Guignol Guerin

Judy. On our first day in Bordeaux, we discovered the Jardin Public—a huge park with a cafe, a botanical garden, a pond with a bridge to an island and a traditional outdoor puppet show: Guignol Guerin! 

This last is what grabbed us. Guignol is the character, and Guerin the name of the family of puppeteers who have performed his story here in Bordeaux for six generations! We noted the time of the next performance, and showed up well in advance on Saturday for the 4 PM sèance. 

The stage is set

A little background is in order. Laurent Mourguet was an 18th century silk weaver in the French city of Lyon who fell on hard times during the French Revolution. So, logically, he began practicing dentistry. And to attract patients, he set up a puppet show in front of his dentist’s chair. He soon found puppetry to be more lucrative. After several starts, with various characters, in 1808 he created the clever silk weaver Guignol, who like Punch in Punch and Judy, constantly outwits the Count, Flageolet (the gendarme), his wife Madelon, and any others who might cause a problem in his happy life. He loves spending time with his wine-drinking buddy Gnafron. Guignol is clever, witty, kind, poor, and tricky. And an absolute delight. 

Guignol and his copain Gnafron

Some years later, in 1853, the Guerin family began Guignol performances in Bordeaux. While many of the performances are the traditional park shows, the present M. André Guerin often takes the show to the beach or to theatres, wherever an audience might be. What could be better, though, than an outdoor puppet show, surrounded by children screaming “Allez, Guignol!” so he’d get away from the Gendarme. Or laughing uproariously when Guignol smacked the Count with a slapstick, when the Count had just tried to stab him in a sword duel. Or shouting, “Au secours!” when the Crocodile started chasing him. So we gladly forked over our 7 euros and sat in plastic chairs in front of the stage. 

The Count tries to stab Guignol!

The children were really engaged

M. Guerin knows just how to warm up his audience, making fart sounds, asking kids their names, saying “pi-pi” and “caca” then stumbling backwards in embarrassment while both parents and children roared with laughter. He asked who they’d come to see. “GUIGNOL!!!!!” 

The story was simple, silly, and pulled them all right into it. Us, too. We all loved Guignol. 

For some reason, maybe because I told him when we bought our tickets that grandparents love puppet shows, too, he invited us to take a photo with him and Guignol after the show. I couldn’t have been more excited if I’d been five years old. 

I'm absolutely in awe of M. Andre Guerin and Guignol!

M. Guerin must be in his 60’s and the hour show had to be exhausting. Fortunately, his brother is also a puppeteer and has a son and grandchildren who are already learning to build the puppets. If you ever get to Bordeaux, please do yourself the favor of catching Guignol. Meanwhile, check out the videos on www.guignolguerin.fr.

Bordeaux, the city

Ted. Bordeaux is the name of a city as well as a wine region. With a metro population of just under a million, this is the ninth largest city in France. 

After exploring Périgord and the Bordeaux wine country, Judy and I spent a week getting to know this old port city. One thing that helped was the weather. Ever day it was around 70 Fahrenheit and sunny. 

Our base was an “aparthotel” ( a suites only hotel) at the northern end of the crescent shaped part of town at a bend in the Gironne River, known since the Middle Ages as “the Port of the Moon.” 

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there are lots of historic buildings and beautiful parks. 

St Andrew Cathedral

The "Big Bell"

The main city gate

Naturally we checked out the Marché des Capuchins, the city market where we found a couple of restaurants specializing in local oysters and mussels. 

We made good use of the excellent public transportation system riding the trams on land and the water taxis on the river. 

Place de la Bourse from the river

The Aquitaine Museum had lots of information about the region including prehistoric art, medieval artifacts and information about the early 20th century. 

The Venus of Laussel, 25,000 years old

A strange remnant of WWII is a submarine base built by the Germans in the early 1940’s. 5,500 forced laborers poured over 780,000 cubic yards of concrete to create an indestructible facility. That’s why it is still in place today! The clever French use it now for immersive art exhibits. 

We really enjoyed Bordeaux and found the people to be warm and fun loving. For instance, the only submarine we could find was in a children's park.

And here's the only serious sign I could find.

Bordeaux wine country

Ted. When you hear the word Bordeaux, what’s the first thing you think of? Wine, right? When Judy and I decided to explore this part of southwestern France, it seemed only logical to spend some time in the country’s second largest wine producing region. 

If one looks at a satellite view of our village of Pomerol, one sees a few buildings surrounded by hundreds of acres of vineyards. I swear that every tillable inch of ground has a grapevine on it. Think of wheat in Kansas. The vineyards of the Bordeaux region cover over 400 square miles and yield more than 700 million bottles of wine each year. 

Some of the most famous wines are made in the Medoc or Pauillac regions of Bordeaux but Pomerol, the smallest, is no slouch. About a 20 minute walk from our little apartment lies the 28 acre vineyard of Petrus, one of the 5 most expensive wines in the world at roughly $4,000 + per bottle.

There's no sign out front but everyone knows where Petrus is

You may have seen wines from St Émilion which is a large region here and makes excellent wines too. That village is only about 4 miles from Pomerol.

The old town center of Saint Émilion tumbles down a small cliff and one gets some good exercise exploring the winding little streets. 

Fresco in Collegial Church

The Monolith Church is unlike any we have seen before. The modest entrance hides a vast space carved directly out of the limestone hillside. As the name implies, it is formed out of a single chunk of rock. 

