Bordeaux

Kat's birthday was November 17th, so we met at the train station the next morning at San Sebastian and hopped on a train up the southwestern French coast to Bordeaux, land of wine and cheese and socialism. My dad sent a belated email recommended that we visit Montaigne's 16th century chateau outside of the city, but I've never read anything by Montaigne, and we got the email late, so we didn't go. We also were going to tour a vineyard in St. Emilian, but Kat lost her glasses at the Musée de Beaux Artes, and we missed the last train there in finding them.

What I'm trying to say is, we didn't do much during our time in Bordeaux. In fact, almost all we did was eat and drink wine, and that is what this post will be about.

We did see some cool sites though, and I'll start with them. This is the waterfront.



This is Kat in a very picturesque grove of sycamores...



This is the beautiful Jardin Public. Bordeaux is a rather quiet place, and it seems that people there mostly just take walks. As a result, the parks are very beautiful...





Thebotanical gardens...



The birthday dinner at the Terrace St. Pierre...



Lots of greyish, vacant squares, full of pigeons and little future frenchmen playing football...



A small, but competitive cathedral...



A huge arch. Probably erected in memory of some triumph. Perhaps the construction of the Benetton outlet right in front of it...



Kat, me, arch, fruitstand...



The courtyard at the fine arts museum...



And two art shots of Kat. One in a café, looking vague, and another while on a stroll, contemplating her existence...





And now to the food. This part of the post is a response to the fact that I very much miss being home right now, especially this time of year. I haven't eaten anything with sauce, except while in France, for about 3 months. So while you are all eating better than I'll be tomorrow night, remember this: I ate better than you did last weekend.


Some deliciously rich pastries...



The salade before a meal at the Café Agneau...



The chicken skewer, grilled over open fire, at the Café Agneau...



The ambience at the Terrace St. Pierre, where we had a Cabagnet Bordeaux from 2001...



My canard a lá magritte (roast duck) with sweet potato purée, sautéed cucumbers, and pommes frites at the Terrace St. Pierre...



Kat modelling her birthday bracelet and the cheese plate...



A chocolate banana crêpe with rum flambée that I had the next morning. It's actually on fire in this picture, but you can't see it...



Kat's crêpe, much the same, only with chantilly...



Doisneau shot of me with a Bordeaux vintage...




risotto (bad pic) at the Terrace St. Pierre...



Chocolate filled croissants and café au lait...



Kat, looking the most French ever, with a baguette and a little hôrs d'ouvres made from feta, sundried tomatoes, and portabellos...



Me, eating the same thing...



Some coppery-tasting marennes, which we washed down with a nice vin blanc, just like in A Moveable Feast...



Kat eating fois gras on a cracker...


Fois gras and French tortilla, with spinach and red peppers, alongside a lillet rouge, the preferred apertif of the Acquitaine...






And again, my risotto...



delicious, non?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Love,
Robbie