242. The swallows are back..

27th May. While Madame was out at the market buying some sardines (among other things) this morning, I was heaving our trusty plancha (right) out from its winter storage in the garage. It didn't need much in the way of titivation as I'd lightly greased all the metal parts prior to putting it away last November. With a new gas bottle in place, the sardines were soon sizzling away and the bottle of rosé sitting in an ice bucket was pulling "open me" faces! 

I say this every year I'm sure and this is probably heresy to "Barbeque Man" but nothing cooks better outdoors than a plancha. I've tried them all - those little Hibachi BBQs in the 60s & 70s, the Weber kettle BBQs in the 80s, gas BBQs in the 90s - been there, done that. Sticks, firelighters, charcoal lighting fluid, the jokey aprons (you know the ones I mean!) - they can all be junked. With a plancha, there's no fuss, no dramas, no clouds of blue smoke drifting over the neighbouring gardens.. Just food cooked to perfection!  

Not convinced? Try this on your barbeque! ☺

26th May. Back from a steamy visit with family - it was 35° up there in Andernos-les-Bains.. It was too hot to be out in the sun there so we stayed indoors in the air conditioned coolth (is this a word?!) of the house.  Once back home in the Pays Basque, we were relieved to find the temperature was a welcome 10° cooler. Later on in the evening, the skies darkened, the wind began to blow* and the stage was set for a rumble.. and we weren't disappointed. It arrived around 11pm - the sky was almost continuously lit up with lightning and then the rain started. We have a small balcony at the front of the house and towards midnight I stood out there in my pyjamas hoping to get arrested enjoying the light show. It was quite spectacular! 

* known as a brouillarta here.

Here's (yet) another look at the Pays Basque.. OK, the coast has all the hot spots and those "must see" places that have to be visited if it's your first time here - but I would argue that the interior merits equal attention. It has an added advantage - while frustrated and frazzled motorists on the coast crawl from one tourist honey pot to the next in long shimmering tailbacks, the interior is by comparison virtually car-free. That's all I'm saying! 

We're off to Andernos-les-Bains for the day today so you'll have to talk among yourselves while we're away or - have another look at our town..!

25th May. The forecast today was for 33° so we decided to go down to the beach early for a walk before the day became too hot. Just as well we did because by 11am it was already 28° - and so after having lunch outside we moved back indoors this afternoon. The outside temperature in the shade is now 35° at 6.30pm..

Here's a quirky reminder of what Bayonne looks like.. I think it's a photogenic town but it's hard to see it now with fresh eyes after 10 years.. See what you think.  

I made one of my "specials" yesterday evening to cool off with.. Into a tall glass, pour a measure of white rum (from the French islands if you can find it), then add a similar quantity of sugar cane syrup. Then take a couple of limes and squeeze them. Add the juice to the glass. Stir well. Finally, top up the glass to the brim with cracked ice. This is hard to make if you don't have a machine for grinding ice cubes into fragments - but do your best. It's worth the effort. Find a shady spot - and enjoy!      

23rd May. I was upstairs earlier getting ready to go out - when there was a light thump at the window. Lying on the window ledge was a small yellow bird that was clearly dazed. This is becoming a habit! (two others did the same thing last year) It appeared to be still alive (just) so I took it downstairs and sat it in the garden while it slowly recovered its bearings. After about 20 minutes, it flew off to a nearby bush and vanished in the tangle of roots.

On coming back home, there was no sign of it so no harm done. I think that's about the third or fourth one that's done this particular trick in the last few months. It looked like one of these - that's as specific as I can be - I'd say it was a juvenile goldfinch (probably maybe).

19th May. I've been trying for a while to find a video that shows what rowing is like from the inside.. The problem is - you can't row and take a picture at the same time. It needed the advent of GoPro cameras - sturdy, small & autonomous - to open it up. Here's one that doesn't do a bad job of portraying the sport - apart from the music. It would have been better if we could have just heard the rhythmic whoooosh whoosh of the sliding seats and the sound of water bubbling under the boat:

If anyone knows of a good rowing (not sculling) video where you can hear just the sound of rowing (without a $&ù§?à music track!) I'd be grateful if you could send me the URL, and I'll post it here. Contact me via the link above the visitor counter in the left hand margin. Thanks! 

