{"id":71,"date":"2013-06-30T19:31:50","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T02:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/?p=71"},"modified":"2013-07-31T10:01:00","modified_gmt":"2013-07-31T17:01:00","slug":"day-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/day-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 1"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"OLYMPUS<\/p>\n

\"TGV4\"<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS<\/p>\n

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TGV<\/strong>\u00a0high speed train Paris to\u00a0Bordeaux + sightseeing walking tour of Bordeaux<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

9 am<\/strong>\u00a0Black Cab taxi from Paris apartment to Gare Montparnasse<\/strong> train station\u00a0go
\n<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>The train station is on the left bank of Paris within minutes of our\u00a0apartment\u00a0location but it\u2019s drizzly, we are on a tight schedule, so we decide on a cab to\u00a0insure a\u00a0timely arrival –\u00a0\u00a0but it takes\u00a0longer to get there by taxi due to construction and one way traffic. We stress,\u00a0but do make it in time.<\/p>\n

10:46 am<\/strong>\u00a0TGV\u00a0high speed train\u00a0<\/strong>Paris to Bordeaux\u00a0go<\/a><\/strong>
\nAlong with other ticket holders, we sit in a glass front waiting room until boarding is announced 15 minutes before departure.\u00a0There is a moment of panic as we can\u2019t find our train car, people\u00a0are rushing,\u00a0assistance is negligible. We find the car and struggle to find luggage space before\u00a0settling in for the ride.\u00a0Once under way we are very quickly in the country side. Meadows, fields\u00a0of yellow, small villages rush by. Ride is smooth, fast, a bit boring. Picture taking impossible.<\/p>\n

\"ParisBordeaux2\"\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>309 miles\/497 km in\u00a03.5 hours<\/p>\n

2:32 pm<\/strong>\u00a0arrive\u00a0Gare de Bordeaux-Saint-Jean\u00a0<\/strong>train station\u00a0go
\n<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>We grab a\u00a0cab to the hotel only to find out we could have taken the tram (excellent\u00a0system in Bordeaux). Cheaper, faster, easier, only 6 short stops\u00a0and would have\u00a0dropped us at the hotel door. Live and learn.<\/p>\n

4 pm<\/strong>\u00a0check into\u00a0Hotel<\/strong>\u00a0Hotel de Normandie<\/strong>\u00a0go<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Location,\u00a0location, location! Great travellers hotel. Right in the heart of 18th century\u00a0Bordeaux – near tourist bureau, trams, waterfront, main square,\u00a0everything.\u00a0Staff very helpful. Our room on second floor has high ceilings with big windows\u00a0facing the Alles de Tourney. Although built in the 18th\u00a0century, the\u00a0hotel has been renovated: bath has latest innovations, there\u2019s WiFi, a\u00a0comfortable working area, lots of closet space. We make ourselves\u00a0at home.<\/p>\n

5 pm<\/strong>\u00a0walk around downtown and gawk at everything
\nBordeaux is very walkable. We explore the Esplanade des Quinconces,\u00a0the Grand Theatre, the\u00a0Grand Hotel, weaving through the side streets before\u00a0deciding it is time to eat.<\/p>\n

7 pm<\/strong>\u00a0dinner\u00a0Aflo Restaurant<\/strong>,\u00a020 All\u00e9e de Tourny\u00a0go<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>
\nThe desk\u00a0clerk recommends a place for dinner – we try but can\u2019t get in without a\u00a0reservation. We amble down a few doors, read the menu at the Aflo\u00a0and decide to\u00a0dine there. Still early for\u00a0dinner but we\u2019ve\u00a0had no lunch. We share two plates, a marvelous vegetable salad and a fish\u00a0entr\u00e9e – both delicious. A good decision.<\/p>\n

stay\u00a0Hotel de Normandie<\/strong>\u00a0go<\/a><\/strong>
\nFall asleep immediately – been a full day.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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    TGV\u00a0high speed train Paris to\u00a0Bordeaux + sightseeing walking tour of Bordeaux 9 am\u00a0Black Cab taxi from Paris apartment to Gare Montparnasse train station\u00a0go The train station is on the left bank of Paris within minutes of our\u00a0apartment\u00a0location but it\u2019s drizzly, we are on a tight schedule, so we decide on a cab to\u00a0insure a\u00a0timely arrival […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funoftravel.com\/bargecruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}