257. Summer's here.. at last!

31st July. We're back to a steaming Bayonne after escaping the Fetes de Bayonne for a few days. We stayed near Capdenac Gare in the Aveyron - right on the border with the Lot. I'll add some details later but for now here's a short slideshow I put together of some images from our long weekend:

I'd not previously visited this part of France before and so we crammed quite a few kilometres into our three free days there. The village of Conques was first on our list - and while it's fair to say that early ecclesiastical relics are not one of my main interests in life, neither of us were prepared for the astonishing treasures to be found on display there - with some of the pieces dating back to the 8th century.

Conques

The pride of the collection must surely be this richly bejeweled golden statuary of Saint Foy (below) that dates from the 9th-10th century. The village itself is well worth a visit.

On the Sunday, we visited Villefranche-de-Rouergue and Najac. The cool narrow streets of Villefranche-en-R were almost deserted and it was a pleasure to explore the arcaded passages. In contrast, Najac's market was in full swing and once again, we found a place to retreat to for an excellent light lunch - l'Air du Temps.   

There must have been a Roman influence on road building in this area as many of the D roads were ruler straight. On reaching the brow of a hill, your eye would be taken by the ribbon of the road stretching straight as an arrow to the far distant horizon. You'd see a car beetling along in the shimmering distance and it would take minutes before it would flash by. Even in the height of the summer the roads were pleasantly empty. 

25th July. This song (below) by the Corries reminds me of some of the spectacular mountain scenery we saw in the far north west of Scotland some 3 years ago..

  

Lochcarron

If you haven't visited the far north west of Scotland before, I would urge you to make the trip. 

I took a quick trip to Dancharia (just over the border in Spain) this morning to fill the car up with diesel prior to our break tomorrow - and the signs that the Tour de France is coming here on Saturday 28th July were in evidence. There are some beautiful country roads here and so if you watch the Tour on Saturday, it will give you an idea of the Basque countryside. We regularly drive over these roads and I look forward to seeing the stage on TV. This is also the exact same area that was used by guides of the Comet Line as they helped around 125 Allied aircrew to escape into Spain during WWII.. Story here.    

24th July. Woke up this morning to the sound of rumbling thunder and rain. This is one strange summer.

Figeac

22nd July. The town is girding its loins ready for the annual invasion by over a million visitors to the Fêtes de Bayonne.. We'll be escaping the white-clad hordes - we're heading off to stay near Figeac (above) for a few days.

21st July. I meant to post this earlier but I got sidetracked.. France exploded in an eruption of joy last Sunday when they deservedly beat Croatia to claim the FIFA World Cup for the second time. The result triggered a cacophony of car horns late into the night. France were clearly the team to beat throughout the tournament – and they saw off Argentina, Uruguay and the much-fancied Belgium among others.

England, playing a laboured and predictably uninspired brand of football, somehow stumbled into the semi-finals backed by a jingoistic media at home whipping up popular support. Waist-coated Gareth Southgate fielded a mix of average and very average players and due to a remarkably kind draw progressed further than they could have expected. Reading the UK press though, I did start to wonder if the media hacks had been watching the same games as me. I was happy to see England snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as I don't think I could have stood the sight of them being dismantled and thrashed by Les Bleus in the final. Great credit must go to Didier Deschamps - the captain of France's World Cup winning team in 1998 and now the manager of this great French team - an immense achievement he can be justly proud of.  

13th July. I'm going to spare you further coverage of the last couple of days of the San Fermin Festival.

We went to Saint-Jean-de-Luz yesterday morning as we had a few jobs to do there. First off was picking up a little something for Madame's birthday from Maison Laffargue - one of her favourite shops - and then a replacement glass chimney for a lamp from Quincaillerie Debibie (try saying that while eating a Cornish pasty) that Monsieur Bulldozaire (aka 'Nutty', our cocker spaniel pup) had succeeded in breaking.

Buvette de la Halle

Finally, another quick stop at Ducru here to pick up a pair of salt and pepper mills. We also did some people-watching at the Place Louis XIV over a coffee at our habitual haunt - the Bar de la Marine... endlessly fascinating!

