Bordeaux

    I first heard the name Bordeaux as a kid, long before I came to France, as a shade of red ink so named for its similarity to the colour of the famous red wines of the region. As I walked through the streets on the first afternoon, sheltered under my umbrella with rain pummeling down all around me, the empty slippery streets littered with piles of garbage and the damp walls of brick and stone gave me a feeling that the city had not yet rid itself of the nickname "La Belle Endormie", Sleeping Beauty. The city had earned the backhanded compliment for the mold and the black soot of pollution that covered the walls and veiled the beauty of the carved facades that decorate almost every building in the old town. But the next morning, as the sun slipped out of the clouds, the city seemed to wake up and shrug off that moniker. The rows of white walls shimmered in the morning sun, the cobble-stoned streets clicked with their distinctive sound under the feet of the morning walkers and the air buzzed with the noise from the local market, Capucin, which served the gastronomic with fresh produce and meat. Around 15 years ago, the city council took firm actions to revive the city. Streets and walls were bleached white, with citizens being taxed or fined to spruce up their house facades. With tramways set up, cycle lanes marked, and the signs 'ma ville' plastered all over town to bolster local pride, the newer eco-friendly Bordeaux soon took on a new title- "La perle d'Aquitaine", the pearl of Aquitaine. 
    

(image from wiki)

One of the bigger cities of France, situated on the banks of the river Garonne,  Bordeaux derives its name from an ancient Celtic tribe that inhabited the region around 300 B.C. The port city is the state capital of Aquitaine. Like most other regions of Europe, the history of Bordeaux has an imprint marked by ancient Rome. 107 B.C. saw the Battle of Burdigala, where a group of Germanic tribes gained victory over the Roman legions in an ambush, inspiring similar uprisings in other areas of Gaul. Bordeaux (or as it was known at the time, Burdigala) finally fell under the Roman rule in 60 B.C. and became the capital of Gallia Aquitania, one of the regional provinces of Rome occupied France. Remains of a Roman amphitheater dating to the 3rd century can still be found in Palais Gallien (pictured). Throughout the first millenium, Bordeaux saw invasions and plundering by Vandals, the Visigoths (who are the Goths from the west but live in the east in relation to the Gauls), the Adalusian Moors and the Vikings.

    The marriage of the Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine in the 12th century to Henry, Duke of Normandy, the soon-to-be king of England raised the importance of Aquitaine region, and with it, of Bordeaux. Perhaps as a result, for the majority of the hundred years war, until 1453, Bordeaux remained under English control. I was particularly thankful for this little piece of history, because the heritage has carried on to make Bordeaux more favourable towards the English language. In four days in the city, I met about ten people able to speak good English, about eight more than I have come across in Poitiers. Not to mention the multitude of English/Irish pubs with names like 'The Charles Dickens, 'The Sherlock Holmes' and 'The Frog and the Rosbif'. 
    

    The city is littered with 'portes' or gateways built in the following centuries, and while to my untrained eye they did not stand out as very dissimilar from one another, each gateway was accompanied by its own tiny piece of historical nugget. Porte Dijeaux was constructed at a location where a temple to Jupiter stood in the Roman era (hence the derivative of the name di-Jou), Porte de Grosse Cloche was the city's bell tower, ringing to signal public ceremonies and warnings and Porte Cailhau (pictured left) which stands along the river quay was the main entry to the city, built in 1495 to commemorate a victory of Charles VIII against Italians. Remains of the ramparts extending from this gate can still be seen, on which were stationed crossbowmen to protect  against attacks from the riverside. 

    As with most French cities, Bordeaux has its own set of impressive cathedrals. And nowhere is the recent past more evident than in the Cathedral of Saint-André, which is in the process of being cleaned. Sections of the cathedral show the signs of having witnessed five centuries of history, and yet probably none have done it as much damage as the last. But there is still hope for this and other monuments around the lovely continent, for the polished sections seem to be bringing out the hidden beauty with which these cathedrals originally started out. As with many other cathedrals I have witnessed in Poitiers and Bordeaux, this one is also bare on the inside, with barely nothing adorning the walls and with little signs of the ostentatious wealth that one often associates with Catholic churches. A climb on to the adjoining Tower of Pay Berland gave me a fantastic view of this port city from high above the ground, and from where the cathedral is much more impressive, with the fine structures running down along the sides leaving me to wonder whether I should praise the architects or the engineers. Saint-Pierre, Notre Dame, Sainte-Croix, Saint-Michael are some of the other vast cathedrals that adorn this city, built in various Romanesque and Gothic styles, some even a mix of both as they have undergone repairs and renovations over the centuries. 

(image from wiki)

    Walking up north along the quay lead me to monuments for martyrs from more recent history - the Girondins massacared in the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. Erected at the turn of the 19th century, the monument (pictured left) has Lady Liberté standing atop a tall tower with intricately carved statues surrounding the base. The Place de la Bourse, constructed in the 1750s has a thin mirror of water in front of the building, producing an exquisite reflection best seen past the setting sun when the building is lit up in multitude of colours. As a long line of similarly minded people queued up beside me waiting for the perfect moment with blue skies and yellow green lights, I was not the only enthusiastic photographer who had seen the photo on the internet. Another sight to be seen at twilight is the Opera National or Grand Theater of Bordeaux, with statues of the nine muses and the three famous godesses of Greek mythos lining its terrace. 

    

(image from wiki)

    By the end of the day, after a tiring day of walking the streets, it was time to sample the local specialties. Canelé, a local pastry is supposedly best made in Bordeaux. Shaped like a baker's hat and made from egg, sugar, milk and flour, this dessert with a  tender center and a thick crust was a tasty delight. I pondered long and hard as the bite reminded me of something from back home in India and it was not until about 20 minutes after the last  bite that the answer struck me - the South Indian Ghee Appam. 

    But it is not the beautiful buildings of Bordeaux that give it its global fame. That comes from the rich wines of the region. I tried a glass of red wine from the nearby Médoc region, but am too ignorant in the art of wines to comment on it. I am neither a connoisseur of wines, nor do I really like them. But to end an article on Bordeaux without a reference to its wine would be sacrilege. A survey of the wine-map that lay on the table showed the numerous varieties that were produced all over the region. Someday, maybe a year later, if I ever learn the fine art of wine tasting, I will be sure to revisit the place and take one of the many available tours of the vineyards around the regions. 


Note: I am not a historian and do not claim any accuracy on the details included in my articles. My sources include the plaques at the monuments, museum labels, information from the locals, tourism websites, blogs and other online sources (including wikipedia).