Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Chez Karl, Bordeaux

Continuing on the salon de thé theme in Bordeaux, two more places to rest, regroup and sip a milky café au lait or sinfully rich chocolat chaud (and maybe sneak a flaky pain au chocolat) are the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (the courtyard of which I photographed above and below) and Chez Karl.

The Musee Des Arts Decoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts) is located in the Hôtel de Lalande, a beautiful 18th century building, and houses an exquisite collection of furniture, 18th and 19th century porcelain, glassware, ceramics, silver and wrought iron work. The building was designed by the famous Bordeaux architect, Etienne Laclotte, for the Marquis de Lalande and was completed in 1779.

Hidden in the pretty cobbled courtyard of the Musee Des Arts Decoratifs is an elegant salon de thé - you can take tea sitting at the outside tables during fine weather or tuck yourself away in the tiny tea room if the weather is unbearably chilly.

Plus, and this is very secret squirrel, the courtyard houses a scrupulously clean toilet if you are, umm, caught short and really need to go! If there is one thing I appreciate when travelling, it is a clean toilet with toilet paper that flushes reliably :)

Musée des Arts Décoratifs

39, Rue Bouffard 33000
Bordeaux
Tel : 05 56 10 14 00

Chez Karl is a buzzy little cafe in the historic Saint- Pierre District. The food isn't extraordinary but it is a nice airy space which looks out onto a pretty square. I had the "Petit déjeuner du Boulanger" for 5 euro which consisted of a wonderfully crunchy baguette, slices of rye bread, preserves, nutella, butter and a café au lait. The staff are friendly and the servings, plentiful. It would be lovely in summer when the tables are set outside on the square.

A waitress at Chez Karl, Bordeaux (below)

These young chaps were sitting at the next table- they were being mischievous with the pepper grinder and had me and a couple of other patrons in fits of giggles. They were Tae Kwon Do students on tour from Korea and wolfed down a huge cup/bowl each of chocolat viennois.

Chez Karl

6, place du parlement 33000

Bordeaux

Le Samovar - Salon de Thé, Bordeaux

Two hip strangers I managed to snap in the late afternoon in Bordeaux (above and below).

Having wandered the streets of Bordeaux for a few hours, and fuelled only by my early morning baguette and Café au Lait, I was delighted (as were my aching feet-all those cobblestones are hard work on the tootsies!) when I stumbled across a quirky little Salon de Thé, Le Samovar, in the quartier Saint Michel.

It is a cosy space filled with hundreds of second-hand books, lots of mixed matched sofas and chairs, throw rugs, kitsch objet d'art, and vintage lamps. It feels very much like taking tea in your Great Aunt's cluttered living room, um, except without your Great Aunt hovering about offering stale Rich Tea biscuits and unwanted advice on the state of your love life.

The coffee was, well, average, but you don't go to France for the coffee (unlike Italy!). You go to sit in cafe's like this one to soak up the atmosphere, to eavesdrop on conversations, to write, and to dream a thousand dreams.

Le Samovar

rue camille sauvageau, st Michel, 33800 Bordeaux

The photos below are of some lovely students I met while dreaming my thousand dreams :)

p.s. I do put spaces between my paragraphs-but then then they disappear when I post! arghhhhhhhhh

See, this is when an IT guru would come in very handy to hold my little hand