May Day in Bordeaux

Our first full day in Bordeaux is also May Day, and the scene is far different than Saturday, when the streets were jammed. Restaurants and boulangeries (the French will not be denied fresh bread!) are open and there are various events going on. But full-out shopping (and the wonderful Bordeaux tram system) took a pause today.

It's actually quite hot today, so we've again had to knock off a half-point from the Knowmark Weather Scale, allowing only 2.5 from the possible three. We basically spent the morning and early afternoon orienting ourselves and exploring our immediate surroundings, which is essentially the old centre of Bordeaux. Our first impressions are positive, from the Porte d'Aquitaine to the Porte Dijeaux (which is at the end of the street where we are staying and at the southeast corner of Place Gambetta) and many points between.

We had a nice dinner at Assiette des Provinces, although the bread was not very good. This is very unusual in our experience.


Looking north from Place de la Victoire, down Rue Ste-Catherine (the main shopping thoroughfare) through the Porte d'Aquitaine and Cours Pasteur on the left (note the tram tracks)


Palais Gallien, the remains of an ancient Roman amphitheatre, which could seat 15,000 (about 300 metres northwest of our hotel)