  

17th May. I try not to pay too much attention to political tittle-tattle (meat and drink for rolling news channels) and there's certainly no shortage of that at the moment on this side of the Atlantic. In France, there's much interest in the composition of President Macron's new government (with legislative elections to follow in June); in the UK, political pundits are unanimous in anticipating a landslide election victory for Prime Minister Theresa May on 8th June - plus there's the ongoing Brexit saga as British negotiators prepare to lock horns with the assorted suits of the EU.

However, my ears pricked up after listening to some of the claims and counter-claims emerging from the US (summary of the salient points here). I can't help but think that Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, has either been remarkably unlucky, spectacularly misquoted, poorly advised or just plain dumb (or all of the above!). It could also be that he's the latest example of the bull who carries his own china shop around with him. Surely he is surrounded by advisers who can guide him through the political minefields of Washington?

The "impeachment" word has started to be bandied about.. and we haven't heard that since 1998. Only one President in my lifetime has been impeached (President Nixon beat the House to the draw by resigning in advance). I view the impeachment process as evidence that no-one is above the law in the US. President Trump appears to be sailing very close to the wind and now the FBI has been given a week to hand over records & transcripts of conversations from the White House. Brace yourselves..

Meanwhile, here's a timely reminder of when, on a hot Texas morning 55 years ago, a young President inspired a nation - and a watching world:

(Entire speech here)

16th May. I was out in the garden yesterday doing a few small jobs when I was minded to check the temperature.. We've a thermometer out there in the shade and it was registering 30°! I've just come indoors after doing some more work out there and it's now a sultry 31° at 4pm.. Phew! Suddenly it's summer. And Madame has just returned from a trip into town and even she was complaining about the heat. I think we might be due for a storm this evening.  

10th May. A long-lost cousin of mine arrived in town a couple of days ago in a camper van from a holiday in southern Spain. We spent the last two days catching up and visiting all the "must see" places in the Pays Basque. We got up to speed on Monday evening with dinner at Chez Pantxua before heading out on Tuesday for Ascain, Sare, Ainhoa, Dancharia, Itxassou - for lunch at Esteben Borda (right) - where we were defeated by the generosity of the lunch - and the quantity of the wine! It's not often you'll hear me say that - before we headed back to Bayonne.

Today, we did Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Les Aldudes (for lunch at Pierre Oteiza - highly recommended!), Saint-Etienne-de-Baïgorry and Espelette. Fortunately, the weather gods smiled on us on both days - we were blessed with temps up in the high twenties - and so our visitors saw the Pays Basque at its very best. The roads inland were traffic free and it was a real pleasure to show them why we are so well-rooted here.

Although this bridge over the river Nive at Saint-Etienne-de-Baïgorry is known as the Roman Bridge, it actually dates from 1661. Looking down from the ancient bridge and watching foot-long trout in the crystal-clear waters below was addictive - a trout would give an occasional flick of the tail to hold station over a stone, then its dark shadow would slide across the river bed followed by a sudden sparkling dart and a spreading ripple as one took an insect - but we had to move on.

The grooves worn in the cobbled surface bear witness to the use made of the bridge by countless heavily laden carts and wagons over the centuries travelling to and from nearby Spain.

8th May. And so today we enter the era of Macronomics. There's much optimism and enthusiasm on TV for the new man but it's early days yet. I think he'll find his hands are tied by the "Golden Rules" just as Hollande's were - thus the only actions available to him are those that cost little or nothing to implement, but generate the impression of activity. His record will be judged on his reaction to threats to the country's security and the economy, notably the unemployed and the unemployable. Can he connect with the people? Can he convince the unions to back him? Can he get his reforms and legislation through the National Assembly without a party machine? He has a massive challenge ahead of him. 

Meanwhile, the first swallows are back. 

187. Bayonne and the plancha both sizzle..

25th May 2012. Summer's here! Yee-haar! Forecast is for ~28° today. Shorts and t-shirt weather. Other signs of summer? Bayonne's resident busker - I call him SaxMan™ - is back after a long winter absence! He's taken up his customary spot opposite the Monument aux Morts and he's playing the very same 10 second riff over and over again that he played last year. He must be driving the poor people in the shop behind him crazy.. Also, I dragged the plancha out of the garage, up the steps and it's now installed on the terrace and ready for action after a wipe down and general cleaning off of assorted crud & spiders etc. Here's a short clip that gives some tips about cooking with a plancha (or a flat top grill as it's called in the video):

More plancha recipes here.

