Not at all bored and Bordeaux

So, on Saturday 30th March, at 8.20am, I got on my first train that would take me part of the way to the delightful city of Bordeaux where my beloved Anna would be joining me for Easter bank holiday weekend frivolities.

Mildly- to rather-interesting moments from the previous week:
1. A particularly entertaining three hour badminton session on Tuesday
2. Watching Disney Films in French
3. A 20 minute run on Wednesday which nearly killed me. I repeated the same run on Friday (in the spitting rain, such dedication) and did much better, at least on the functioning-lungs front.
4. On Thursday, I "participated" in my first ever strike. That is to say, the canteen staff were striking from 13h30 until 14h30 in protest of not being granted funds to pay for another member of staff, and the teachers decided to tag along for 'moral support' and since they had nothing to do because they couldn't have lunch... It really made me laugh which I don't think impressed some teachers who were taking it all very seriously - there was a parked car playing up-beat music out of a stereo, and there was a microphone being passed around the teachers, some of whom started singing along to the song lyrics! #al fresco karaoke. Typical France.
5. Friday, I got a call from a man at badminton asking me to play for the club in a badminton match next Tuesday! I was so chuffed! Let's just hope I don't mess it up now...

Bordeaux Stock Exchange buildings

So yes, back to Bordeaux! Anna and I were joyfully re-united at the station, and we set off for a spot 'o lunch at Paul's and a good old gossip until the hotel would let us in. After taking a moment pour reposer, we set off to explore Bordeaux. The city is an up-river port (sadly I didn't get to see the sea at any point), and to access the main part of the city we ambled along the river side, appreciating the fresh air, grand buildings in sandy stone rising majestically to our left, and each other's scintillating conversation and updates about Assistantship life.

Classic French architecture, plus
a nice clock (with date etc.) and a bell

The typical postcard image of Bordeaux is (I am reliably informed) the picture of the Bourse (Stock Exchange) buildings. In front of them is a square, slightly set into the ground, which is usually filled with some water to reflect the Bourse, and some smoke; sadly it was having a day off, it seemed. Typical France. The old buildings themselves were rather nice, however, particularly when lit up as we walked back to the hotel in the evening. Other nice buildings in Bordeaux included several arches, one housing a beautiful clock (reminding me of the one in Rouen) and bell. To the side of this particular clock, there was a beautiful church which we stuck our heads in to. Regrettably, they had just finished Easter Sunday service when we were passing by, and we took the turning off of the lights as the sign that they wanted us to leave. What I managed to see though was lovely.

A basket of flowers!

For the most part, however, Bordeaux is full of shops. Street upon street of famous brands, Anglo-American and French side by side. We found several churches and/or cathedrals, I never was sure which was which, none of which were as impressive as other ones that I have seen (I'm a cathedral connoisseur, remember!), and beside two of them there were large stone spikes. I'm not sure why, and haven't yet done any research. Take it as a personal challenge to do so yourself. On the top of one was a statue of the Virgin Mary and Jesus in gold, which was rather impressive. We also found two very nice parks, one beside the Mie Caline (which can be translated as 'The Affectionate Crumb', classic French embellishment of what is essentially a bakery chain) where we wangled a baguette, a pain au chocolat or cookie, and a can of fizzy something for a tidy 4€, cheeky; the other was slightly further afield, but we stumbled across a not too shabby fountain and pillar/statue thing on our way, full of enthusiastic joggers and cyclists, not to mention inventive flower arrangements and plantations.

L'Entrecote is clearly the place to eat!
Look at the queue!

On our wanderings, we also came across a miracle: French people queuing. Sorry, I should have warned you to sit down before releasing this bomb-shell. Although, to be frank, I have found that French people have no difficulties with the concept of queuing, and I just thought I would try and use a stereotype to be funny. On a serious note, the restaurant they were queuing to go into is apparently one of the best chains in France, and the queue was of a significant size.

Thanks to Anna's brilliance (or maybe just her prior knowledge...) we ate on both Friday and Saturday night in a quality restaurant, getting a bargain three courses for only 14€ (about £11). And yes, on Saturday we were indeed asked if we had not also eaten there the night before! On Friday I started with moules marinieres (mussels), then had magret de canard en sauce poivre (duck in a peppercorn sauce), finished off with ice-cream filled profiteroles. Nom nom nom. Saturday involved soup, then steak and chips (my order of 'medium' being interpreted as 'rare' to the extent that the middle was slightly cold, but when in Rome / Bordeaux...), then profiteroles again. I also didn't kick up a fuss because I'm British. Then again, Anna and I went for a hot chocolate, and the menu gave two sizes: grand or maxi. We both ordered 'grand' and were given 'maxi'. Upon paying, I challenged that I shouldn't have to pay for maxi when I ordered grand. The man behind the till seemed to agree, before printing off a new receipt which gave exactly the same total as before. We coughed up. At least it was speaking practice... I also gave directions to a man to tell him where the nearest boulangerie was. Desperate times when the British start helping the French find their fresh-baguette sources.

A final highlight of which I shall enlighten you thus, was the Jean Moulin museum that we visited. I would also

Map of a section of France, the markings
are cases of harassment or guerilla-warfare
from resistance members.

go into great detail about the Musee des Beaux Arts, but it was almost entirely closed apart from about 30 not particularly good paintings which I could have done myself. Maybe. If I tried. Anyhoo, Anna and I had studied France during WWII (i.e. being occupied) for our French A-Level (with the most wonderful Ms Solomons who deserves recognition even though I doubt she will ever read this blog), and the museum was incredible. It brought back my knowledge of the subject, gave me insight into things I previously knew nothing about, and subjected me to a vigorous French workout since none of the information had English translations. The topic of France's occupation, collaboration and resistance is a difficult subject to broach anywhere, not least in the country itself. It is really a question for historians, but suffice to say there is evidence pointing towards collaboration, and evidence suggesting resistance (even if it was 'merely' distributing leaflets). As an outsider, I can't really, and don't feel it is appropriate to, comment on how French people feel when faced with the question of how their relatives acted in occupied France. Nonetheless, it is a question we can all ask ourselves: if I had been in an occupied country, would I have tried to fight back? Or would I have just got on with my daily life and kept my head down?

With that poignant (and ultimately impossible-to-answer) question in your minds, I shall wish you all a bonne semaine. I myself have three days of teaching (one day of which consists a single measly hour) before I hit the weekend and have to face up to the fact that I have only one week of teaching left. Frightening. Bonne nuit.