Mother and father have arrived in St Jean de Luz for a wee break and a spot of cat sitting while we head back to the UK this weekend. The weather has held up nicely for them. After an exhausting morning of reading on the front terrace we decided upon lunch. To be fair mother had had a tougher morning, she had received a pummeling at the hands of the Amatsu queen, Caroline. Given the weather and warmth we took them to our current favourite lunchtime haunt, La Plancha in Ilbarritz.
wine terrorists strike again
Our second Flamenco outing. Ninety fabulously attired people with a common wish to dance. A delicious dinner began. The tables were set around the central floor which was continually refilled as each course was presented. By the time dessert began to arrive everyone had danced at least two sevillanas. [select link to sevillanas]
To say pelota makes rugby look and feel like ginkana is an understatement. It is a sport that combines the best bits of rugby (the bashing people and deft movements) with squash and tennis. It is also very masculine. The court is roughly five times that of a squash court and four men get locked in with bats, helmets and a hard ball. It is exceedingly fast and I was shattered before we'd completed the first game. Then came the tough stuff. It reminded me of playing rugby at college as we sat having our post match lunch. Within twenty minutes we had sunk four large glasses of red wine, more was forthcoming. No women are permitted into the club and smoking rules are very loose. Although it is a dark bar area seeped in testosterone it is also exceptionally warm and relaxed. I was made to feel very welcome, the Scottish card works well on such occasions, and look forward to future Fridays with much expectation. I do think practice is required before I go back, both fitness and drinking. Time for a lie down.
Basque of the day:- men :: izenaren
Today the French have been revolting. In over 200 towns hundreds of thousands of people took a stand against Sarkozy's proposed economic policies. Public and many private sector workers took to the streets demanding change. Key amongst their gripes are:
Mr Sarkozy was quoted today as saying "social issues often heat up in May...it is normal" [even though it's March?]. Some fear that continued and escalating strike action could see a return to extreme riots like those of May 1968 which rocked France and brought about the demise of the de Gaulle government.
While the CEOs of Lloyds, Barclays, RBS & Co. were being grilled by the goverment today we were having an equally stressful and demanding day. After being rudely awoken by the sun around six this morning we were compelled to spend the whole day on the beach, even though at times it was unbearably hot. As you can see it was as busy as the Northern Line at 0815 on a Monday morning, traumatic.
Following up on the interesting conversations heard this week relating to effects of the moon I have spent a few days talking to locals about it. Results as follows:
There is a good deal of talk in these parts about the moon. People seem to know exactly which phase of the lunar cycle we are in and what the impact is. There is a belief that the moon affects everything from behaviour to weather. There was a full moon earlier this week and it has caused quite a stir. 'My dog was acting funny', 'my kids couldn't sleep', 'the birds were singing all night' are amongst a few of the exchanges I have noted. The weather on the day following the full moon is said to remain until the next full moon arrives. Given that it has been warm, glorious sunshine I am rather hoping it is true. More beach time would seemingly lie ahead.
When the school children are out scrabbling along the coastline in search of crabs, anemones and other sea life, it has got to mean that winter is officially over. Today forty or so such participants led by their teachers (and friends) were doing just that. Aged six to eight they jumped from rock to rock trying to avoid the waves and fishing deep into the myriad of pools. No health and safety overdrive in these parts. Furthermore, none of them were obese or anything other than healthy. A joy to see after a recent trip back to Britain.
An interesting few days. Saturday saw us shopping in Spain, yesterday brought skiing and today the beach. Variety is rife in St Jean de Luz.
Whoever said skiing in the Pyrenees was tame compared to the Alps had clearly never spent a hot March day pursuing the pistes of Barèges-La Mongie. It is a wonderful ski station situated about 30 minutes from Lourdes, 45 from Pau and 2 hours from St Jean de Luz. It offers everything any skier could want, including the longest blue run in Europe at 14 kilometres, easy but exhausting!
It was a stormy night. Admiral Hank Wannabe, commander in chief of the US Army special forces, was heading across the Atlantic with his men on a secret mission to attack south west France. Due to budget constraints aroused by 'le crise' the authorities had only filled the warship with enough fuel to carry its full cargo halfway. At that point there were two choices. Turn back or determine an alternative course of action. Being ever entrepreneurial, the American war hero chose the latter.
logs, plastic containers of US branded DIY products, barrels of liquor and dead fish. I can only surmise that this is the advance party for the imminent invasion. They have clearly offloaded their balast after consulting the cosmos and the storm has eagerly carried materials for makeshift camps, food and beverage onto the beaches to await the troops. This has enabled Admiral Hank to retain enough fuel to carry his men onwards.
.JPG)
Following the weekend I had just enjoyed I felt able to cope with another all girl situation. We readily consumed delicious freshly baked cake, drank coffee and discovered exactly who was sleeping with who and other pertinent local gossip. It may be fun drinking beer at the pub but sometimes girls' chat is far more interesting.
I must remember when I come back in my next life to be born in France, children don't have school on Wednesdays and get two hours lunch break on other days. After speaking with Pascale's delightful children I also learned that in French, Shaggy from Scooby-Doo is called Sammy and that there is no word in French for fairy - how impressively macho.
Basque of the day:- gossip :: hitzontzi
After returning from shopping in Spain yesterday we pulled up near the apartment while we unloaded the groceries. As I carried the last of the bags into the kitchen the smell of fresh bread proved too much and we set to lunch. Unfortunately it was not until the next day that we remembered that we had parked illegaly. Sure enough when I returned to the vehicle a plastic bound white letter waited for me wedged beneath the wind-screen wiper.
The children are all back at school, the Parisians have gone home after the holidays, my wife's friends poured themselves back into cars and planes, and normality has resumed. Or has it?
