I am now in Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷. What a beautiful city. I flew in last night, Saturday night, and I am staying at the Raddison. I am going full bore ugly American tourist. When I checked in last night and got up to my room I discovered that the room had a king size bed with real sheets and pillowcase. I couldn’t believe it. Then I saw that I have a real bathroom all to myself, with a terry cloth robe and those terry cloth bathroom slippers. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It couldn’t get any better, could it? And then I saw that I have a mini refrigerator with Champagne 🍾. The mini fridges at the Holiday Inn in Rock Springs, Wyoming did not have Champagne. But this is France so I guess I should get used to having a mini fridge with Champagne in my room. I truly feel like visiting royalty. The people of Bordeaux seem to be trying to make up for all the crap I got from the Parisians a couple of months ago.
I got up at about 7:00 AM on Sunday morning, showered and dressed in the cleanest clothes I have, not exactly clean but the cleanest I have, and went for a walk along the canal in the back of the hotel where I am staying. Boy was I surprised when I found a flying saucer🛸 in the canal.
Apparently this passes for art and culture in France. I thought they had better taste in France. I would expect this kind of thing in Cleveland, Ohio, not Bordeaux, France.
Then I got another surprise.
Steak N Shake in Bordeaux, France? Has the world gone mad??
BTW – Steak N Shake is a chain of hamburger 🍔 joints that started in my hometown of Springfield, Illinois.
Abe wanted to go in and get a Steakburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake. Unfortunately this Steak N Shake was closed so we had to settle for a chocolate croissant 🥐 and an orange juice.
Did you know that Saturday was National Sandwich Day.
I was shocked to find a Subway next to the Steak N Shake. Bordeaux must be the capital of American fast food joints in France.
At 10:00 AM I met my good friends John Rourke and Jan Stevenson. John was the General Superintendent of the Denver Service Unit for the Union Pacific Railroad and I was his Service Unit Attorney. We became good friends while John and Jan were in Denver. They are on an extended trip to Europe and they graciously invited me to visit them in Bordeaux.
I spent the day touring around Bordeaux with John and Jan as my guides.
As you can see, it was a beautiful day for a walking tour of Bordeaux. The Garonne River runs through Bordeaux and there is a wide promenade that runs for miles along the river. We walked along this promenade with what seemed like every resident of Bordeaux who was capable of ambulation. We visited a farmers’ market along the way that had every imaginable kind of fruit, vegetable, meat, fish, and cheese. I could go on but you get the picture.
We then had lunch. I had a salad with duck gizzards. I didn’t know that I was ordering a salad with duck gizzards as my French is a little rusty. OK, my French is nonexistent. But the duck gizzards were very good and I figure I am in France so why not have a gastronomic adventure. I ate pigeon in Spain. Why not duck gizzards in France?
We spent the early afternoon at John and Jan’s apartment chatting about old times at the Railroad and then strolled down to a local food court where we toasted the end of the day with a glass of tasty Bordeaux. 🍷
I hope everyone had a restful Sunday.
Good evening from Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷.
AbeAndMarkontheCamino 