France - Part Deux — What We Saw, What We Read

Miroir d'eau (mirror of water), the world's largest reflecting pool in Bordeaux.

We woke up on a rainy morning in Cap-Ferret to discover that our flight out of Bordeaux was the next morning and not the day after like we had thought. That gave us one afternoon to see everything we could in Bordeaux. Our kind hosts drove us straight to the old town and we went directly to the Bordeaux Cathedral, an 11th-century edifice that was as awe-inspiring as Notre Dame. After marveling the intricate architectural detailing, we were ready for another Bordeaux tradition- the Canale. With a fresh rum-caramelized pastry in hand from the Hotel de Ville Boulangerie, we were ready to continue exploring the streets of Bordeaux. The old town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it has every right to be considered one. Beautiful architectural relics, ancient gates into the city, clock towers and cathedrals, every step in the city tells a story. We could spend years there exploring, but sadly we only had an afternoon.

After walking for several hours we worked up an appetite to try another Bordeaux specialty- the wine. We stopped at a wine bar near the Opera, a favorite among locals and tourists where you can taste regional wines for 2 Euros a glass paired with local cheeses. (We noted that in the US, an affordable good glass of wine would be much harder to find!) We stayed out of the rain and warmed up with local dry white wines and goat cheese and then continued our walk to the Miroir d'eau. The Miroir is the world's largest reflecting mirror and as night fell and the mist rose, the Palace de la Bourse was beautifully reflected on the wet granite slabs.

Tired but satisfied from a long day walking around Bordeaux we made our way to the outskirts of the city to the house of a local Couchsurfing family that would host us for the night. Our hosts had three kids, ranging from middle school to high school age. We sat with them around the dinner table and spoke for a few hours. Their precocious kids grilled us in English about our perception of US politics, told us about their lives, and one even played his guitar for us. We had never been hosted by a whole family before, and this was such a unique experience to see a family that appreciated having strangers from all over the world come stay with them and be part of their family for an evening. The family was so kind and welcoming we were disappointed once again that we would have to fly out again the next morning. Our visit to Bordeaux was much too short, there was so much more to see in the city and in the surrounding areas. It will have to be a trip in itself one day soon.

Early the next morning, our kind Couchsurfing host drove us to the airport and we caught a local flight to Lyon, the third largest city in France. It seems like this beautiful city, full of incredible history and delicious food, is often overlooked when people are planning trips around France. We were only stopping through before taking a train to our next workaway destination. Just like in Bordeaux, we had about eight hours to see as much as we could and we did not lose time. The city's roots are in the ancient Roman empire, and relics of that history are dotted throughout the city. It was built strategically at the convergence of the Rhone and Saone rivers, and the small peninsula formed by the confluence called the Presqu'ile holds one of the largest public squares in France. We walked to the Cathedrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste and found the the Jardin Archeologique right next to it. The Jardin housed ruins dating back almost 2,000 years. The whole city is steeped in antiquity, like an ancient Roman amphitheater on the Fourviere hillside looking over Lyon. Just nearby is a 19th-century Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fouvriere which had the most ornate and incredible mosaics and stained glass of any site we had visited. We could just barely scratch the surface during our day of walking, but we certainly worked up an appetite. Before catching our next train, we stopped at Les Halles, a gastronomical paradise. Dozens of stands for fresh baked goods, seafood, cured meats, cheeses, wines and local Lyonese cuisines, overwhelmed our senses. We were not brave enough to try escargot but we did come away with some praline tarts, another local specialty. Suffice it to say, we are grateful that we are averaging 20-25 kilometers of walking every day to counteract all the delicious food we've had.

Crossing the Saone river from the Presqu'ile into Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), with a view of the Basilica de Notre Dame on the top of the hill.

Overlooking the ruins of a Roman Amphitheater on Fouvriere hill, built around 15 BC.