Food and Wine in Bordeaux

June 30, 2015

Kevin

I hope people enjoy the blog--I probably won't email from tomorrow until July 30, when I arrive at Melanie's (after 12 or so hours of train, train, metro, and train), so they'll have to deal with not having any updates for a long while. Don't worry; I'll be sure to keep a journal. [Merrill: Melanie was a foreign exchange student at Glenbrook North High School last year. She and Kevin became friends through the marching band. Melanie lives with her family in northeast France, near the German border.]

Also, tomorrow, I'll call to let you know that I'm on the farm, safe and sound. If I don't call you, either my phone broke and there aren't any phones anywhere, or something horribly wrong happened. (I'm assuming, though, I'll still be able to work at the farm, I'll still be alive, and everything'll be okay.)

Yesterday, I took the tram to one of the northern neighborhoods of Bordeaux to see a local wine brokerage-turned-museum, where I learned a lot about how wine is made and how it's been sold for the last 1200 years or so. At the end, I got my own personal tasting, as well! I definitely feel a lot more knowledgeable about wine--from the Bordeaux region and beyond.

Then, I took the tram (it's very helpful and inexpensive; I've paid maybe 3 euro over the last few days) over to the Beaux-Arts Museum, which had art from the last millennium or so, from the really old Christian works all the way to Picasso and some weird masks and geometric things I couldn't really understand from the last three decades. There's also a really nice garden separating the two sets of 500 years worth of art. Also, I figured out the ingredient for good art: a huge canvas (life-sized or larger), and a bigger, more obtrusive frame. Think about it, aside from the Mona Lisa, how many small good paintings do you actually remember? Sunday on the Grande Jatte? Water Lilies? Guernica? Yeah, all: NOT SMALL.

Afterwards, I stopped by the apartment, grabbed some of my snacks from my backpack, along with a book and a lot of water (It's been extremely hot here all week.), and went over to the Jardin Publique, a really beautiful botanic garden in one of the northern neighborhoods of Bordeaux, where I could read, eat, drink, and write a few post cards (I just sent them today; they're in god's hands now.). Later, I got some kebabs for dinner and ate in the Place de la Bourse, an intersection of two houses of government in downtown Bordeaux, a shallow water-pool like that in Millennium Park, the river (which is ALWAYS a disgusting shade of brown--not a fun part of this trip), and several gardens, before returning back.

Because my host is such a great chef, my first night, he brought back for me tortellini with duck meat, cheese, and vegetables; my second night, a personally crafted dish of ham, cheese, penne, vegetables, and spices; and I think tonight, chicken in a cream sauce, over linguini, vegetables, and dried tomatoes. Everything he makes is excellent, and he isn't charging me anything! I bought bread for the two of us to eat our late night dinner (which should be arriving soon!), like true Frenchmen.

Today, it was incredibly hot (105 degrees), so I spent most of the day in the apartment, checking my email, reading A LOT of the news, and saying my final goodbyes for the month, but I went out for about five hours, two of which were at a restaurant near the Place de la Bourse, for a four-course, 15.50 euro meal. It began with a never-ending plate of bread. Then, ham pate with greens and pickles. Then, salmon with a cream sauce over potatoes au gratin, with vegetables. Then, a "floating island," which I think is a ball of custard floating in a bowl of egg yolk/wine/something else. The waitress said it was traditional, and it was an excellent ending to one of my best meals so far!

Later, I walked across a few of the shops, since the sales were EXCELLENT. But, I didn't buy anything. Note: French shirts are so painfully without substance that it almost seems ironic to wear them, except people don't wear them ironically. I've seen several with undecipherable English phrases, even more focused on either California, LA, "San Fran," Tokyo, or Miami. Even one that said "According to the US Census Bureau, downtown Miami is one of the most dense urban areas of the United States." I thought it was a joke, and then the person next to me bought it. There was even one with a weird, techno-y drawing of several exotic fruits, along with a line at the bottom of the shirt in French: be sure to eat five servings of fruit each day! I almost bought it, as it was the most cheaply priced (6 euro), but the drawing of the fruits seemed really strange... I can live without it.

Later, I walked to a huge statue/waterfall in Quinconces, which means that I have officially seen EVERYTHING in Bordeaux. I do not feel bad for taking an easy day in the 105-degree weather.

I think that's pretty much all with me. I hope this is a fine ending to this section of the blog, and that my readers aren't too disappointed. In a month, I can give you more material.