Top five monuments in Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a beautiful city. With great difficulty I have picked five of my personal favourites, the ones you should see even if you come for a very short stay.

The first one is Place de la Bourse. It has become the symbol of the new Bordeaux.  Incredibly beautiful at night when the building is all lit up. The water mirror in front of it was inaugurated as late as 2006, but is already a modern classic. From this point you see out over the Garonne river and the beautiful walking area along the quays, where many newly renovated fronts are from the 17th century.

Grand théâtre is a masterpiece from the 17th century in newclassic style. Today it serves as the national opera. The front 12 pillars form an impressive entrance. Above them, there are 12 statues, the nine muses plus Minerva, Venus and Junon. The spectactors are led into the concert hall through a magnificent staircase.

Monument aux Girondins stands on Europe`s biggest place, place de Quinconces. It measures 43 metres with a statue of the angel of liberty breaking its chains on top. Further down on the side you see the female statues that symbolise Bordeaux, the river Garonne and the Dordogne region. On the other side you see a rooster, a symbol for France, together with two women, Retoric and History.  Below you see details of the statues.

But there are no statues of the Girondins? There should have been, but they ran out of money!

On the same place you will find two big statues of Montaigne and Montesquieu, two wellknown French philosophers.

I am no big church lover, but the Saint André cathedral is really special. Go inside and admire the enormous volumes and the beautiful ceiling decorations. It was built in the medieval ages in a gothic style. On the place next to the cathedral there are several nice cafés with big terasses. From the tower Pey Berland next to the cathedral you can enjoy a fantastic view over the city of Bordeaux. 

The cathedral is on the UNESCO world heritage list since long, together with the churches Saint Michel and Saint-Seurin. They were part of the pilgrim road to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in Spain. From the tower of Saint Michel the view is great. The building was started in the 13th century  and finished 200 years later.

Bordeaux has several beautiful city portals. The oldest and most wellknown, Saint Eloi, is called the Grosse Cloche, the Big Bell, after its impressive bell weighing close to 8000 kilos. Traditionally the bell would sound every time something important happened. 

Bordeaux has 347 classified historical monuments, so I hope you will enjoy discovering the other 342 monuments on you own!

The tourist office in Bordeaux is very competent and arranges many different guided tours, by foot, by buss, by train and by boat.

Photo Place de la Bourse and inside the Saint André cathedral Nathan Bergeron Flickr
Grand théâtre Wikipedia
Photo Monument aux Girondins Wikipedia
Photo Grosse Cloche: C. Sotomayor

Galette des rois, the king of cakes

I always look forward to January! We finally reach the season for the king of cakes, la galette des rois! This cake can be found in at least two basic versions, but my preferred one is with almond filling. You serve it slightly warm and watch out for the little fève, a porcelain figurine, hidden in it. The one who finds it, is rewarded with a golden paper crown and elected king or queen for the day! My children love this tradition! 

Here you see Björn with his royal crown. I just told him he wouldn't get any seconds... otherwise he would have looked happier.

What this is all about is the kings feast, fête des rois, or épiphanie. It occurs the 6th of January every year and celebrates the day the child Jesus was presented for three kings. Usually you find them from the 1st of January or even before Christmas - but that is off bounds, really!

This old tradition was seen already with the romans. In the beginning they put beans, fèves, in the cake, but 1870 the beans were replaced with porcelain figurines. The figurines can represent anything, from Disney  to cars or famous art. Our cake had a card with markers and poker written on it. Many bakeries sell them on the side, for those who make collections out of them.

There are two kinds of galette. One is like a brioche, med a hole in the middle, decorated with pearlsugar and filled with candied fruit. The other is made with several layers of puff dough with an almond filling, frangipane. The name of the filing comes from the italian who invented it, Frangipan. The cake on the picture is the second version and my personal favourite. I love that almond taste and those crispy layers.... so of course you believe me when I say I buy them to please the kids!

The other galette, more brioche. Looks prettier but I prefer the other!

Update: Clara got a crown when they had galette at school, so she wanted a photo in the blog too!

Everybody can surf, says Johanna

It's not as difficult to surf as many people think. Almost all beginners take a wave the first day, says my friend Swedish surf teacher Johanna. We use lightweight mousse boards and tandem boards, to facilitate for the beginner. The basque coast is one of the best places to start, because here you can always find a calmer spot.

Johanna is sporty and move with ease and energy. Her eyes twinkle when she gives me that bright, bronzed smile. She started her career with extreme ski competitions in the Alps. Then she went to Biarritz for vacation, met Christophe, a legendary surfer and fell in love. Now they are married and have a daughter.

I am now a certified surf teacher, continues Johanna. That took a big effort and I am very proud of myself for achieving this. Today I work together with Christophe in his surf school. We teach everybody, adults, teenagers and children. It is a fantastic sport where you have fun from day one and keep learning the whole time. I coach a team of women every Saturday, most of them in their forties. Afterwards we drink tea and chat..... pretty far from your stereotype surfer guy, right!

You find good surf waves the whole way along the Atlantic coast, but the best ones for beginners are on the basque coast. The coast is more curved and cut, so the currents are not so strong and you can always find a more protected bay. On the Landes coast, you find the real big waves and the tubes, the waves that roll over themselves - for real good surfers.

The waves are so great here because of the Biscaya bay, that leads them in here. Best spots are supposed to be in Hossegor in Landes and Biarritz on the basque coast.

