After checking out of our hotel, the delightful Grand Hôtel Français Bordeaux, Nancy and I hopped on the tram and rode to the Chartrons stop, which was right by the dock where we would join our ship for a Viking river cruise. On the side of the water was a reminder of the sordid side of Bordeaux’s darker history.
We’d previously enjoyed two Viking cruises on the Rhone (Lyon and Provence, from Lyon to Avignon) and the Danube (Regensburg to Budapest), and you can read my reports from those at the links. This was the aptly named Châteaux, Rivers & Wine cruise on the Garonne, the Dordogne, and the Gironde. We walked to the boat and dropped our bags, and turned our attention to the riverside market that springs up there every weekend, the Marché des Quais.
Others may be able to ignore local markets, but to me they are one of the shining glories of France. On our last trip to Paris but one we rented an apartment with a kitchen in the Marais just so we could take advantage of the glorious array of foods at the Marché Bastille every Thursday and Sunday. The kitchen was … let’s say less than I’d imagined, but I did manage to cook a creditable skate wing on the hot plate with the help of a lot of butter, and we also were able finally to get a roasted chicken and potatoes cooked in the dripping chicken fat.
There were several such rotisseries in the Bordeaux market, but I rejected the idea of a whole chicken before lunch, and passed over the other food I couldn’t properly store on board, as well as the canelés.
and Basque tartes
and much more. Then I came upon oysters, the famed oysters or Arcachon Bay!
This was an opportunity to enjoy the classic Bordeaux Breakfast before the fast-approaching lunch on board.
Ah, a baker’s half dozen oysters would be a mere snack, so I seized the day.
The wine UBY is a Gascon wine, and it proved cold and crisp, fresh and fruity, just the thing for oysters. The handful of tables were in great demand, but we managed one amid happy young people. What a delight! Wherever you go in France, be on the lookout for local markets.
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