We finished up at the Buvette de la Halle (right).. for grilled sardines and a small pichet of rosé - followed by a delicious home-made crème brûlée each. We've been going there for almost 30 years and it's as good as ever. Tip: Arrive early to ensure a table in the shade. Ignore the comments on Trip Advisor - this is a simple pavement café serving the freshest of seafood, the staff are friendly and very busy serving all the tables. Don't confuse speed with brusqueness.. We've never experienced anything remotely close to the alleged rudeness or brusqueness in almost 30 years. NB No credit cards!

While we still have a minor Russian theme running, here's Jack Teagarden's band with their swing rendition of that old Russian song "Dark Eyes".. As you may have noticed, I never get tired of listening to this particular song - so sit back and pick the bones out of this!

12th July. This made me laugh!

Day 6 and still going strong..

11th July. San Fermin Day 5.. The madness continues.. I think the real enemies of the runners are not the bulls - but other runners.

By the way, I would never wish to be this 'up close and personal' with a bull - let alone two of them.

These bulls mean business..

Brexit update: Last Friday, Theresa May gathered her cabinet together to agree the UK's proposals for defining its future relationship with the EU. The outcome was trumpeted as a triumph for a united cabinet. However, this apparent display of unity was turned on its head 48 hours later by the resignation of David Davis, the Brexit secretary and shortly afterwards by the resignation of Boris Johnson, the Foreign secretary. 3 other pro-Brexit Conservatives have also resigned..

The views of Melanie Phillips are always worth reading and the following is an extract from her analysis:

".. a real leader would have said to the country something like this: “Look, there are going to be hiccups and problems and we may well have to bite on a few painful bullets. But the upside is that, overall, our economic future is very bright indeed if we make the cleanest possible break; and politically, we will once again be independent and in charge of our own laws and destiny. And for that most precious of all gifts we will pay a price if we have to, just as this country has always buckled down and paid a price for liberty – which is really what Britain is fundamentally all about”. 

And to the EU, such a real leader would have said something like this: “The people of Britain have spoken and we are now leaving you. We will not seek a deal; we will take our chances with WTO rules and tariffs because even with all that we’ll still take you to the economic cleaners; but if you would like to offer us a deal, you’ll find our door is always open because we’ll always be your friends. Good bye!”

I would only differ from the above by saying that believing that a 'deal' could be had with the EU is to mistake the exit process for one in which a 'deal' could be made. The EU is a rule-based structure (essential in an organisation of 28 nations) and so the idea that the UK can still benefit from free trade with the EU without complying with the EU's rules (the so-called four freedoms - goods, services, capital & labour) is pie in the sky. It's their way or no way - and it's taken the UK 2 years to realise that - and judging from the ambitious proposals that emerged from Chequers last Friday, the Govt has still to learn that particular lesson. I can guarantee that Michel Barnier will dismiss all the UK's proposals contained in the White Paper when it is presented to them.

The UK should abandon all negotiations and proceed at full speed with all the preparations necessary for a future under WTO rules. I think only then - once the EU realise that the UK is deadly serious about a 'no deal' scenario - that the EU might, might, at the last minute, consider adopting a more pragmatic approach. Can the EU afford to blow off 40bn euros?

10th July. Day 4 at Pamplona - and still no shortage of willing volunteers..! (Introducing half a dozen or so bulls into Christmas shopping crowds might move things along a bit, no?)

9th July. Day 3 of San Fermin - and they're off again!

Russia has been in the news recently (World Cup - there, I've said it!) and I heard a snatch of "Oh fields, my fields" ('Polyushko-polye'), that most evocative of songs, on the radio earlier this morning that stirred memories of the vastness of the steppes. Written I think in the 1930s, it served to stimulate love of Mother Russia during the Great Patriotic War (aka WWII)..

I make no apologies for including one of the world's great anthems - one that's guaranteed to stir the blood of even the 'couchiest' of couch potatoes within earshot - and I speak as someone whose national anthem tends towards the 'dirge' end of the scale! (Tin hat on - awaiting incoming!) Needless to say, my own politics are a million miles away from those associated with this anthem:

Both of my regular readers will be aware that "Dark Eyes" is a favourite of mine. In keeping with the current theme, here's a version in Russian, just for a change..!

8th July. We decided to go to Biarritz with Nutty early this morning while it was still fresh - and while there were still parking spaces available. We had coffee on the terrace of the Bleu Café, a favourite of ours on the Grande Plage.. where we watched the surfers and the endless parade of the 'beautiful people'.. The tourist season is getting up to speed. 

