Bordeaux can be summed up in three words - wine, macarons, and shopping. We went to Bordeaux Friday for a day trip with our class and we had the option to come back the same day or to stay. My friends and I decided to stay for one night, so that we could experience another part of France. On Friday we had to be at the train station at 6:30 am, which sucked but me and my friends met in the lobby and went together so at least we suffered together. Also, I got to sleep on the train for three and a half hours so it wasn't a complete nightmare. When we got to Bordeaux we immediately went to this museum. Now, normally I am all for museums and learning about history, but at this point in time I was not only tired, but ravenous. However, the history-anthropology nerd showed herself as we made our way through the museum and got to see some pretty amazing artifacts and learn about the history of Bordeaux. After the tour of the museum we went to lunch. I love that our program has meals for us every now and then again so we can actually experience real French cuisine, because these meals are not cheap. We had this shrimp salad dish for our appetizer, duck for the main meal and then this apple plate for dessert. Of course we had the wine and bread to accompany all of this, so at the end of the meal I was quite satisfied. When we were done eating we then had a walking tour of the city, where we learned about the different squares and the specific architectural points of certain buildings. Again, it was fun but at this point in time I just wanted to wander around with my friends. After the tour we were allowed to wander and so me and my friends went to the mall. I decided that for my large French purchase I am going to get a Lonchamp bag because they are Parisien and affordable, not to mention really adorable. When we were finished at the mall we went to say good bye to Grace because she was heading back with the group and Dasha and I went to our hostel. Surprisingly it was a very nice place. We had a twin suite, and so we freshened up and went off to meet the girls at their hostel, and then head out for a night on the town.
When we got to the girls hostel, we all agreed that it was time to eat. We walked around Bordeaux for a while before deciding on this Chinese restaurant. It was perfectly adequate, but nothing that I would go to again. I really miss ordering Chinese with my friends on a Saturday night from Wok n Roll. Their Chinese food may not be the best, but man it is good. After eating we went to La Contessa. It was this bar that we had seen on our walking tour that had a Mad Hatter hat on the outside as well as lights, Christmas ornaments and an upside down bunny. Upon looking at the menu we knew we had picked the right place. Sophia and Nash met up with us at the bar, and fortunately we found seating for the nine of us. Me and Jessen ordered "Red Velvet" drinks, which had champagne and something else. They were delicious. I also got to sample "La Contessa", a white Russian and the drink that Nash had. My friends and I have this system where we let one another try the other person's drink. It's great because I don't have to pay a bazillion euros to try different drinks.
We hung out at the bar for a while before deciding we wanted dessert. Unfortunately nothing was open. But we were all tired so Sophia, Nash, Dasha and I headed out back to the hostel. I got all ready for my bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out. It was one of the most difficult things in the world to get out of that bed because here at the Cite these bed are sucky, and our hostel had nice comfy mattresses and pillows. But we did it, and met the girls at their hostel again. We got pastries from this brasserie, and then we found the macaron place that Tiffany had gone to the day before. There are no words to describe how wonderful, delicious, luscious, (add in more adjectives here) they were. If you bought them by weight they ended up being only 50 cents per macaron, which is dirt cheap. Too bad the macaroons only last for a few days otherwise I would have bought a ton for people back home. I bought 8 macarons, and it was difficult to not scarf them down. This was the first time I had them, and it most certainly is not going to be the last. We all went to the fountain when we were down gawking at the chocolate and macaroons. Dasha got to run through the fountain and we just chilled for while by the river.
For lunch we went to an Indian restaurant called the Taj Mahal. Seriously was one of the best meals I have ever had. We shared some Nan bread, and I ordered chicken with spinach. I cannot wait for London where we can have more Indian food. We were so full from our meal that we stayed in the restaurant for a bit longer and just chatted. After we decided we had strength to move, we went shopping. I bought this really pretty dress and almost bought a pair of pants, but after consideration I decided that they were not me. Also, I want to save my shopping for when Ashlee comes because I figured she'd want to get some stuff. We all decided that we are going to wear our new outfits on Tuesday when our class goes out to breakfast, so we will be dining in style!
Since we were in Bordeaux of course we had to get some wine! There was this great wine shop that wasn't touristy, and we got some Bordeaux wine to take home. I bought some wine for my family for Christmas (You're welcome), and then some wine for my friends. After our purchases we wandered around Bordeaux some more, went back to get more macarons (yes they were that good), and then me, Dasha and Jessen went to Cave de vin and enjoyed a nice glass of Bordeaux wine. A nice end to a great couple of days.
Oh I almost forgot! There was a giant CGT strike that was going on in Bordeaux. I don't how many people were there, but it lasted a long time. The strike is still about the retirement age, but as it looks right now the strikes won't really have an impact, and I think that it is going to pass.
Well I should be off to bed. I have my day trip to Bruges tomorrow with Lauren. So be prepared for a post about Belgium waffles and chocolate! Night all.
Well
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