We've just had sardines and mackerel fillets on our plancha.. eased down with some cold sangria. Mmmm.. I usually avoid mackerel as I always found it oily in England. I'd say that the ones we've just had were the best fish of any kind that we've had for a very long time, and even better with some Basque hot sauce. This Basque sauce is so tasty and piquant - Madame always adds a dash or two when sauté-ing veg and it really gives them a lift. Well worth trying and available online from the link above. If you do order some, don't be tempted to go for the mild one - the 'Forte' one as in the picture is perfect. The only thing I missed was a cup of Greek coffee - I'm completely out of it at the moment so I'm doing cold turkey. When I've asked around for it in town, all I get is blank looks.. even in the delis in Biarritz. There's an element of "This is the Pays Basque - we don't do foreign food here!" Fortunately, I found a stockist on the French ebay site so there's a package on its way.

I went for a ride along the Nive this afternoon - and like a dummy I forgot my bottle of water.. I went as far as Ustaritz which is 25+km. I was gagging for a cold drink when I returned home! It's 29 in the shade in the garden.

This weekend sees 160 rowers from all over France converging on Bayonne to take part in the annual "Trois Rivières" event. This is an arduous event - especially if the temperatures are up as high as they are today. They'll row 72 km in 3 days on the Gave, the Adour and the Nive. I did it 2-3 years ago and I was doing John Wayne impressions for a few days afterwards. In the evening there's much jollity and conviviality so, all in all, it's a great weekend.

The Fêtes de Bayonne is only a couple of months away. This is, by any standard, madness writ large. Bayonne has some 40,000 inhabitants but over the 5 days (& nights) of the Fêtes, some 1.3 million people flood in.. The rowing club organise a regatta during the Fêtes and rowing here is quite informal so you won't see stripey blazers, bow ties etc as you might elsewhere. But make no mistake - there are some extremely dedicated oarsmen and women here. We usually disappear over the days of the Fêtes and head for the mountains as town becomes unbearable.

30th May 2012. We're having a few days away now - we're taking a long lazy swing through Provence before heading up to the Jura region.. Should be back in mid June..

Meanwhile, here's a London 'Bobby' showing that failing a Riverdance audition needn't be an end to your dreams of stardom..!

Here's how it should be done:

159. From the Pays Basque to the high Pyrenees

2nd August 2011. Arrived back home yesterday after a long weekend (Fri-Mon) up in the high Pyrenees to the south east of the Pays Basque. We stayed at a small hotel at Luz-Saint-Sauveur (French version here) next to a rushing mountain torrent..

Luz-Saint-Sauveur (left) lies an hour by winding road (52km) to the south of Tarbes. We were surrounded by mountains that ranged from 6-9,000ft and the winding roads in the valleys between villages took us through much breathtaking scenery with some vertiginous drop-offs. No place to drive if you suffer from vertigo..

The first place we visited was the famous Cirque de Gavarnie and the cascades (waterfalls) which are some 422 metres (1380-odd feet) high.. It was clear why the Pyrenees had, for so long, provided a natural barrier between France and Spain. Mountains rose sheer from the fast flowing streams that roared their way through the tight valleys and the steeply sloping hills were closely covered in mountain oak and pines - or, as I like to call them - trees. 

Cascades, Gavarnie

Difficult to convey the sense of space and grandeur - but, to give you an idea,
the waterfall dwarfs the Eiffel Tower by almost 100m!

This is where the dog drank his own weight in water!

Lac de Gaube

 

View from the summit of the Col du Tourmalet

This last picture (above) was taken from the summit of the Col du Tourmalet looking west back towards the start. This is a mountain climb that's often been used as a stage in the Tour de France. It's staggering to think that these racing cyclists are not only able to ride a bicycle up this road - but to race up it as well. From Luz-Saint-Sauveur, it's a continuous climb for 19km up to the summit which is 2115m - 6939ft - high. Remember, too, that the air at this altitude contains much less oxygen than at sea level so, in addition to the effort made by the legs, their lungs must be bursting by the time they grind their way to the top. There were more than several cyclists doing exactly this during their summer holidays.. each to their own! In fact, we spotted one guy running up it..

This is definitely an area we'll be returning to as it's only a two hour drive from Pipérade Towers here in Bayonne. Highly recommended - even at the height of the tourist season it was still far from being crowded. I fell asleep on one 7,000ft high mountain top (as you do!) up in the clouds while waiting for the cable car - with the result that my face now resembles a beef tomato.. and I could probably serve as a danger to shipping!

I almost forgot: one evening we had a bottle of Chateau Bouscassé Madiran.. It's been a long time since we enjoyed a red wine so much as we did this one. Well worth hunting one (or more) down. I must see if I can find it around here.