Bleu Café, Biarritz

After that, we took a walk along the sea front and I spotted a new vehicle in town.. It's called a Fat Trot.. and it's a new electric beach scooter that looks like fun for "yoof" and it was developed right here in Biarritz. (a child's scooter in France is known as a trottinette):

They're available to rent/buy - and no licence or helmet is required.

As we left Biarritz, I spotted another new shop out of the corner of my eye - the über cool-looking Deus ex Machina. (they appear to venerate old motorcycles and early Porsche 911s. Gets my vote!). I must have a look another day.  

7th July. Today marks the start of the Festival of San Fermin at Pamplona - made (in)famous a loong time ago by our old friend Ernest Hemingway. He described it vividly in his first novel "The Sun Also Rises". He was a regular visitor to this part of the world throughout his life and its strong identity clearly made a deep impression on him. I wrote up my thoughts on Hemingway - for what they are worth - in an earlier post here.

Each day of San Fermin starts at 8am with the encierro (or the running of the bulls) from the holding pens through the narrow cobbled streets of Pamplona to the arena. The firing of a rocket is the trigger for the release of 6 bulls and 6 steers (who are there simply to guide the bulls). Two and a half minutes of sheer mayhem then ensues as the animals gallop through the white-clad crowds in a headlong dash that finishes at the bullring - where the unfortunate bulls meet their end later in the afternoon. The ancient tradition of running with the bulls is believed to have originated in the 14th century but it has only become an international rite of passage since Hemingway's first novel popularised this traditional festival in 1925.

Feeling brave? Come and join them! Me? I've got a sock drawer to tidy!

Me? I'm on the side of the bulls.

5th July. As the Brexit talks grind on and on, it's becoming increasingly clear that neither side in the negotiations is ready and/or willing to negotiate and so it's likely that we're heading for a Major Kong* moment - ie, leaving the EU with no deal.

* Major Kong (memorably played by Slim Pickens) was the B-52 pilot in Stanley Kubrick's black comedy "Dr Strangelove" (1964) who, with a handful of miles to run to his target, was sitting astride a thermonuclear weapon in the bomb bay of his B-52 carrying out last minute repairs to some fried wiring.. when suddenly the bomb bay doors opened and this unforgettable shot followed! 

4th July. First of all, Happy Fourth of July (whatever else you do, listen to this link!) to Americans everywhere celebrating their National Day.. It's always good to start the day off with goose bumps!

For anyone considering a move to the Pays Basque, I wouldn't pay too much attention to this article. Where to start..? It's full of misconceptions and poor advice - but then, it was co-written by a couple of English estate agents based in Pau. The thing to remember when looking at this area is - that if a particular town or area is seen as expensive or cheap, there's always a reason.

La Grande Plage, Biarritz

In a throw-away line, Biarritz is characterised as "very chic and sometimes a bit snobby..". Maybe because of its high property prices? People can forget that Biarritz is a working town and therefore it's not the kind of place where you should walk back from the beach to your accommodation still in your swimming things and flip-flops, with a wet towel over your shoulder. Snobby? No, far from it.

The idea that you can live at Pau and go to the coast and back for the day throughout the summer is just pie in the sky. Yes, you could do it but would you want to?

And yes, you can find cheaper property inland as long as you'll be content with "sitting outside your new home, glass of local Jurançon wine in hand, and enjoying the great sparkling canopy of stars arching above.” How long would the thrill of that estate agent puffery last? The problem with living inland in a distant village is essentially one of practicality.. Do you want to have to use the car each time you want a baguette, or buy a newspaper, visit the dentist or do whatever sport or social activity you're interested in? And where maybe your new neighbours could be less than thrilled by outsiders moving into "their" village - and perhaps being seen as partly responsible for driving house prices up? 

Finally, I would take the quoted property values per square meter with a very large pinch of salt. The price per sq m for a house in Biarritz is quoted as 4331€. Here are the results of a search I made just now in Biarritz for houses with a surface area of between 140-150 sq m. Using the 4331€ valuation, that should have produced a list of properties with prices ranging from 606,340€ (140 sq m) to 649,650€ (150sq m). The two that come in under budget are wrecks and would need an arm and several legs spent on them. I think the figure for Biarritz should be nearer 7-9000€/sq m..

