You didn't really think I was going to leave you on that dithyrambic note, did you?Here are some of the things about Bordeaux that I detest. I detest the creeping uniformisation of the shops in town. I detest the fact that every single corner lot is now owned by a bank or an insurance company. I detest the snobbishness. I detest the privileged cliques. I detest the general lack of funkiness. I detest the lack of green spaces. I detest the emptiness of August. I detest the prevalent bon-chic-bon-genre. I detest the halfhearted grafitti. I detest the municipal conservatism. I detest the history of slave trading. I detest the fact that people don't speak to each other on public transport. I detest the lack of a really good Indian restaurant. I detest the lifeless rectangular apartment buildings.
And most of all I detest the dog shit that lies in wait on the pavements.
11 comments:
So Bordeaux was on our shortlist and now . . .
No, no materfamilias, do come. Look how much longer the positive list s than the negative list!
Yes, yes, alright darling... but the fine wines are outstanding. Can you find some room in your heart?
Would any of this be useful for your St. Andrews thing? Places, people, good, bad, exile, return, home, away, Neighbours etc.?
When I came home from travelling, odd little things stood out for me... the number of bins we had to now put out, for one... the perochialness (or not) of people for another...
That grinding noise you hear is the sound of a brain dumping...
... and I very nearly left a comment on the I love BX post to say it was pure poetry in prose!
With a wave of a wand it would be nice to replace the building in the photo with Bilbao's Guggenheim ... and while at it the Bourse du travail with the Villa Barbaro (okay, something more modern).
Surely, Claude Ferret, the architect responsible for the 'caserne du pompiers', never lived anywhere near it. As the French say 'Where do they have their heads'?
The Nimbies who designed the two enormous white plastic structures which cover the entrance and exit to the underground car park on one side of Place Pey Berland are another example of architects who are ignorant of harmony, charm or common sense.
Whatever these objects are called they are so hideous it makes you want to weep. They replaced two unassuming stone and cast iron balustrades which did not block anyone's view of the Cathedral and in no way blighted the surroundings.
I have wild fantasies which seem to involve limpet mines ... Here a link (compare and contrast ...)
http://kaustik.org.free.fr/bordeaux.htm
btw I am in mourning for the cinéma Jean Vigo which would be way up on my 'I love' list. Trust it won't be done over by the same architect who is doing the Gaumont ... I mention no double barrelled names ...
I don't care, the 'I loves' were still wonderful, and the detests just show you really know and love the place as it truly is, warts and all.
Thanks so much, I still fancy a trip...
ps - and if I came I wouldn't let Molly shit on the pavements, and if she did I'd pick it up in one of the neat little black bags I collect from the free dispenser in
Dinan...
Beaverboosh: Yeah, well the wine's all right I suppose. Slurp, slurp.
Neil: You mean the culture shock experienced on return home after a long period abroad? I'm going to mull that over...... Slurp, slurp.
Deborah: I heard someone on TV7 the other day saying that that was what Bx lacked a big project like the Guggenheim. I agree totally an the fire station and the car park carbuncles. I have to say though that I really like the modern look of the Palais de Justice. Do you?
Lucy: Yes, definitely worth a visit. So much more rewarding to write about the things one likes in a place than those one detests.
Not sure when Rogers did that grand design, ages ago ... and it took me until last year to finally find it not too bad. That was when I started walking past it a lot so it grew on me.
The opposite happened when I used to live near La Bourse du travail. Every time I walked past, it became uglier and uglier!
Always liked the Caisse d'Epargne but not the drac.
So, tell us about your drink with Kurt Elling!
I think your post about loving Bordeaux was much more convincing!!! Bordeaux is easy to love... but maybe even easier when you don't actually live there.
And for the dog shit, I clearly see that you have never lived in Paris. Bordeaux is ultra clean compared with Paris!!!
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