PS. Many thanks to S&B for their comment below.. I had a look at their link (edited in 2019 to add the link no longer works) about the Chateau Bouscassé Madirans and I wouldn't argue with a single word. (Edited in 2023 to add another review: https://www.reversewinesnob.com/chateau-bouscasse-madiran) Forget the great Bordeaux wines (for a few moments) and beg, borrow or steal a bottle of this. I must be honest - we'd been drinking a Buzet red at the hotel .. and while it was OK at the price, it was nothing spectacular. They ran out of it one evening and our waiter substituted a bottle of the Bouscassé for it at the same price as the Buzet. The difference in quality screamed out of the glass at me.. I checked the price via the net when we returned and it retails for more than I usually pay for a bottle in a restaurant. Multiply by at least 2 for the restaurant price and it's clear that our waiter did us an enormous favour! I used to look for Madiran in England but I was never able to find anything this good. I'm no good at describing wine in the way the critics do - "cigar boxes, pencil shavings, liquorice and red fruit.." All I can say is that it was like velvet on the tongue and it lingered long in the mouth - but not long in the bottle! A truly memorable wine.

PPS. "Is it me..?" Department. I thought I'd share this with you.. While we were away, we were sitting in a café somewhere and I was tearing the end of the paper tube of sugar for my coffee. I tore the end of the first one, poured the sugar in my coffee and crumpled up the paper and put it in the ash tray. I then took the second one - tore the top off it and poured the sugar straight into the ash tray.. How did that happen? Have I now reached the age when I'll open my eyes one day to find I'm standing in my pyjamas in a shopping centre? Please tell me I'm not alone!

Finally, on the theme of Luz-Saint-Sauveur, Napoleon III used to visit the area and he apparently said one day that he'd like a bridge to be built to span a local gorge. Four years later, in 1863, it was duly completed. Nowadays it's used for bungee jumping or saut à l'élastique as it's known here. Here's a clip that shows what it's like to fall 90m.. Did we try it? Er no..

3rd August 2011. I mentioned Woody Allen's new film "Midnight in Paris" a few posts ago - hands up all those who've seen it...? This is "Bistro Fada" - a catchy little swing jazz guitar number from it..

4th August 2011. Every now and again, a moment comes along that reminds us why we like it here so much. For example, this morning we took the pooch for a walk around Lac Mouriscot at Biarritz. Even at the height of the tourist season, we were almost the only ones there. There's a shaded walk around the lake and the cool waters were just too tempting for Chibby - he didn't waste any time in getting wet and muddy. On our return, we had lunch outside on the terrace - Madame had bought some fresh crab legs and sardines. We had the crab legs with a salad and then we fired up the plancha to cook the sardines with her patent Piment d'Espelette marinade. I served some cold Sangria - and afterwards we had some fruit. Then, a Turkish coffee and a cigarillo.. under the umbrella in the heat of the afternoon sun. Perfect.. The thought crossed my mind - could we do any of this back in the UK..? Answer? Regrettably no..

133. Plancha time again!

26th March 2011. Watching the news over the last few days reminded me of my previous life. When long-simmering tensions in the Balkans finally erupted into what turned out to be a very nasty little civil war in the 90s, various governments around the world decided that enough was enough and your correspondent was despatched to foreign climes to convert jet fuel into noise - come rain or shine, night & day, 7 days a week, month after excruciating month and year upon year. Watching a similar scenario unfolding today, I ask myself - do I miss it? (I might have given you a clue there!) 

Once again, we seem to be heading for another full-blown 37 carat tangled mess. Having started the No Fly Zone, I ask myself what event(s) will cause the politicians to decide that an "end state" has been reached. What is the end state? If it's hoped that operating a No Fly Zone will cause Col. Gaddafi to up sticks and head for foreign parts without there being any need for boots on the ground, then I think that those who decide such weighty matters are sadly mistaken. Let's hope I'm to be proved wrong.

Back to happier thoughts - the temperatures are on the upward march.. it's forecast to be around 20°C this weekend. The plancha is sitting there in the garage winking at me each time I walk past it..

Here's an idea..

Now for all those out there who swear by their BBQs... let's see you try this!

Or even this bijou snackette.. (a far cry from burnt sausages!)

Bon app!

With the death of Elizabeth Taylor, I wonder how many real stars are left?