The Basque coast is expensive for a reason.. There is a quality of life there.. activities, shops and facilities (not least of which are those to do with health!). It's also a destination - somewhere that attracts retirees from France and elsewhere for that last hurrah. Many of the villages inland are moribund.. and we've known quite a few people (French and British alike) who have only realised the sad truth of that after they'd bought a property there. My advice? Think very hard before moving to a village out in the sticks.

  

1st July. I took Nutty for a walk this morning through the peace and quiet of the shady woods that surround Lac de Mouriscot.. which is to be found about 3km to the south of Biarritz.

Lac de Mouriscot

It's the perfect place to avoid the hustle and bustle of the coast, especially during the season. There's a path that circles the lake and I didn't check my watch but I'm guessing that it takes 30-40 minutes to walk around it. (Park at the Auberge de Jeunesse)

Lac Marion

There's another lake hidden away in the suburbs of Biarritz that's also very pleasant to walk around on a hot day - Lac Marion..

243. Perfect morning in Saint-Jean-de-Luz

30th June. It's a showery 17° this morning - and the garden looks all the better for it. After the scorching heat here in mid-June, I was half expecting to come back home to a frazzled, fried, charbroiled back garden.. but all remained green where it should be.

Tomorrow will see the first wave of summer tourists arriving here.. and the season proper will run from then for the two peak months of July and August. September is the best month here in the Pays Basque - tourists with families will have returned home leaving only the "silver" tourists. The weather stabilises with temperatures averaging out at 25° and the sea is as warm as it will ever get. The season continues at a slightly lower ebb until the end of October when it is effectively over.    

29th June. Each year there's a Celtic festival at Lorient that attracts thousands of people from Europe's western fringes. On the face of it it seems like nothing more than a harmless bit of folklore and a desire for expressing regional identity in an increasingly homogenous Europe, but I remain to be convinced that all the music, the dancing and the costumes is legitimately rooted in Celtic cultural history. I hope I don't come across as an old curmudgeon, but to me, a non-Celt (or, more accurately, a part-Celt), it appears to be an uneasy mixture of dancing waiters with wrap-around "shades", and hairy old Jocks - all sprinkled with a touch of Disney with an eye to the tourist. See what you think:

   

I think my old dog would have been hiding under the stairs with his paws over his ears!

28th June. We heard today that the temperatures peaked at 40° here while we were away. This explains the burnt grass verges as we travelled south.

Who said: "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."? Answer at the foot of this post.

27th June. On 20th June, we escaped the unusually oppressive heat of the Pays Basque and drove north to Brittany for a planned break, first over-nighting at Pluherlin, a couple of kms from quaint Rochefort-en-terre (below - voted France's favourite village in 2016) before stopping at Cap-Coz, just a stone's throw to the south of Fouesnant (itself just to the south and east of Quimper).

Unfortunately, the heat followed us up north because the temperature at Pluherlin was around 35°.. and there was no air conditioning in the otherwise delightful hotel. (how spoilt we've become!). After a sticky and restless night, we set off for Cap-Coz. Once there, the lower humidity was a refreshing and very welcome change after the oven-like temperatures we'd had in the south west. Our hotel was situated almost at the water's edge and our room looked south over the calm blue waters of the bay. The same family had owned the hotel since 1919 and we were very well looked after indeed by the friendly and charming staff. The chef (the owner's brother) was a real artist in the kitchen and every meal we had there was a delight.

We visited Bénodet (right - a yachting centre par excellence) where this Breton gaff rigged cutter came lickety-split into the channel, heeling over through a crowd of boats - a fine sight; a flying visit to the ancient walled port of Concarneau; explored Quiberon (below); Pont-Aven (a must-see for those who like the work of Paul Gauguin); Loctudy and the austere grey granite village of Locronan. From there, we followed the coast as it swung around to the north west and we stopped at Telgruc-sur-Mer with its inspirational views of the bay of Douarnenez and deserted white sandy beaches before continuing to Morgat (whose beach was voted a surprising 14th in the world by Guardian readers). An "antiques" market was in progress where we snapped up a couple of reasonably priced old wine glasses that had caught our eye - I always think wine tastes better from an old glass (just as tea tastes better from a china cup, rather than a mug). Then there was Quimper.. a lively bustling Breton town with, I was pleased to note, several quirky individual shops. Long may people fight against the increasing blight of the sameness of our towns.

