the work of Belgian acoustics expert Eckhard Kahle.

Of course, the structure was financed by the City of Bordeaux with the support of the State and Aquitaine Regional Council. The Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine traces its origins to the orchestra of the Sainte-Cécile Society of Bordeaux, founded in 1853 by Charles Mezeray, conductor of the Grand-Theatre. Since its opening, it has welcomed many prestigious artists, including Lang Lang, Karita Mattila, Jordi Savall, Anne Gastinel.

We assume the orchestra is supported by the state; it was huge: 30 violins, eight cellos, eight basses, a large wind section and percussion section. The conductor, Joseph Swensen, was rather odd, we thought, but he has quite the resume.

Anywho, the program was: Jean Sibelius (a Finnish composer), Pelléas et Mélisande, Op. 46; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture; and Sergei Prokofiev, Symphony No. 5, Op. 100. We really didn’t like the Sibelius, and we liked portions of Prokofiev. We LOVED Tchaikovsky. It was well executed, as the others we thought were kind of sloppy.

We emerged from the concert around 10 pm and discovered that the trams weren’t running because they were cleaning the tracks so we ambled back to our hotel at dusk (yes, 10 pm – it’s not really dark yet). The crescent moon and I believe Venus were lovely.

June 18

Our last full day in Bordeaux. I had come across a digital art center that offers immersive and digital exhibitions – Bassins des Lumieres, so I bought tickets for an 11 am entry. We wandered across the square and got lattes and croissants before taking off on the tram, then the bus. It took it us about 20 minutes to get to the bus stop where we got off. We got confused about where the center was located so we walked about a third of a mile from the bus stop to the venue, which was not well marked.

The long program was Matisse: A Symphony of Colors; the short program was Frida Kahlo: At the Very Heart. We expected it to be a lot like the Van Gogh immersive we attended in Chicago and, well, it was kind of like it but totally different.

It was in a submarine base built by the Nazis during World War II, repurposed for the arts. Bordeaux was occupied by German troops at the end of June 1940, and the submarine base was a strategic base for the German occupying forces because of its location near the ocean, its port facilities and its distance from the British enemy. It was initially a base for Italian submarines: the Betasom base. Camouflage nets were placed along the quays to conceal the 32 submarines from Allied aircraft.

It is a structure that has around 2,000 reinforced concrete piles, a 30-foot thick roof made of concrete poured on corrugated iron sheeting, whose top was covered by a bomb trap framework composed of rows of concrete beams that protected the construction from any aerial attacks.

Taken over by the French Navy, the U-Boat Bunker, which was almost intact, was entrusted to the autonomous port of Bordeaux, on June 6, 1945. From the beginning of the 1960s until the end of the 1990s, the units were partly occupied by companies, including the base’s metalworking workshops. 

Culturespaces submitted its Bassins des Lumieres project for four of the 11 cells in the submarine base. It was awarded the operating contract for 15 years and opened June 10, 2020. It comprises four water basins that are 361 feet long by 72 feet wide and 39 feet high. Ninety video projectors project the images at each end as well as along the walls of the bassins. Eighty speakers enhance the experience.

The Bassins des Lumières is the world's largest digital art center. It represents three times the surface area of the Carrieres des Lumieres in Les Baux-de-Provence, and five times the Atelier des Lumieres in Paris, two other sites managed by the company Culturespaces.

It was a total immersive experience and so unusual – so unlike the Van Gogh experience in the United States. So it’s difficult to describe but the digital program was projected at each end of the basins and along the walls. The Matisse program had a narrative and focused more on his philosophy of color and form, while the shorter program about Frida had no narrative but focused on her art. The digital imagery broke down the art for each in interesting visual ways. Both were accompanied by music. You have to be there to experience it.

It has been brutally hot here, so we retreated into our air-conditioned hotel room around 3 pm to nap, work on the blog, do watercolor travel journal entries then slip downstairs for something light to eat and a beer.

We leave tomorrow for Arcachon, a seaside resort town about an hour south of Bordeaux that is known for its oyster harvesting. Don’t think I like oysters, but I’m willing to try one. Our friend Jae from our Eugene days who lives in Angers, France, north of here is joining us. There is NO air conditioning in our Airbnb. Ugh.

Azamara Quest docked in Bordeaux on the River Garonne.

Street scene from Bordeaux.

Place des Quinconces where our hotel is located in Bordeaux.

La Citi du Vin museum - the one locals think looks like a giant turd.

One of the immersive exhibits at La Citi du Vin.

What da'ya think this is? 

At the Table multimedia presentation in La Citi du Vin.

Quai King Louis XVIII from atop La Citi du Vin museum.

An arch near Place Gambetta and where we ate before the concert.

Beth had salad, I had a sausage/cheese crepe. Only place I've seen that has crepes. Go figure.

The auditorium where we attended the concert.

Opera National De Bordeaux at night.

The door into the submarine bunker where the Matisse, Frida Kahlo immersive exhibit was shown.

Matisse.

Kahlo.

Outside of the submarine bunker.

We had a delightful charcuterie for lunch.