After three fast-moving days, time finally slowed down in Bordeaux. We stayed still long enough to savour it — from wine bars and sculpture gardens to the meditative tasting at Cité du Vin. This was the pause I didn’t know I needed — the moment the trip caught its breath, and I did too.

We’d only been in France three days before heading to Bordeaux, and it already felt like a week — the kind of time that stretches when you’re paying attention. But travel has a way of reminding you that time isn’t as predictable as it looks on paper. These first few days taught me that half-days, detours, and small confusions can quietly steal the hours we think we have — and that how we spend our time matters more than how much we have of it.

What if slowing time down isn’t about clocks or calendars — but about curiosity, connection, and how wide your attention is? Lessons from two weeks in France.