On The Road: Paris Year Abroaders Take on Bordeaux
By Andrea Finlay, Sciences Po Paris, France
With university classes and exams finished, it was only right for the year abroad team in Paris to start our adventures around French cities.
As the end of april fast approached us, so did the end of exams and assessments. So it was only natural for my friends and I to celebrate by taking a short weekend trip to Bordeaux.
With a return train jounry costing us 25€ and hostels 15€ a night, the trip was extremely easy and inexpensive to plan. We took the slower train from Paris TGV station to Bordeaux Saint Jean. It was the furtherst south that we had ventured whilst on our year abroad so naturally we were expecting some French Riveria sunshine. Instead, it rained the entire weekend but that was not goint to dampen our spirits!
Bordeaux’s extensive list of art and history museums also rivalled those of Paris (although not quite). We spent our first morning in the Galerie des Beaux-Arts to escape the thunderstorms outside. The museum displayed some beautiful fine art exhibitions and seemingly attracted a large number of drawers and artists who were sketching some of the paintings for themselves.
Finally, the rain let up and the sunshine came out. As almost native French citizens, naturally this called for an apéro on the main square.
For our one and only evening in Bordeaux, we decided to sample some of the traditional Bordelaise cuisine. Magret de Canard et Pommes de Terrers Sarladaise…or duck and potatoes for you and me. We were all pleasantly surprised at the liveliness in the city centre for a Wednesday evening. All restaurants and bars were full with students and locals despite the not-so-warm May temperatures.
The following day, after a pleasant nights sleep in our super cheap hostel, we set off again. Weather-wise, we were much luckier with a nice sunshine showing off the true beauty of the city.
Our final cultural destination was an immersive light exhibition in the abandoned dockyards along the riverbank. The exhbition was free for under 25 year olds, as with most cultural monuments in France, and we spent over two hours inside the exhibition.
The exhibition displayed Van Gogh’s paintings with light and music. The reflection of the paintings in the water made the experience extremely beautiful to witness.
And finally, it was time to get the train back up North to Paris. As we made our way back to Bordeaux St Jean, the sun finally broke out and really made Bordeaux shine.
One of the main benefits of a year abroad is the ability to discover new cities and not only the one that you are living in. The entire weekend was inexpensive and a lot of fun but also opened our eyes to other cities in France.
