Our walking tour began with a stop to arrange our meeting point which wound being the Place de la Bourse ("Stock Exchange Square") right on the Garonne River.
Once our meeting point was established, our group was given over 90 minutes of free time to explore the streets of Bordeaux. During this time, one the students, Payton Splittgerber, and I walked into a department store on a mission to purchase matching swim trunks so we could "twin" on the beach in Barcelona. So, me being a bigger guy grabbed the biggest size they could and headed for the fitting room. To my dismay, I found out that 1) European sizing is drastically different 2) I may have just tried on a child's XL (which may have explained why I couldn't get the waistband above my knees) 3) Matching swim trunks may not happen after all.
After the ridiculously entertaining shopping spree, we continued to explore the streets of Bordeaux. A few of us explored some dining options and enjoyed our last authentic French crepes. I tried a mini Bundy cake that had a crunchy, sweet crust with a pillowy soft texture that was very similar to a churro. While we finished dining, we once again grabbed food for another picnic style lunch that day. Some of us took the opportunity to explore a local market, an Aldi, and YES you have to put a coin in the car to use it in the store just like back home!
We bid farewell to Bordeaux and began the next leg of trip to Dune du Pilat, the largest sand dune in Europe. While many of travelers made the trek to the top of the dune, some of us stayed behind and took in the calm, tranquil setting within the wooded area leading up to the sand dune. Fun fact: it was A LOT of sand! The ones that were brave enough to xlimd to the top were rewarded by stunning views and the opportunity to walk down the far side of the dune to a beautiful beach. With that trip to the beach though, everyone was warned before they went that it would take approximately 30 minutes or more to climb back up the far side of the dune.
After playing in the sand, we boarded our tour buses and made our way to Biarritz, a luxurious and glitzy coastal town on the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic coast of the Pyrenees also known as Basque country. As we rolled into town, we drove past a Ferrari dealership, which served as an indicator for what type of small, sleepy coastal town we were in. During the free time we went to the beach where it was overcast, foggy, and nearly 52°F, but it didn't matter because it was nearly 30° cooler than it had been at Dune du Pilat earlier in the day. We did some window shopping, Mr. E nearly had a human car wash experience in a public water closet (restroom) because it was "self-sanitizing" restroom that cleaner itself, but mysteriously enough also shuts the lights off if you go to use too soon after the previous person. My small group stumbled upon a store that had been first established in 1853 that made high-end luggage and one of the pieces displayed in the window was priced at 8600€.
After Biarritz, we continued to our hotel for the night and enjoyed a Friday night dinner of baked white fish, rice and sauteed vegetables. Some of the students who are not fish fans decided to make the 100 yard trek to explore a more familiar dinner option: McDonalds.
The group settled in for a restful evening to recharge for the next leg of our adventure.
To be continued...
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