Here's a video that shows what Quimper is all about:

This (below) is a shot of the beach at Cap-Coz. I would say that (if you have any choice in the matter) you should try and visit the region in June.

We were away while the 1st Test Match between NZ All Blacks and the B&I Lions was played on 24th June. I dare say that readers in New Zealand and fans of All Black rugby worldwide will have been pleased at the outcome of the match. I had hoped that the Lions could have pulled off an unlikely win in the AB's back yard but it wasn't to be. Unfortunately, those responsible for selecting the Lions squad have to ensure that the home nations are all represented. This policy is responsible for the inherent fault line that has historically run through the majority of Lions squads as a result. I think until the best player for a given position is selected, regardless of which home nation he comes from, we'll continue to be beaten. There are players out there who shouldn't be there and there are players at home who should be there. This is an additional constraint for the Lions. The other is that they have so little time together as a squad prior to playing the best of the southern hemisphere. It can be done - and it has been done before - but it's a massive challenge in today's game.      

I haven't been able to bring myself to watch the 1st Test yet - but here are the highlights for those of you who wish to see them.

19th June. With all the heat we've been enjoying recently, I just realised that I've completely forgotten to keep you posted with the key matches from the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand. They had an uneven start to the tour, due I think partly to the compressed fixture list, coupled with the fact that for some reason known only to Warren Gatland, the touring party arrived in NZ only 3 days before the first match. Here's last Saturday's match played against the Maori All Blacks..
 Next weekend sees the 1st Test against the full All Black side.. 

It's now up around 37° in the late afternoon. Might have to take my duffle coat off!

I went for a speed walk along the boardwalk at Anglet this morning. At my max taxying speed, I can get to the far end in just under half an hour, followed by a quick turn around and then back again. There were waves of heat rising up from the path.. and when I finally arrived back at the car, it indicated 34½°. I was steaming when I arrived back at the house. If you click on the photo (right) you should be able to see the start point near the top and the turn around point by all the restaurants below. (look for the yellow X)

The season has definitely started.. car with foreign plates and camper vans are trundling around in ever-increasing numbers. The season proper starts in less than a couple of weeks and that means waving goodbye to a parking space in Biarritz.  

This picture made me smile!

Keep calm and mow the lawn!

15th June. In the interests of balance, here are a couple of images of Bayonne to even things up a little. The river in the foreground is the Nive, (with the much-lamented rowing club at bottom left) before it joins forces with the mighty Adour in the background on its way to the Bay of Biscay. (worth clicking on this one)

This one is taken from the Citadel, overlooking the town and the Pyrenees:

9th June. Here is the view of the Grande Plage at Biarritz as seen from the lighthouse. We always take our visitors here for what is arguably the best view in town:

4th June. France 2 put on a programme the other night about young musical prodigies called "Prodiges" and, in my view, Marin, a young (12) clarinettist, stole the show:

These two precocious youngsters ran Marin very close for my top spot.. very easy to warm to these two!

More of these richly talented young prodigies here.

1st June. We went off early this morning to buy some lawn edging (ooh, the excitement of it!) from a garden centre outside Bayonne the size of Rutland - and after that it seemed like a good idea to zip down to Saint-Jean-de-Luz to enjoy the 1st of June. Madame needed to stock up with some flimsy accoutrements and we also needed to check the menus on a couple of our favourite restaurants as we have a marital milestone approaching. Here's a listing of all the restaurants in and around Saint-Jean-de-Luz. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the comments - I think some of them might be malicious. 

Once again, we pinched ourselves as we walked along the sea front - perfect weather and Saint Jean looked at its best. We'd wanted to have lunch at the Buvette de la Halle but they don't open properly until 14th June so we ended up having lunch at Le Fandango, in rue de la République.. grilled sardines and a green salad for Madame and a salad with roquefort, chorizo, croutons etc for me plus a glass each of a homemade sangria.. What was the damage I hear you ask? 33€ including coffee. My only comment would be that calling itself a bar brasserie is - in the words of the much-missed Alan Clark - being economical with the actualité.    

Answer: Sir Winston Churchill.