An seasonably mild and sunny day today so we spent a good deal of the day enjoying another coastal walk. Even the waves were taking it easy though I'm sure it was only a brief break in their eternal attack. Given we had ben virtuous and that it is Monday we decided to go on a a bar crawl this evening (apologies for any resulting incoherence!).Bar Suisse in the Place Louis XIV is a good place to start such a venture. Being located in the main square it does attract quite a few outsiders (god forbid) but there is still a strong undercurrent of Luziennes. I can recommend either the kir royal or pression.
Leaving the main square we headed along Boulevard Victor Hugo to Chez Kaka. Here is a fine place to eat, the curried moules are a favourite of ours. The clientele is more local 'jiji' so cocktails were the order of the hour. A very passable vodka martini and well mixed cosmopolitan.
We ducked across Rue Gambetta and sought our dinner at the lovely wee Petite Grill Basque. The decor is magnificantly quaint with a myriad of interesting artefacts adorning the walls. There is also the most unusual air conditioning we've ever seen. A series of giant rugs are seemingly framed to the roof, each attached to a length of rope that disappears at the far end of the restaurant. When things get warm a loud click is heard followed by a mechanised pulling of the rope as the rugs shudder into action. Anyway, the food is also fabulous. I started with croquettes stuffed with chicken and followed with breaded veal escalope. We washed supper down with a bottle of Basque red wine, a new wine region for us to sample and we enjoyed it copiously.
Staggering our full frames along Rue Gambetta we continued to Bar Basque and Cellier Chantevin (two of our tried and tested haunts). We continued the red wine theme and are sure to regret it tomorrow. Oh dear, a large glass of water before bed methinks...
