Final post about the turtles in Bordeaux

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Roll up! Roll up! All ye who desire to know more about the turtles in the centre of the Place do la Victoire in Bordeaux, France, this is what I've found. The Lonely Planet website says that the marble obelisk (Colonne de la Victoire) and the turtles were created by Czech artist Ivan Theimer and erected in 2005. The obelisk has a twist to it but I couldn’t find a photo of it One site says it’s indicative of a corkscrew; another that the helical shape symbolises ‘the vine as creeper growing towards the sun’. I'm inclined to believe the latter explanation. Both the obelisk and the turtles feature grapes as a celebration of Bordelais wine culture. A Bordeaux tourism site says the obelisk is made of bronze and red Languedoc marble and is the first monument in Bordeaux to honour viticulture and winemaking. The obelisk is 16 metres all and weighs over 50 tonnes. It was sculpted in Theimer’s workshop in Pietrasanta, Italy. A third site says the turtle has become well-known as a meeting place for university students. I couldn’t find a photo of the Colonne de la Victoire so I'm adding one of the incredible Monument aux girondins which we also saw in Bordeaux.