Recently, on a night off, I walked to the pub that I work in and got stinking drunk. At the end of the night I was screaming “Aarghh Arrrrhh someone’s nicked my bike!!” When I woke up the next day – still wearing my coat and scarf – there was my bike where I’d left … Continue reading
As summer slipped quietly into Autumn, light rains began to leave the pavements of Bordeaux freckled like rustic eggs. Besides making me feel a bit homesick, these rains also brought something strange to my attention. Numerous citizens cycling around in the rain and keeping dry thanks to a little gizmo that attached their umbrellas to … Continue reading
Back in Sainsburys (that is to say, back in England) I always used to go to the exotic foods section to buy black beans and KA. In short: I love exotic food sections in supermarkets. Now that I’m an expat in France there is an exotic food section featuring what I suppose must be all … Continue reading
Monday. Evening. I wasn’t working and I had no plans. My flatmate Adrien told me he was cooking and asked if I wanted some. I paced back and forth tucking into a starter of roasted chestnuts that had just come out of the oven. Adrien had been working in a small town outside of Bordeaux … Continue reading
After buying a bike from leboncoin I was keen to go on a cycle ride. I decided to take a daytrip along the piste Roger Lapébie; a cycle track running for almost 60 km from Bordeaux to Sauveterre-de-Guyenne. I planned to go halfway, then turn around. The half way point was a place named Créon. … Continue reading
Its been a long time coming but here is the first – of what should hopefully become many – wine reviews, here on drinking it all in. Château de l’Orangerie 2011 Bordeaux It was a warm Friday evening and I was in Carrefour looking at the red wines. This particular bottle had caught my eye … Continue reading
Today I received a letter from the bank: Bear in mind that in order to get a French bank account I needed a lot of paperwork. I had to give them a photocopy of my passport, my contract of employment, previous bills, etc, etc… and in all of these documents my name is clearly … Continue reading
I believe the only way I would ever learn a language is the full immersive experience. Hence why I moved to France. Being surrounded by the language means new words crop up everywhere. In Bordeaux this sign is very commonplace… … and being a cyclist I am happy about that. ‘Sauf’ means ‘except’ and is … Continue reading
In my opinion FIP is as close to perfection as radio stations get, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. You can listen to it here… just scroll to the bottom of the page and écouter direct. The songs never seem to have much in common, except that they are all interesting and top quality. … Continue reading
Everybody must have been in this situation; you are having a conversation (or argument) with somebody and only once the conversation is over do you realise what you should have said. Here is an example of what I’m talking about: This is how I feel after almost every interaction that I have in … Continue reading
drinking it all in... bikes and beverages in Bordeaux 