108. Espadrilles

18th January 2011. At the end of yesterday afternoon, it was still bright and sunny so we went down to the beach at Anglet. Walking from the car park we could hear the sound of a heavier than usual surf breaking on the shore. Mountainous waves from somewhere out in the Atlantic were rearing up to crash into the breakwater with a massive whumphhh that could be felt through the feet.. The sea was dazzlingly white with foam and there was a crispness in the air that tasted clean and salty.

The late afternoon sun slanted through the golden haze that hung over the beach.. Spent waves - so high and threatening a hundred yards away - faded away to nothing on the sloping beach. Chibby, our golden English cocker spaniel, yelped with pleasure as he chased himself in lazy circles in the sand. Happy days!

If you're visiting the Pays Basque for the first time, it won't be too long before you notice that rope-soled shoes - espadrilles - are extremely popular. Classic summer wear down here, they are available in styles to suit all tastes, and they are very practical, fairly cheap, comfortable, lightweight, easy to pack and easily dried if they get wet.

Old-time smugglers reportedly preferred them (for their silent qualities) as they crossed the Pyrénées and certainly Florentino Goicoechea, the legendary Basque guide for the WWII Comet Line, (mentioned elsewhere here) used to make sure that all his escapees wore them.

They can be bought online in every style, colour and price imaginable from a number of suppliers in Mauléon, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Bayonne and many other outlets in the Pays Basque.   

Lomo is another speciality of the Pays Basque and is served widely.. I believe it was originally a Spanish dish but it's been well and truly adopted on this side of the border. Lomo is pork fillet that's been rolled in <George Clooney voice> what else! - powdered piment d'Espelette - then sliced thinly before being either fried in a pan, or preferably cooked on a plancha, with what looks like red peppers here:

I came across this video (below) the other day - it reminds me of the 5 months we spent in the gîte when I only had the one book to read. Fortunately, it was Karen Blixen's beautifully written "Out of Africa", which I read 2-3 times while there. The quality of the writing would be a remarkable achievement for anyone whose mother tongue was English - that the author was Danish makes it all the more impressive. As a description of a land and its peoples it has few equals. Highly recommended if you haven't read it. The one thing that spoils the dreamlike flying sequence is when Streep's character asks, "When did you learn to fly?" to which Redford responds, "Yesterday."..!        Right..

This really is one to watch in full screen:

The scale of this part of Africa is something that appeals to me - the vastness of the plains stretching into the immeasurable distance with the distant blue of the Ngong hills in the background. One day perhaps.

Postscript to my visit to the dentist the other day: we talked about San Sebastian and he said he thought it was the most beautiful city in the world. I'd not thought of that before but it's certainly right up there. I asked myself - which city/town is more beautiful..? Paris has to come into it somewhere. Where else? Don't be shy.. use the comment facility at the foot of this post. I'd be interested to hear other points of view. Here's a reminder - sit back and enjoy this swooping helicopter ride over the city - it starts at 1:19..

Meanwhile, à propos of nothing, I read today that Starbucks in the US is launching its new 31oz serving size for coffee and iced tea.. to be known as the Trenta.. That's just shy of a litre..! And where the Trenta goes, surely a Quaranta can't be far behind! A bargain bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, a gorilla-sized portion of fries and a Trenta. What more do you want? Apart from a Hershey bar.. (and an oxygen tent!)

57. It's plancha time again! Ouch!

15th April 2010. It's at this time of the year that I start thinking about lugging the plancha out of the garage, heaving it up the steps of the terrace and rolling it to its resting place for the next 6 months. In 2000 years time, ambitious archeologists will be falling over themselves to publish papers that explain exactly how the Plancha God was moved 20 metres horizontally and then up 5 steps using no artificial aids.. I don't intend to leave any vellum scrolls in the garage with the secret!

Something we discovered only within the last year or so is Sakari Sauce Basque (Forte). It's an intriguingly hot spicy sauce that is very addictive.. Madame sautés vegetables with it and it goes very well with grilled meats, poultry and pasta. If you decide to try some (it's available on the internet), I'd recommend going for the 'Forte' one. It's not cripplingly hot like some Indian curries but it just adds a welcome piquancy to dishes. Here's a clip that shows how it's made:

Watching the above clip, I've just realised that this is the very shop in Saint Etienne de Baïgorry that we used to visit year after year to stock up with tins of Confit de Canard, rillettes, cassoulet, beans in goose fat and all the other good things from the Pays Basque to keep our spirits up during the long dark days of winter. There may be other suppliers as good but I'd be surprised if there are any better.

