Bordeaux France

Travelled:190km
Visited: Bordeaux
Stay:St.Estephe-Aire free parking, services, on the Gironde Estuary GPS N45°15.850 W0°45.483'

Had a bit of a sleep in and so it wasn't until 11am until we set off, after a chat and goodbyes with Mike and Jan. 

We decided that today being a Sunday, it would be the best day to drive into Bordeaux. The roads into the city were relatively calm as by the time we arrived it was smack bang in the middle of lunch time. This however did make finding a parking spot a bit more of a challenge. But after following a bus down a bus only lane and confronting an on coming vehicle going the wrong way down a one way street, we did manage to find a parking just near the river and the main part of town. And just to make us even happier parking is free on Sundays. So off came the bikes and along the cobbled streets we road, admiring once again the neoclassical architecture of the town, visiting the church, riding along the Garronne river on a stretch that reminded us of a combination of the Docklands and Southbank in Melbourne. We did ride through a few back streets that where not so pretty. The trams that takes you around looked very modern.

The former bell tower of the 13th century city hall.

Gothic style Saint Michel basilica.

Its separate 114m bell tower, tallest building in Southwest France.

Palais de la Justice

Hotel de Ville.

Plugged in and ready to go!

We then set off through the Haut-Medoc wine region (One of our favorites), to an aire at St Estephe. A very large grassy site along the Gironde Estuary (the waters from the Garonne and Dordogne rivers). Seems very peaceful and we are so far the only ones here.

Fishing on the Gironde Estuary