Johanna's husband Christophe Reinhardt is a real surf star. His father invented surf in France and Christophe grew up on a surf board. He recommends a surf school, at least in the beginning, to learn the right technique from the start and to find the best spots for the day, depending on the weather conditions. Ask at the tourist office, you find a surf school on almost every beach!

Surf school in Bidart - where Johanna works with Christophe. Or contact the Tourist Office. And check her cool site Mamas Surf Club! She is organising a surf week for women only in June 2010 - to die for! Surf, yoga, massage, champagne and delicious French food...

Oyster love - my story

If you first associate oysters with something slimy, I don’t blame you. That was my first reaction too. But I was curious enough to try. I liked the salty smell of sea, but the taste and the texture was more... interesting. Why on earth is this considered a delicacy? Then I met my oyster loving husband. He always ordered oysters if it was on the menu. Having looked at him downing oysters for some time, I eventually asked to try one. Still tasted more slimy than nice. Sometime later I asked to try again and somehow I ended up ordering oysters for myself.

And not only enjoying them, but craving them. I would ask that we go to a restaurant where we were sure to find oysters. I later discovered that oysters contain a lot of goodies, like zinc and selenium, which we often lack in modern diets. I firmly believe my body identify these essential minerals and ask for them!

I will continue to explain how to order oysters and even how to prepare and eat them yourself! Oyster lovers, keep reading! Oyster photo from Wikipedia.

New year in Toulouse

New Year's Eve with our friends Armelle and Jean-François in Toulouse. Toulouse is not situated in Aquitaine, but belongs to the great Southwest France of excellent food. I was happy to hear that everybody would participate with a little something for the dinner, because this usually ends up with a sumptous dinner. And yes, that was what happended this time too! Now I am ready for weeks of soup and salad... or that's what I need anyway.  The only question is to know why I did not have to bring any food. Do they not trust Swedish cuisine?



Armelle had prepared a delicious cake with dried tomatoes, pistachoes and chorizo. The recipe came from a book by the blog Chocolat and Zucchini. Love that blog, love that cake!

We started out with a punch, a homemade cocktail with unknown content. From last year I had learnt, though, that it was quite strong, so I stuck to one serving... different appetizers materialized as we continued the aperitif and soon all were there, adults and children all together in a very happy and festive mood. The kids prepared their own dessert, the famous brochette de bonbons, candy sticks. They also prepared coco sweets with some coloring - looks nice, doesn't it!

Armelle had also made her own foie gras de canard à l'armagnac, duck liver with armagnac. Absolutely delicious! She has promised to teach me how to do it, so watch out for the documentary! The we had Lotte à l'Américaine, lotte stew with shrimps and mussels. Marvelous! Then followed one of the most tender rôti de boeuf I have ever tasted.  Luckily I had seen the impressive cheese plate before, so I made sure to save some space to try out the different cheese, one of France best inventions.  And how find a better way to end the year than pink champagne? Of course I write about the food. But the most important was to share this moment with real good friends. I wish them and everybody else a fantastic 2010!

Clay and cliffs in Guéthary

Guéthary is a small basque coastal village in Pays Basque that formerly lived on whalefishing. It was also known as a refuge for artists like Ravel and Debussy. Today it is a small tourist place that has kept all of the original charm.

My Swedish friend Lena said to me, I have moved around a lot and know many places in France, but this is the place I love best. I understand her. This old fishermen village has an immediate, raw charm with the typical basque houses, the steep streets and the cliffs. Lena first visited the region during her honeymoon. They then continued to travel there during their vacations for years before finally buying the old postal house in the centre. She used to be a shop owner, but longed more and more to explore her creative side. Lena had just turned 35 when she followed a one year pottery training in Nièvre. It is a fantastic area to work in, free and creative, she says. If I have my oven, I can work anywhere. 

Lena takes me around the village. From her place it takes us less than two minutes to reach a terass with a magnificient view over the sea. The sea is low, so we can see the cliffs and the stones, a calm sea with a few surfers out. On our right we see out over Bidart and the cliffy coast all the way to Biarritz. So beautiful!

When you come to Guéthary, don't miss her pottery store. She makes real beautiful things. Mostly utilitary things like teacups, plates and serving plates with soft and simple colors. The forms are pure but still elegant and they remind me of Swedish handicraft at its best.

Preferred places to eat: Number one, no doubt, is Le Madrid with superb food and terass with view over the ocean. Her favorite bar is Le Bar Basque. The hot spot with incredible view over the ocean is Heteroclito. Kafe Loco has international spices in their food. L'air TT serves regional food and tapas in the centre of the village. Three fish restaurants are gathered down at the seashore, Harotzen Costa, Txamara and Alcyons.  A very wellknown restaurant is Table des frères Ibarboure, but Lena finds it too stiff, even though the food is superb.

One beach is guarded during summer, Parmentia. It is the most visited and shared with neighbor village Bidart. From the lighthouse the men looked for the migrating whales. Once dead they were drawn up to the shore and cut up. The other two beaches, Cenitz and Alcyons, are not guardes, a bit rougher and here you find more of the people from the village.

Tourist office site
Surfer photo from Wikipedia.

Adding up 2009

When I look back at the year that passed, my best memories are simple. Spending time with my family or friends. Going to the beach, barbecue in the garden. Nothing spectacular at all. And still the best moments of the year.

My children on the Saint Girons beach

Picking stones at Hossegor

My cousins wedding dinner in our garden