A Day in Bordeaux and Verdon

Our shore excursion allowed us 4 1/2 hours in Bordeaux on our own. We set off down the waterfront passing the Place de la Bourse, an example of 18th century neoclassical architecture, numerous small cafes and high-end shops and finally an Arab section of the city before arriving at our first destination, Basilique Saint-Michel. We took a tour of this church built between the 14th and 15th centuries. We then found our way to Cathedrale Saint-Andre, a church that compares in size to Notre Dame in Paris. Parts of it date back to the 11th century. Unfortunately, the church was closed for renovations.
I should note that both churches have bell towers that rest on the ground rather than atop the church. The bedrock is not strong enough to support the weight of the buildings with their steeples. From there we walked to the Musee des Beaux-Arts only to find that it was not open. So far we are batting 33%. A short walk took us via the pedestrian-only cobblestoned streets to Place Gambetta, a lovely square in the heart of the city surrounded by Louis XV-style homes. We strolled to the Grand Theatre only to find that it wasn't open either! Now we're batting 25%. At this time we decided to hunt for a toilette trying a hotel first with no luck but did venture into a modern shopping centre where we hit gold - clean and free! By this time our legs and feet were feeling abused so we headed to the Jardin Public with its botanical garden and bird island to eat the muffins we had with us. Added a new bird to my life list - a bar headed goose.
After a stroll through the park, we headed back to the pier via the toilette route to catch our bus for the trip to Le Verdon-sur-Mer which took us through the Chateaux Region of Medoc. We passed by many chateaux including Margeaux, La Tour, Rothschild and too many others both big and small. Most are now owned by large corporations and insurance companies as investments. By the way, we walked over 17,000 steps.
We returned with just enough time to dress for dinner. We joined Bill and two of the dancers on board for a pre-dinner drink. Under Bill's recommendation, we each tried a Vesper Martini. He introduced us to the dancers as "two crackers". We made a grand entrance into the dining room laughing our heads off at some bot mot. We discussed who we would choose to have dinner with - I decided on Winston Churchill, Dorothy Parker, and Mae West. The dancers had never heard of Dorothy so I googled some of her wittisms for their enjoyment. We closed the dining room again!