Ahhhh - the south of France....

Bordeaux and the coast!

MSF Logistique in Bordeaux, France

Medecins Sans Frontieres  maintains 3 supply fulfillment centers in Western Europe. These facilities are then generally "associated" with an expertise or logistical advantage for the organization allowing us to respond to emergencies more quickly. As I am learning - the business of planning for worldwide emergencies is about redundancy stacked on top of more redundancy - and planning for the unimaginable and unknown. How does one plan for an earthquake in the Western hemisphere and at the same time war-wounded in the middle east? How does one use planning and unknown in the same sentence? And - we have to ensure that we can arrive without any delay as the penalty for showing up late is of the highest order. MSF does this as well as any organization and some say better and best. All of this while remaining grateful and mindful of the donors who in a generous and trusting fashion, commit their funds to our care and discretion of use.


Ok  - small sidebar so I can "geek out" on my love of transportation and logistics..... First, and surprisingly, I have been in T&L since 1991 so have 25 years of looking at this stuff and thinking about how it works. Generally speaking "minimizing time in transit and cost" are the King and Queen of T&L. Quicker and cheaper!!

But not so much in the world of emergency medical aid. The Layno - inspired drawing beside shows a need for other factors equal to and necessary to operate in this different context. Cost while important, is hidden and a last thought. Quality, is separate and apart from the other competing variables like a sole dictatorship rather than King and Queen monarchy..... implicit to the T&L strategy is the understanding that the massive infrastructure supporting the delivery of aid is wasted if the end product is of poor or questionable quality. Quality is the benevolent dictator!

All of that said - it means that our fulfillment centers need to have additional capacity (room for expanded operations) and redundant systems for "when the next emergency" comes along. MSF does this amazingly well and the team at MSF Logistique have heaps of experience and know-how. Logistique is the largest of the 3 centers with staggering volumes of medical aid passing through it's doors daily. Brussels and Amsterdam house the other two.

Bordeaux with the Garonne River at my back and super - cool old buildings under a cloudy sky

While there for work anyway - why not take the weekend and explore Bordeaux and the coast a bit. Through recent travel I've learned that with google maps and public transport you can see most cities for a very reasonable cost. Get on a bus....and just don't get off! Voila - a 2 euro tour of the city. On this occasion the driver was obviously deeply concerned and asked "Mais Monsieur  - Ou va tu?"  Where are you going? I just shrugged and smiled  - he did the same......


The city is fantastic both practically and historically. Like Paris or Brussels or so many cities of Europe it is simply beautiful.The shopping is as good as it gets, the fashions amazing to watch and food everywhere.

I got the sense that Bordeaux is a very practical working city as well. Housing prices have been rising steadily, jobs are available and people are busy. Public transport is simply put - a triumph. The combination of streetcars, buses and metro can get you anywhere in a snap. There's a hustle and bustle to the city nicely combined and strong sense of purpose and identity that only the French seem able to maintain. Of course I worked on speaking French while there but despite my humble French Canadian roots have not yet found the key that unlocks fluency.

Each new speaking opportunity comes with a now all too familiar sense of dread. Inevitable I manage a greeting and request in what I hope is flawless French - only to get a response in English or a blank stare. Ahhh to speak the language of love.

  Cite du Vin

 It looks more like the head of a golf club. But in fact - it is a world-class museum inspired by the love of wine and the need to tell the story. Bordeaux is the undisputed wine capital of the world and this new museum (3 months old) tells that story in a way I have ever seen before. All about wine, it takes the most modern concepts of multimedia presentation and cleverly combines it with the worlds oldest celebratory drink.

Max constructing a perfect ""dog"

In the slide above, there is a dining table set for 8 guests. One of the guests (a hologram) is an internationally acclaimed wine expert. As one of the other guests at the table, you can choose from a number of prepared questions. He or she then answers the question in a "dinner table discussion" manner. This was among a number of truly remarkable exhibits within the building. I highly recommend a visit to this remarkable facility.


And while I learned a lot about wine in the region and around the world - I confess I found the museum difficult to navigate and often crowed to the point of being agitated despite there not being that many visitors at the site. My thinking was that the building satisfied the architect and the planners narcissistic tendencies rather than future audiences. I'm not saying that we should view "art" in a square box but the needs of the viewer and the presentation of the exhibition should come before the building.:)

I'll also cop to my guilty pleasure of a good hot dog. At a roadside stand, Max (above) took 10 minutes to heat the bun and "build" a memorable hotdog eating experience!

Arcachon

 

Located just 50 km from Bordeaux the Arcachon basin sits on the Atlantic and really is the perfect weekend getaway. It features all kinds of shops, great french food and truly stunning scenery. The day was warm and very pleasant for September. I enjoyed walking the city and beach before stumbling into the "old town" and exploring the cobbled lanes and hidden shops.

I really don't know a lot about wine finding the subject to be sort of an endless mass of information that I just can't get my head around. I understand the basics but really don't get the details. I do however - know - when I am drinking really fucking good bottle of wine and confess to "over drinking" while in Bordeaux.

With a goodly amount of guilt I do now confess to drinking a bottle of wine on each of the three days I was there ending unceremoniously with a 2 hour snooze on the beach after the bottle to the right. It was thoroughly enjoyed it with  a dry sausage and Camembert sandwich that even the Gods would envy.

On a rocky point in the company of a couple fisherman and numerous seagulls I drank a 15 Euro bottle of wine and watched the boats come and go. Thinking back - I also confess that I have had few days so peaceful and enjoyable as that afternoon. The snooze - later - in the warm sun on the sand  - a perfect conclusion to a warm day on the beach in the south of France.




 







Thanks for reading - Layno!