Saturday, May 16, 2009
We started our first official day in Bordeaux with a walking tour conducted by a tour guide from the Office of Tourism. The lady was a big fan of Americans and was overly excited to be giving us the tour. The group walked around the city and we saw highlights of the city just to get our feet wet and to familiarize ourselves with Bordeaux. In our tour we visited Place de la Bourse, The church of St Pierre, St. Catherine Street, the Grand Theatre and much more. The great thing about Bordeaux is that the architecture is different and not as gothic as other cities. It combines the new with the old smoothly. Place de la Bourse
Following the tour, some people from the group were interested in going to San Sebastian for the weekend to experience a little bit of Spain. I automatically jumped on board and got my backpack ready for this spontaneous day trip to Spain. The transit system in Europe is amazing. Just being able to board a train and to travel for a few hours and being in another country is brilliant. We headed to Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean to purchase our tickets. The trip ended up being only 52€. We also got lucky and were able to ride first class on the train.
After a two hour train ride we reached the Spanish-French border and got on a tram that took us to the Amara (San Sebastian-Donista) stop. It was now time to find a hostel. Oh boy… it was a mission. We walked all round the city trying to find an available hostel but luckily, we found one with exactly 6 beds which were for a reservation that cancelled half an hour before we arrived. The gentleman and hostel were great; it actually reminded me of being at my grandma’s house.
Spain was exactly what I needed… people who spoke my language and were hospitable. To end the evening we drank several pints of sangria and I had the chance to eat a real meal… steak, fries, and of course…rice! I really do miss rice. This meal is just what we needed to get ready for an upcoming busy day.
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