Foggy Bordeaux

Winter didn’t happen in Bordeaux this year. No snow, although snow is rare in Bordeaux in any case, but last year, we had at least two days where snow paralyzed the transit system. I guess even I’m tempted to say, “Spring is coming soon?”

Well, to be fair, there were two days last week where the temperature was slightly lower than the rest of the week, dropping to a low of approximately -3 degrees Celsius. During these two days, fog and mist wrapped Bordeaux in a sheet of translucent white. The air was particularly fresh, even though everywhere you went, fog followed you around and visibility was almost non-existent.

It was beautiful, as if I was seeing everything through a thin screen, a little blurry, a little eerie, a little intricate.

Enshrouded by the delicate mist as I was walking to work one morning, the exterior atmosphere was unusually yet pleasantly refreshing, even mildly invigorating.

Because I love Bordeaux

Last Wednesday I came back to Belgium for another section of my mobility scheme in my PhD project. All I could say about Belgium when I arrived: c…c…COLD!

Alright, I guess I shouldn’t be expecting gorgeous Bordeaux weather here in Louvain-la-Neuve. After all, from what I’ve heard, even the temperature in Bordeaux has started to drop. It seems like my second European winter is about to begin. I’m excited! No sarcasm here, Canadian girl <3s winter!

Of course, before the snow arrives, rain likes to knock on our door as an unwanted guest. For two days straight. Saturday and Sunday were spent rather dully in my residence as there was nothing but rain outside my window, though I did get some nice time to rest, unpack everything, and tidy up my place a bit. I was gonna start adventuring right away and try going to Dinant last Sunday, but when I woke up and saw the rain, that idea had to be completely scrapped, or at least delayed for another (few) week(s).

So what did I do? I rummaged through my external hard drive and realized how many pictures of Bordeaux I’ve taken during the summer. It’s been awhile since I’ve done a proper “Bordeaux” entry (this one doesn’t really count), and even longer since I’ve bothered with Louvain-la-Neuve, but I’m here for another 3 months, and I’ll certainly take Mr.Nikon out on a stroll when the sky is just a tiny bit sunnier. For now, let’s take a look at some of the scattered photos of Bordeaux that I’ve taken at various places in the city during the past few months. No theme, no category, just Bordeaux, just home.

This is what I see every time I look outside my window, offices behind glass windows at the Palais de Justice. I can wave and say hi to the people working across from me!

My room is cold

At one point during the night, I was shivering like mad in my room. That was why I dressed more warmly than needed today, although it was a brilliant 16 degrees Celsius outside. Note to self: 16 degrees Celsius is pretty warm.

If I were to describe what I’ve seen of Bordeaux so far in one word, it would be the word “elegance”. When talking to my friends, I’ve told them that there is an indescribable elegance that surrounds the atmosphere wherever I go, and I kind of like it. Elegance is once again the word I am going to use to describe the tramway system. It reminds me of a mini-TGV, fast (in terms of intra-city commute) and efficient. For 192 Euros a year I get unlimited travel within the Bordeaux public transportation system. Converting that into Canadian dollars using today’s exchange rate, that’s roughly $268 a year, which is around 5 times cheaper than what you’d be paying for TTC if you were to get a Metropass every month. Pretty sweet deal.

And yes, I finally have my first set of photos. The following sequence loosely describes my routine of the day.

This is a tram taken near the location of my future apartment. I love the sound of the gliding tram – so elegant. I apologize for the redundancy.