Like I promised, here is the part two of my spring travels! For the long Easter weekend, my boyfriend and I drove to southern France, about a five hour drive from where we live in Spain. Besides Portugal (and Spain, obviously) it’s really the only choice you have if you want to drive somewhere.
The weather continued to be beautiful, and with the exception of taking the tram for the five-minute ride into the city, we were able to walk everywhere we went. By the end of the weekend we were comfortable enough with the tram system to hop on and off depending on where we wanted to go.
Friday was a big touristy day for us, and we did a big loop around the city, which featured the cathedral, the Tour Pey-Berland, the Museum of Fine Arts, a couple of other churches (one the Notre Dame of Bordeaux), the most famous squares (de la Bourse and Gambetta), the theater and the Parliament. Pictures are below, in that order.
View from the top of the tower.
The Bordeaux version of Notre Dame…yes, the Paris version is much more impressive. 😉
There were also “doors” of the city at various points which had once been connected to the (now long gone) old city wall.
We tried the most famous pastry of Bordeaux, called “canelés” because they have a crusty layer of cinnamon on the outside but are undercooked on the inside. Kind of like French toast in a way. ‘Canel’ means cinnamon in French.
On Sunday before returning to Spain, we made a stop in the beach city of Arcachon. Although it was a bit chilly while we were there, it was easy to see the charm it must have in the summer months. With two piers and a ferris wheel, it must be picturesque in the summer time, especially because the beach is easily accessible from the town center.
Not a bad way to spend spring vacation, if I do say so myself! Although I came home exhausted and not at all rested up for the start of school again, I consider (and always consider) it to be completely worth it. It’s my preferred way of spending any time off I have, and I feel very grateful to be able to do what I love.