Bordeaux the seducer

Bordeaux is probably the sexiest place on earth. Previously I would have awarded that non-scientific and totally subjective title to a South American city - Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Cartegena - due to their heat, language, music and dancing. Of course the ridiculous amount of gorgeous people in those cities doesn’t hurt either. However after being to Bordeaux, I will have to rethink that. Maybe not more sexy, but a different kind of sexy.

Sex isn’t so in your face like it is in South America, it is a bit more hidden and subtle, but it is definitely there. It is there in the fashion with men and women having their own individual and unique styles. It is there in the language, which isn’t specific to Bordeaux, but the soft, feminine, inviting tones of French certainly make me a bit giddy. It is there in the food where a 3 euro lunch of bread and cheese, or more complex flavours at a bistro, will have you involuntarily swooning with pleasure and it is there in the wine with flavours specific and individual to each vintage.

The limestone 18th century buildings, gothic churches, art projects and pretty parks all add to Bordeaux being a massive aphrodisiac. It made me want to wear red-lipstick and actually brush my hair for once-in-my-life to fit in with the fabric of the city which pulsates with beauty and desire.

Ok, so maybe I didn't brush my hair on this day.

We stayed with an Airbnb host, a single woman in her fifties, in the most stylish apartment with an amazing rooftop terrace. The interesting furnishings were mostly gathered over time from an antique market and all the mismatched items just fitted together so well. She had bought the apartment back when Bordeaux was black, the limestone buildings covered in soot and grime, and the city hadn’t blossomed into the beauty it is today. Although she had two cats and a dog, she was far from the ‘crazy cat lady’, and she just seemed so comfortable and content with herself  - so beautiful.  

I award this city this title also because it doesn’t talk dirty, it doesn’t objectify, but instead there seems to be an appreciation of beauty - whether that’s in the environment, food or the people. Being beautiful wasn’t as simple as being young, skinny and attractive either - it had far more complexity than that, just like its wine. it seemed like it was more about inner beauty, like the limestone buildings underneath the soot, and once its potential is realised and a cleansing is made, it shines through to the outside.