Renovation project - European road trip - first stop Bordeaux, France

Renovation project - European road trip - first stop Bordeaux, France

The last couple of days have flown by, I’m not really sure what we have done, but I know we haven’t stopped. But today is the big day we are heading off on our trip around Portugal.

We are driving from Brittany; this will be a 3 day, 2 night drive and is one of our favourite parts of any holiday.

If you ever get a chance to do a road trip in Europe this is one we will highly recommend. A night in Huelgoat, then on to Bordeaux, a stopover in Spain, this time we will be staying in Valladolid, then on to Lisbon, followed by some time on the Algarve moving onto Coimbra and ending up in central Portugal before driving back through Spain and France.

The scenery is amazing on this trip, especially as you are driving through different countries, climates and experiencing different cultures. but one of the reasons it is so enjoyable, is the roads. They are well maintained and mainly traffic free, it really is a drivers dream.

Our first stop is Bordeaux, this is without doubt one of our favourite French cities, it is a lot smaller than Paris, but I personally think it is just as beautiful.

The hotels can be very expensive here, but if you are willing to stay just 4 km out of the city centre, you can easily get a room for approx 30 Euros. We stayed in the formula one hotel. This is very basic and you do not get your own bathroom, but the savings mean that you can have a great night in Bordeaux for very little cost.

Here are some photos of the town. some day time ones may be from a previous trip as our camera played up.

The selection of places to eat is staggering and as you wander through the little cobbled streets you come to square after square of fantastic restaurants. We have chosen to go to our favourite Thai restaurant Santosha (click on the link for more details) (which we have just found out is actually Indonesian and not Thai). This place is amazing and every time we have visited it is full, but we have always managed to get a seat outside quite quickly.

Sitting outside is much more fun as you can watch the world go by and listen to all the different languages spoken there. This is definitely a place for cyclists, and watching them weave in and out of cars on tiny cobbled streets is an experience in itself.

If you are ever in France, even for a short break, Bordeaux, is a must see for your visit.