We thought we would enjoy spending our last week in a medium sized city so returned to Bordeaux.

We stayed in a centrally located Airbnb in a third floor walk-up, known as the 2nd floor in France.

At least two protests took place beneath our balcony. We relied on various forms of public transportation: the SNCF train network; Blabla Cars; and Bordeaux’s trams and BATO’s to get around.

Things were hopping. Bordeaux is a vibrant city overflowing with young people, built on its history dating back to at least the 11th century. It had its seedy side as well. I saw someone blatantly steal meat at the grocery. I haven’t even seen that in NYC.

France is very advanced in addressing climate change. There was very little plastic, many people rode bikes, and mass transit was efficient. The bikes were a little much, everyone rode as if they were a NYC messenger. You had to look 3 ways, twice, before crossing.

We explored the Saint André Cathedral where Eleanor of Aquitaine married Louis VII in 1137 and became Queen of France shortly thereafter.

The best views were from the bell tower. We climbed 233 very narrow steps to reach the top and the view was worth it.

The gargoyles were a hoot.

The tower is topped by Our Lady of Aquitaine, who looks a little creepy from this angle.

I went to the Bourse a few times to try to get a good reflection. The first day it was too windy and grey.

There is artwork, sanctioned or not, throughout the city.

The urban French are devoted swimmers. We swam in a municipal pool and are lucky we survived to talk about it. I should have remembered this from when we swam in Montpellier on an earlier trip. There were 10-12 people to a lane and I couldn’t swim at a pace I enjoyed. First I tried to swim too fast to keep up. Then I moved to a slower lane but it was too slow and people, including me, were passing left and right, sometimes with collisions in the middle. Tim is a better swimmer than me, as in most of our athletic endeavors, and he hated it as well. Lesson learned: only swim in rural France.

Tim beat me with injuries this time. He fell on an uneven sidewalk, with his high-heel Hokas and banged himself up pretty well. I documented the color changes of his black eye.

It didn’t slow him down though.

We visited museums and then went to a luminaire version of Le Petit Prince for my pedestrian taste. It was very dark with kids chasing the lights as they moved along the floor but the music was good.

We saw people transporting pets in all sorts of carriers: baby carriages; crates tied to bike racks; and this frontpack with a little cat window.

It was a fine way to finish a great trip to France and a good time was had by all.