Edd:  Bordeaux, France was the wildcard of our European Magical Mystery Tour. It wasn’t even on our original travel itinerary.

Cynthia:  Right. After Madrid we planned to go to Barcelona, but the accommodations there weren’t within our budget.

E:  The next stop was going to be Paris, so I literally looked at a map to see where else in that general direction we could go. And voila—Bordeaux!

C:  All we knew about Bordeaux was the famous wine produced there, but online pics of the city and surrounding area were beautiful and the price was right so we said, “Let’s do it!”

E:  Turns out we picked a winner. Bordeaux is drop-dead gorgeous.

C:  Locals told us visitors often say, “This looks like a little Paris.” To which they smugly reply, “No, Paris is like a big Bordeaux.”

E:  As expected, the wines from nearby vineyards were terrific and quite affordable. Especially at Bar à Vin, a...