If you ever find yourself in Saint Etienne de Baïgorry around lunch-time, make your way to the church and then stand on the bridge over the Nive and, after watching the trout holding their position in its crystal clear swiftly flowing waters, look upstream and, if you're anything like us, you'll be tempted by the idyllic setting of the Hôtel Arcé to wander down and, at the very least, study its menu! If it's a hot day, what could be better than lunch on their terrace under the welcome shade of the platanes with the swirling river within touching distance? (Answer: Nothing!) The menu featured Truite au Bleu when we were there. (Needless to say, we have no connection with, or commercial interest in, either the hotel or the shop mentioned here.)

17th April 2010. Since writing the above, the plancha is now in position on the terrace - we cleaned it off yesterday evening so we're all set for summer now.. once I've figured out how to pop that bulging vein in my forehead back into position from shifting the blessed thing!

By the way, I do welcome comments or questions so if you have any, please feel free to use the comment form. Also if there's a topic you'd like to see explored here just ask.. Thanks.  

43. Junk that BBQ! Vive la plancha!

4th February 2010. One of the best things we bought since arriving down here is a "plancha"..

Stunned silence in the snug..

"C'est quoi - une plancha..?" I hear you ask?

It's a means of cooking outdoors that consigns the BBQ firmly to the Stone Age.. (Cue howls of derision, chest beatings, etc) Now I realise that this may be heresy to a few readers - as there's some strange psychology tied up with the Western male fixation with BBQs that has never been satisfactorily explained. There are many elements at work here - the playing with fire, squatting over a smoking heap of charcoal that refuses to get going, Suburban Man reverting to Hunter/Gatherer (joke apron optional), the outsize tools, the "know how", etc etc. The stage whispered "tutting" from the neighbours as washing is hastily taken indoors due to the smokescreen drifting over the hedge that the Royal Navy could hide a medium sized warship behind (if we had any left)..

And then there's the food that's been cooked on a BBQ.. we've all suffered the chicken legs that have been cremated on the outside and are virtually raw inside - accompanied by the familiar cry of "It'll be OK, just scrape off the black bits..".

Those days are gone. A plancha is a heavy slab of cast iron (I suspect ours is a recycled bulkhead from the "Bismarck") that's been enamelled and it sits on top of a gas burner or two. How to use it? It couldn't be easier. Light the gas, wipe it with a smidgen of oil, wait 5 minutes for the cooking suface to warm up and you're in business. Ours is identical to the one above. 

Once you've tasted food cooked on one, there's no going back. Sardines cooked on it have never tasted better.. It does fish, meat and chicken beautifully. I think planchas may be Spanish in origin but they are everywhere in the Pays Basque. 

  

I think I'll be heaving ours out of the garage in a month or so (it weighs a ton.. and I have to lug it up a few steps between the garage and the terrace) and then it sits on our terrace through to October/November - & no, it won't blow away! 

Madame loves to cook on it and she cooks like an angel. My job? In March I carry it out, and in November I clean it off, lightly grease the metal parts & put it away again. In between that I sort out the drinks. Happy days.

PS With Feb 14th coming up, and if the thrill of sleeping in the dog-house has lost its appeal, then rescue is at hand..! The site offers substantial discounts on French perfumes..

Sunday, 7th February 2010. Went down to Socoa to have a look at the menu at Chez Pantxua.. ie, to see if we could afford to go there next weekend. We've been there several times before and for sea food it's in a class of its own. Today we decided that it would be foolishly expensive (around 100€ for 2) for lunch so Madame said she would make something special next weekend. She can always outdo anything a restaurant can serve up anyway - and I can extract a cork with the best of them. We stopped off at Saint-Jean-de-Luz on the way home and walked along the seafront watching the surfers. The temperature was hovering around 15C.

Tomorrow, we're having the remainder of the windows at "Piperade Towers" double glazed so we'll be one step closer to finishing all the thousand and one jobs that we've had to do in the house..

I just had one of those random memory moments - I was reminded of a conversation I had years ago.. I was telling a friend about my new watch and he came out with: "Yes, I used to have a watch like that - it lost 2 minutes a day, regular as clockwork"  Still makes me laugh!

Now, it's fast approaching that* time of day but first - put your feet up, close your eyes and enjoy the beautiful tone of Michael Lucarelli's guitar as he interprets Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata".. (and filmed through a war surplus U boat periscope)

* "Apero" time!

PS. Style Tip: Ditch the flat 'at!