Arnaud and Marie made us very welcome in their lovely, family home. The rooms are very spacious and thoughtfully decorated, and the back garden is the ideal 'sun-trap' for a glass or two of Bordeaux in the evening. The house is five minutes' walk from the number 15 bus, which goes into the city centre. The journey takes around 15 minutes. The main train station (St Jean) is a 10 to 15 minutes' walk - the '30 Direct' coach, which links the airport and the city, stops here. There are several nearby food shops in the centre of Nansouty (again, about a 15 minutes' walk) including a Carrefour, butcher, green grocer, organic food store, wine shop, baker and fish monger. The house is in a quiet, residential neighbourhood and is ideal for a family or for self-catering. If you want restaurants and nightlife on your doorstep, you need to be closer to the city centre.
We took the train from St Jean to Arcachon (about 45 minutes) - the beaches are glorious! You need a warm, sunny day to make the most of it, as the main attraction is the beach and the boat trips around the harbour and the sand dunes. There are lots of other day trips from Bordeaux but for many, you really need to hire a car. Oh, and Paris is just over 2-hours by train....
Bordeaux has an excellent assortment of quality clothes and homeware shops. The Rue du Pas St George is my favourite street. If you like churches, the Eglise Notre Dame is a must. A walk along the river towards the Cite du Vin is also a must on a warm, dry day.