For lunch one time, we visited Les Cordeliers,  a winery built in an old cloister that specializes in sparkling wine. They have some beautiful outdoor spaces and sell baguettes, cheese, sausage and spreads to accompany their wine. It is provided in a small wooden basket that you take out to a table for your picnic. 

We chose not to do any tastings at other wineries. Frankly, the big châteaux book months in advance and even the smaller ones usually charge a fee. And then there is the challenge of navigating the windy roads in a rental car after drinking wine. Instead, we visited a wine shop about half a block from our apartment called Copains Comme Raisins which roughly translates to “Friends as close as grapes.” After about an hour chatting with the owner we had learned a lot about the wines of the area and made some purchases for private “tastings” back at our place. 

One bottle we bought was a type of light red wine called a clairet. The shop owner described it as a “fossil wine” because it was most popular during the Middle Ages. The English bought it by the shipload and their word “claret” eventually came to mean any red wine from Bordeaux. The clairet was delicious, by the way.

One evening Gèrard invited us to his home (just downstairs). We savored two excellent local bottles and chatted about life in wine country.

As the sun faded towards the end of each day, Judy and I enjoyed long strolls through the vineyards, watching kestrels hover and then swoop down on unsuspecting mice that were now exposed in the furrows. We noticed that some of the leaves were beginning to turn that deep red, marking the end of another harvest in the Bordeaux wine country.

Hidden - and not so hidden - joys

OOPS! This blogpost was written last month when we were in Lithuania. So much has been going on that often we write the blogs, then hold them for a few days. Somehow, Ted overlooked this one, so travel back in time with Judy to Kaunas:

Judy. In a hidden courtyard right off one of the main streets in Kaunas is a funny gateway with a metal yard chair on the top. Just inside is a mural of three older women demanding quiet. Welcome to the Yard Gallery. 

Welcome!

Many Soviet-era buildings and courtyards are bare, cold, and unwelcoming. Artist Vytenis Jakas certainly thought so when some years ago he moved into an apartment in such a place. Furthermore, he noticed that neighbors weren’t speaking to each other, and the whole place just felt desolate. So he started transferring photos of former Jewish tenants onto the walls. It was a great start. Neighbors supported the idea, and loved honoring the people who had lived here. Bit by bit, they began adding more art pieces, and now the tiny courtyard is vibrant, and neighbors gather regularly. It’s charming and comfortable and uplifting. But you have to remember that people live here, and make sure you delight in it quietly. 

About two hours outside Kaunas is a more sobering place: The Hill of Crosses. 

In the early nineteenth century, at the site of a former hill fort, families of partisans killed in an uprising against Russian rule began placing crosses to honor the bodies that were never recovered. The Tsarist Army tore them down. They reappeared. 

When Lithuania declared its independence in 1918, more crosses appeared as Lithuanians honored their dead lost during the Wars of Independence. They used it as well as a place to pray for peace. 

During the Soviet Occupation and religious persecution, people brought crosses to pray for their religious freedom, for family members taken by the Soviets, and for peace. The Soviets bulldozed the hill three times, and threatened to flood the area. KGB agents were posted there and anyone bringing a cross or other religious symbol was subject arrest. At night, more crosses appeared. 

By the time Lithuania again achieved independence, the hill was packed with crosses, religious statues altars, and rosaries from all over the world. There are now estimated to be over 100,000. In 1993, Pope John Paul II visited it and declared it a “place for hope, peace, love, and sacrifice”. 

Though it started by lay people as a sign of faith, the Hill of Crosses is now an important pilgrimage site, and a truly sacred place. 

Both these places are a reminder that we need to hold up each other both in times of peace and of oppression.

Gironde

Ted. After spending 2-1/2 weeks exploring Dordogne/Périgord, it was time to drive west to the nearby state of Gironde. This area is part of the old province of Gascony (as in D’Artagnan) which was part of an even bigger area known since the Roman times as Aquitaine (as in Eleanor of Aquitaine). The city of Bordeaux and the famous wine region of Bordeaux are found in this state. We will talk more about that later.

Driving to our home for the next week, we were feeling a bit hungry so pulled over at a tiny hole in the wall with the promising name of Chez La Puce (The Flea’s Place). 

Walking in, it appeared that all 6 or 7 tables were full. Undeterred, a server pointed us towards the man at the register who directed us into the kitchen. We walked through there and found ourselves in another dining room where there was an empty spot so we plopped down. For lunch, they only offered the special of the day; a four course meal including coffee and all the wine we could drink for $21 each (including tip and tax). The wine, made by the owner, had never seen a bottle and was some of the best I have had in a long time. What a shame I was driving! Well sated, we continued 10 more minutes down the road to the tiny village of Pomerol and settled into our Airbnb apartment. 

We're up the steps in the unit on the right

Judy with our host, Gèrard

Our week in Pomerol was not just about the wine, although I will get into that in another post. This region has a lot of history.

Dolmen de Curton is a 4,500 yr old tomb

One morning we went to the nearby city of Libourne for market day. The city is named for the founder, an English soldier with a French - Roger de Leybourne. Remember, this area had been ruled by the English since Eleanor married Henry II. I know, it’s really confusing. 

City gate

After school, the teens only crave one thing...

French tacos!!

On another day, we decided to make the short drive to the Atlantic coast where there were famous beaches and oysters. Yeah - there's more than just wine in Gironde!

Lège-Cap-Ferret

Harvested that morning!