Reader's Digest

108 | July• 2018

BORDEAUX RISING

camera. He’s pleasantly surprised at

how it blends with digital technology.

BackonmybicycleIheadtothe

edge of the Old City to the futuristic

vertical lift bridge named after for-

mer mayor Jacques Chaban-Delmas.

This is the former docks district

whereBordeauxisnowrapidlybuild-

ingmodernhousingprojectsandlux-

ury apartment buildings.

he eye-catcher besides the bridge

istheCitéduVin.Openedin2016

thisinternationalwinemuseumis

housed in a building shaped to sym-

bolise the swirl of wine in a glass.

Bordeaux whose name is synon-

ymouswithwinehasplaceditself

abovethemarketwithitsCitéduVin

and its biennial international wine

festival. People come to the Cité du

Vin for wine-tasting workshops

wine-themed special expositions

and the splendidly designed mul-

timedia presentations about wine

from around the globe. Not least the

spectacularroundshopintheheart

ofthebuildingdisplayswinesfrom

around the world. Many of these can

be tasted at the top loor bar.

ON THE LAST DAYof my visit I de-

cidetocheckoutamorefolksypart

ofthecitythatIfondlyremembered.

I walk south on the Rue Sainte-Cath-

erineshoppingstreet.TheApple

Store Galeries Lafayette and luxury

brand shops gradually make way for

T-shirt shops fast-food eateries and

tattoo parlours. At the end of the

tellsme“butwedohaveaBibGour-
mand.” FortoutBordeaux that is a
goodomenofstarstocome.
“Iwantastarofcourse”saysGal-
lacher after serving me an elegant
modernlunch.“Itwouldallowme
to work with more exclusive ingre-
dients.Butrightnowitisalsochal-
lengingtoservesurprisingmenus
usingmorecommoningredients.”
AfterlunchIboardthemodern
LineBtramtobetakenacoupleof
stopsnorthwhereIgetofandrenta
V3publicbicyclefromadockingsta-
tion on the river bank. V3 stations are
found on squares around the city. I
head of through the Chartrons area
aformerworking-classneighbour-
hood that has gone through a process
of rapid gentriication in the wake of
therestorationofthecitycentre.In
thenarrowstreetsIpassantique
shopscurioshopsandsmallsin-
gle-storey worker’s houses called
échoppethatsellforrecordprices.
Through a shop window my eye
is drawn towards a clockmaker bent
over his workbench peering through
a jeweller’s magnifying glass at an
antique brass clock. I ask him if I may
look around. Master clockmaker Pe-
ter Peschel looks up and smiles. “Of
course” he says.
Peschel tells me he opened his shop
12 years ago. With so many antique
shops around he is perfectly situated.
We ind common ground in our love
for craftsmanship when he recognises
the classic handmade lens on my