Bayonne & Bordeaux

This weekend, I spent a fabulous couple of days in Bayonne (in SW
France, close to Spain), visiting a couple of missionaries I taught
in the MTC: Michaël Récio (left), and Charles Seube (right). It was really
cool experience to see them again and meet their family and
friends. I even got to meet Charles' beautiful fiancée. :)

For those of you who may know the purple socks story,
the purple ones aren't Charles' only cool pair. :)

This is Charles' dad, sporting his beret! Really, you don't see
that many berets around. He told me guys from from
Strasbourg (where's he from) wear them more frequently.

St. Michel (Bordeaux)
On Monday, I took advantage of seeing the beautiful city of Bordeaux
(the 5th largest city in France), where I would take my flight later that night.

I explored this fun little market.

Pont de Pierre, over the Garonne River.

Porte de Bourgogne

A beautiful view next to Place de la bourse.

Place de la bourse

Place de la bourse

Place de la bourse

On the river bank.

After Marseille, Bordeaux is the oldest trading port in
France. It has been a major port since pre-Roman times.

Love this.

Esplanade des quinconces

I was fortunate enough to discover Grand parc (my guidebook
didn't really talk about it). And one of the coolest things was this photography
exposition. I know that Americans appreciate art. But after my experiences in
Europe, I would say they have a greater appreciation for the arts in
general. And I think that's a wonderful thing.

For example, Sunday was the fête de la musiqe (music holiday/
celebration). Anyone who wants to play music, whether amateur or expert,
can go play music in their city for others to hear. And then everyone else
gets to go around and listen. It's a huge deal. This is an event that the French
started back in the early 80's, and it has since become widespread
in all of Europe. That's awesome.

Inside the park.

Lots of people were relaxing in the park during their lunch break.

I love European parks.

Trucks are a rare sight in Europe. :)

Grand Théâtre

Eglise Notre-Dame

(I wish I had a better camera, so I could get
the church all in one shot. One day...)

St Pierre

I went on a treasure hunt in search of a canelé, a
pastry Bordeaux is famous for. And I found one! :)

St. André

Vive la France! :) How I'm going to miss it...

Sorry for all the pictures. I'm usually not for long blog posts,
but I just couldn't pick and choose between all the beautiful sights
I saw in Bordeaux...I wanted to share them all with you!