Short diary on board : June 2011

A little diary on board to share with you my experience as a professionnal guide in Bordeaux area - june 2011

Daytrip along the estuary and discovering the roman site called Le Fâ - welcoming a charming belgian group for learning about Bordeaux history through the different districts and major religious buildings

Tuesday 7th June 2011 : Lecture about Talmont and the Gallo-Roman site du Fâ

I would like to thank my colleague Laurence for having invited me to join this small group. What a wonderful day ! The excursion was organised by the Kairinos association which organises cultural excursions and conferences throughout the year.

Even though we are a long way off revealing everything on the site du Fâ it is already being said by specialists in the field that this could become one of the 5 main archaeological gallo-roman sites in France. May the teams continue to uncover the remains of the port !

We found a good address for eating – the auberge des Monards at Barzan, excellent value for price! I would recommend it.

Tuesday 14th June 2011 : a belgian group discovering Saint Michael basilica

Today was a day for a lovely group of Belgians. They had come to explore the farthest corners of Bordeaux in a couple of days. The start of their pleasure was visiting the Saint Michel district with its basilica. The end of the day caught them at the foot of the disappeared ramparts under the Grosse Cloche talking about the legend of the basilica of the rue de mirail just opposite. To be continued tomorrow …

Wednesday 15th June 2011 : a belgian group found of medieval Bordeaux

Still tackling the streets of Bordeaux, we looked at the urban evolution from the Middle Ages up to the modern day and then onto the Pey-Berland district and the secrets of our beautiful cathedral Saint-André. Not only was my Belgian public in awe of the magnificent paintings but so was I. The first was by Gerrit Van Hontorst who mastered the technique of “chiaroscuro” which was later used by Georges de La Tour. This painting is really surprising, Pilate is sentencing Christ at a table but the light doesn’t come from the candle placed on the table – it radiates from Christ’s tunic. The second painting of impressive proportions is by Jordaens, one of the leaders of the Dutch school.

The last visit of the day was reserved for the Chartreux Saint Bruno Church. Off the beaten tracks this church is often overlooked by tourists, but its well restored frescos make it worth a detour. I’m sure my group wouldn’t deny this but they were really surprised to find 2 small masterpieces of 17th century sculpture attributed to Bernini father and son !

Thursday 16th June 2011 : Discovering Bordeaux highlights

We close our tour of Bordeaux with the classic Bordeaux tour. All the districts bear witness to the opulence of the town during the 18th century – “the Golden Century”. On the programme for the day, the Grand Theatre, the Notre Dame Church, the Cours de l’intendance, the Place de la Bourse, the Place Gambetta...