Sunday 9 November 2008

rugby rumbles and sunny sunday

Woke up around 8am to the sun streaming through the window, not what I am used to in November. Sunday is the day of rest so a break from running! After a leisurely breakfast of fruits purchased from the market, again on the balcony, we strolled up Rue Gambetta to Saint-Jean-Baptiste. The service was almost entirely in Basque which made it a tad more challenging. (Photo shows the bricked up door alluded to last Sunday). Once again, the church enjoyed a full house. Given Tuesday is a public holiday for Remembrance Day, there are many tourists in town. If the French have a public holiday on a Thursday or Tuesday they tend to take the Friday or Monday off for what they call 'faire le pont', a bridge to a long weekend.

After church we took a leisurely stroll along the promenade via the harbour which is always worth a visit due to the tirelessly enjoyable range of colours, smells and noises. The tides have obviously changed as the fishing boats were returning later than usual.




This afternoon I enjoyed my first rugby match in the Pays Basque, St Jean de Luz Olympique vs Valence d'Agen. A good quality game ending 28-23 in favour of the home side. Although there were only five or six hundred spectators, the Basque crowd lived up to my expectations and hopes by generating noise levels experienced less often in Scotland or England.