bordeaux

It takes 3 hours speeding through the gentle landscape of France to reach the town of Bordeaux.Set along the banks of the wide and calm Garonne,the exquisite buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries gleam. The whole town seems to wake up from a long ,abandonned sleep, to emerge as a beautiful,friendly, embracing the modern while respecting the past attitude town. The wide avenues downtown are left to the pedestrians to amble and window shop, in delightfull quietness, reminding one of Venice, where the only sounds,on the little piazzas where of birds in flight or the click-clack of high heels on stones. Here ,set against the old mansions (built on fortune made with Far East trade,wine of course and unfortunately and shockingly slave trade(there was a plaque by the river commemorating and aknowledging the plight of the victims), you can catch the snaky tram as it pass by,electric wiring brilliantly tucked underground.Actually the whole downtown is closed to cars, and the streets are mobbed.You see tons of people on bicycles,may be on their way to meet friends in the myriad of tea-rooms,probably a taste left over from 3 centuries of British rule long ago .Being in France, art is everywhere, celebrated and encouraged,a big wharehouse by the river, serves now as a museum of Comtemporary Art. The bulding is amazing in its scope , with georgous stone walls,the art was provoking and the cafe/restaurant designed by Andree Putman was stunning.Brunch was served on Sunday under the ewes,to the sound of mellow French techno-lounge.Now imagine the terrace under the sun, with an amazing bottle of Bordeaux,post-art and ready to nosh and talk....