Sunday 19th May - Cultural Issues
One often reads reports of how the French are very protective of their language and culture. Where does this fit in?
We are going to sit on the terrace but it starts to rain just as we sit down, prompting a switch to under the canopy. We linger long enough over our drinks for the rain to stop.
On our ramble through the flea market this morning we passed some interesting looking restaurants including Le Rizana which specialises in tagine dishes. We decide to try it for lunch and are delighted with our choice. 
According to the master plan today is our day to visit Saint Emilion in the vineyards to the east of
Bordeaux. However we enjoyed the market so much that we decided that another visit would be in order. As it does not open on Mondays today has to be the day. T'will be wine tomorrow if we are spared. It is cooler and cloudier this morning, with a forecast of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
One benefit of this late change of plan are that we get one more tram ride out of the 48-hour tickets. This has brought our average cost per ride down to €0.67. Transport Bordeaux will apparently advertise anything. 
It also means that we can have a look at the Sunday morning flea market in the Place Canteloup. D needs to find a single wine glass to replace the one he broke while washing up but nothing suitable is found.
We console ourselves with coffee at a pavement cafe before heading down to the market hall. We discover that we were mistaken yesterday and we actually had our oysters at Chez Christophe, a mirror image of Chez Jean-Mi on the opposite side of the market entrance. CJM has a queue so we go back to CC. R has recently created a rule about no wine before 11 a.m. We push this pretty close as we find our seats at the counter. It will be so sad to go back to days without oysters.
Then we get into some serious provender shopping. Fruit, vegetables, Spanish tortilla, croquettas and an empanada. Supper will be delightful. The market actually has more customers than yesterday although a few stalls are closed. After the market we plan to visit what remains of the city's 14th Century ramparts. Regrettably they are closed. D'effondrement is not part of our limited French vocabulary and we have to look it up. It means 'cave-in' or 'collapse'.
Then we get into some serious provender shopping. Fruit, vegetables, Spanish tortilla, croquettas and an empanada. Supper will be delightful. The market actually has more customers than yesterday although a few stalls are closed. After the market we plan to visit what remains of the city's 14th Century ramparts. Regrettably they are closed. D'effondrement is not part of our limited French vocabulary and we have to look it up. It means 'cave-in' or 'collapse'.Noon approaches and it must be aperitif time. The tipple of choice for Bordeaux sophisticates is Lillet. R gives it the thumbs up. Those who are less sophisticated go for beer.
We are going to sit on the terrace but it starts to rain just as we sit down, prompting a switch to under the canopy. We linger long enough over our drinks for the rain to stop.On our ramble through the flea market this morning we passed some interesting looking restaurants including Le Rizana which specialises in tagine dishes. We decide to try it for lunch and are delighted with our choice. The vine leaves are stuffed with rice and preserved lemons and are the best we have ever had. We ordered a chicken and potato tagline but we're actually delivered lamb. Once again it was delicious and the quantity just right.
We have to shell out for one last tram ride home before enjoying a lazy late afternoon. Supper is the goodies that we bought at the market. Who knew that a Chorizo Empanada could be that good.
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