Paris and Bordeaux

May 17, 2012: After picking up our rental car, we zipped around Paris with no problem. When traffic wasn’t standstill, Chris had a blast because he’s just as crazy of a driver as any Parisian. Soon enough, we met our Airbnb hosts in Paris. Airbnb is the same program that we use to rent out our guest bedroom over SXSW each year and we’ve found that paying to stay with a local can be much more fun and much less expensive than getting a hotel. It can also be more exciting. When we got to our hosts’ apartment, we noticed an abundance of erotic shops nearby and later learned that we were staying in the red light district of Paris. It actually ended up being a fairly convenient location and we didn’t mind at all. Our hosts were also super helpful at answering questions. My favorite was regarding what a “hammam” was. We saw a plethora of them around the neighborhood and learned that a hammam is typically just a steam room. But apparently in that part of Paris, these grimy public baths with saunas and hot tubs are usually crawling with swingers. We chose not to investigate what it was like first-hand but found it amusing nonetheless.

Chris and I were easily able to see the major sights in Paris in just a couple days: Le Tour Eiffel, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, etc. We also wandered the city and got a good feel for Parisian living. 

One night we went to Crazy Horse. We wanted to see at least one cabaret show while in Paris, but tickets to Moulin Rouge and all the other big shows were absurdly expensive. We managed to get discounted “same day standing room only” tickets for Crazy Horse and luckily enough, ended up on some really comfortable bar stools. The best part was that the stools elevated us so we could see perfectly. We were in the back, but the theater wasn’t very big and we were seated right in the center. Also, a photographer let us have a keepsake photo for free. We told her in our best French that we loved the pictures she took but couldn’t afford them, and she sweetly told us not to worry about it. This was an interesting contrast to how she reacted to a couple American girls that we met in line for the show. The two girls were clearly sorority girls that hadn’t changed much since graduation. Although they were really nice to us (even shared their champagne with us), they didn’t know a word of French and ordered the waiters around in English. I was mildly embarrassed just to be talking to them because I could tell how put off the staff was by them. When the girls saw the photograph Chris and I had gotten taken, they complained that no one had taken their picture and asked me to call the photographer over, but I hadn’t expected the sorority girls to fuss at the photographer and felt terrible when they started doing it. The photographer held her own though and briskly walked off. Later that night after the show was over, I found her and thanked her for everything – I hope she realized that we weren’t with those girls and that we certainly didn’t advocate the rudeness or cultural ignorance that the two of them shared.  The next day was our last in Paris and we began our journey southwest toward Bordeaux.

For all the major city to city travelling we did on this trip, we chose to take the toll roads. Even though they were quite expensive, they were well worth it. We consistently got to our destinations in good time with no traffic. It also helped that all the drivers there simply drove in the right lane and only used the left lane for passing. Hypothetically that’s supposed to happen here in the U.S. too but it never does. I honestly can’t think of a time I drove down an interstate without getting stuck behind two cars going the same speed side by side. But apparently the French are capable of living without that stupidity. Typically everyone maintained a constant speed in a single lane just at the speed limit and if they chose to pass, they would spend only a few seconds in the left lane before immediately returning to the right lane. Never once did we see anyone hog the left lane and for this reason traffic flowed incredibly smoothly. It was fantastic.

On the way to Bordeaux, we stopped at Château de Chambord which is the largest castle in the Loire Valley. It looked like something right out of a fairytale. Chris and I spent a good amount of time just standing on the balcony and looking out beyond the castle grounds.

It was fun pretending to be royalty from the 16^th century, but it was getting late so we hopped back in our rented Volkswagen Golf and within a few hours arrived at the home of Airbnb host #2 in suburban Bordeaux. This host was an absolute sweetheart. Her name was Steph and we really hit it off. When we said we wanted to see downtown Bordeaux, she went with us and we briefly met up with some of her friends. Unfortunately they were ready to call it a night when we had finally found them, but two of the guys stayed back. One of them, a DJ, suggested we go to an after party that he had exclusive access to. So Chris and I proceeded to follow him, Steph, and the other guy in the group (who also happened to be stoned out of his mind). We eventually arrived at a bar and before going in, the DJ started talking to some strangers outside the entrance. One of these guys started conversing with me and Chris about how awesome America was and how he had lived there for awhile. He also mentioned an ex-wife and estranged children. I felt bad for him, his entire persona was that of a washed up rock star that was now old and alone. At some point, too shaky to roll his own joint, he shoved the supplies into Steph’s hands and asked her to roll it. She did as he asked, but unsure of whom to return it to, ended up handing it to the DJ. At some point we finally went inside the club, although I’m not sure what was holding us up in the first place - wish I understood French better. To our disappointment, what we saw when we went in was simply an empty bar. The bartenders were putting things away and looked like they were almost done cleaning up. Some after party! The DJ started conversing with the bartenders, but Chris and I didn’t really understand what was going on so we waited. Meanwhile, shaky rock star came in and asked the DJ for his joint back, but the DJ pretended he didn’t have it so the rock star left. All the while, I didn’t have a good feeling about the place and was ready to go. I stood with Steph as the DJ tried unsuccessfully to hit on her.  The rock star came back and before I could comprehend what was happening, he had flipped a switchblade out right in front of me and had it pointed at the DJ. Chris pulled me back as I stood there confused and the DJ returned the stolen joint before the rock star was dragged out of the bar. At that point, Steph came to the same conclusion we did - it was time to go and the three of us left. Chris and I later came to learn that the two guys we followed to the club that night were just random people her friends had met that very same night. We shouldn’t have gone with them in the first place but luckily things worked out alright.

The next day, Chris and I went to Saint-Émilion and did some wine tasting. It was supposed to be our last night in Bordeaux, but Steph insisted we stay another night for free so we could see the Atlantic coast. We agreed and that night, we parked on the street in front of her place.  The next morning, the car that was in front of our car was missing and in its place was shattered glass and skid marks. The store front next to the missing car was also destroyed. We came to learn that at some point in the night, a driver went through the T intersection we were parked on and instead of turning right or left, crashed head first into the car in front of us, totaling it and pushing it onto the sidewalk and through the store window. Our car was left with a tiny scratch on the bumper, but it could have been far worse… the parked car belonged to Steph’s friend.

Since there wasn’t much else we could do, we drove to Lacanau and admired the Atlantic from the European side. It was brisk and windy, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the view and having some delicious seafood. That night, Steph made dinner and we hung out with some of her friends. All in all, it was a really nice and relaxing way to conclude a crazy time in Bordeaux.