October 2004 - A Taste of France

Bergerac

Stansted to Bergerac. Biarritz to Stansted. Making the most of Ryanair's eccentric choice of airports to make the most of my business trip to France. I had only one evening in Bergerac, so I went on a quick exploratory expedition. Here are the snapshots. Nice, isn't it?

St. Emilion

Next morning, off towards my important conference in Bordeaux. But, on the way, a visit to the Roman villa at Montcaret and then the medieval village of St. Emilion. Yes, it is the place on your wine labels. And yet, it's still a small stone village; same as it ever was.

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a classy city. I guess that hundreds of years of wealth and trade can do that. In the 21st Century, they're doing the right things to keep it classy: a tram system; wide, newly-cobbled streets which are refreshingly car-free; and, like many European cities, tarting up the dock area with new development. (Incidentally, the road signs point to "Les Docks", which I'm sure isn't an Academie-approved term.)

The company had booked us into the city-centre Normandie hotel because all the hotels were full out by the conference centre at Bordeaux Lac, on the outskirts. Although this meant a drive out to the conference each day, it was a good arrangement, because we could reach a fabulous range of restaurants and bars on foot in the evenings. The hotel is good too. I had a penthouse room with a little outdoor deck, where you could sit and look out over the funfair and park. Ah, the hard life of the travelling businessman.

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