80. Biarritz behind the beaches

21st August 2010. Did 15km on the river this morning in a quad sculler.. (Running total: 66km)

Each time we make the short trip to Biarritz (10-15 mins away) we thank our lucky stars that we actually live down here. We were there just a couple of days ago and as we approached the sea front the light became dazzling as it reflected off the white painted Art Deco buildings. We tried to think of other towns that are similar but we weren't able to come up with one. It has its own unique distinctive style and atmosphere. Biarritz is alive and well all round the year..

To give you an idea of what the town behind the beaches looks like, I've raided the web to try and find some images that capture the life of the town.. I've also included some houses in Biarritz - just to look at as the prices there are wince-making. Ease the pain with this stirring Basque choir while you're looking at the pics. Now I don't know if you appreciate male voice choirs but if this singing doesn't send a shiver through you, I suggest you should check your pulse! (to make sure you've still got one!) Beautiful singing and harmonies.. 

The former station - la gare du Midi

Here's a familiar view of the town centre (from just above the Casino), showing the Galeries Lafayette department store (or Biarritz-Bonheur as it's known locally):

Avenue Edouard VII (for mega-bucks shopping!)

Rue Mazagran

Casino Municipal 

centre de congrès, la place Bellevue, Biarritz

22nd August 2010. We went for a bike ride up the Adour as far as Villefranque (~20km altogether) this morning before the sun climbed too high.. Lots of people out jogging, cycling, roller-blading, walking. At one point the chain on my bike came off and wedged itself firmly between the frame and the nearest gear-wheel. I was looking at it and trying to work out a way of freeing it that would minimise the transfer of oil & gunge to my hands when a French couple out on their bikes stopped. She asked if her husband could help? Quick as a flash, he reached down, took hold of the chain, heaved it out of the jam it was in and put it back where it should be.. Voilà! What a gent..!   

Some bijou residences..

This evening the thermometer on the terrace showed 33°C in the shade at 7.30pm.. Phew..!

The centre of Bayonne has been reverberating and echoing all weekend with the sound of multiple Ferrari V-12s running around town.. What magic do Ferrari work on their engines to make them sound so musical?

While I was waiting to cross the road by the Place des Basques, a young lad on a Solex moped next to me was looking wistfully at the pack of Ferraris across the road - none of them taller than a dining table - and he asked me what it was all about.

I told him it was 25€ for a ride in one.

He said, "How long do they let you drive it for..?"

He looked downcast when I explained it was a ride in the passenger seat only..  

79. The brown brown grass of home

16th August 2010. I've been trying to encourage the lawn in our garden to grow green and weed-free for the past few years but I'm starting to wonder if I'm flogging a dead horse. After a long hot rain-free summer, the 'lawn' is definitely bien cuite.. ie, burnt brown and patchy, despite raising the height of the cut on the lawn mower. After weeks of baking heat with no rain - just the odd shower - we had a torrential downpour at 6am on Sunday morning that was so loud it sounded as though the house was being driven through a car wash. But it was a case of too much too late - the damage had already been done. Needless to say, I'm going to have to try again. There must surely be a variety of grass that can tolerate the climate here.

This evening we walked over to the beautifully landscaped gardens that have been laid out in and around the old ramparts surrounding Bayonne. It was so pleasant to sit there on a warm evening (25C in the shade when we returned home) almost in the heart of Bayonne and yet be in such a peaceful setting.  There's clearly an enlightened council at work here.

17th August 2010. This morning I finally loaded up the car with all the junk from the cellar and took it to the nearby déchetterie on the banks of the Adour.

Whilst there, I spotted a nice wooden winebox that had contained Château Plantey 'Pauillac' that somehow jumped into the back of my car.. I must admit to collecting these (below) and it seems I'm not alone!

Rowed this evening.. had a good outing in an VIII. Did 15km.. (Running total: 41km)

18th August 2010. We went for a bike ride this morning along the Adour as far as Villefranque. It must be almost 20km there and back. It seems only a few months ago that the first shoots of corn started poking through and now the fields are a good 8 feet high with a rustling mass of corn stalks, and I believe the corn is destined for animal feed.

19th August 2010. Arriving at the rowing club this evening I spotted the team coach for the Agen rugby club who play Bayonne tomorrow parked outside the hotel nearby. And as I was walking away from the club after the outing, I noticed 5 massively built South Sea islanders with their Easter Island profiles in their Agen t-shirts strolling along the river bank.. It's not until you see the new generation of rugby players that you realise just how big they are. And as for trying to stop one with the ball running at you..

Very warm out on the river this evening.. went out in a quad sculler and did 10km (Running total: 51km) 

78. Sounds of old Europe

That old street organ I heard the other day set me thinking about the cimbalom, another musical instrument that must surely be high on the endangered species list. What exactly is a cimbalom? According to Wiki, it's "a concert hammered dulcimer: a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box with metal strings stretched across its top". Got that..? No? I didn't think you did..! On the basis that a picture's worth a thousand words, here's a picture..

From the first time I heard one, its jangling strings resonated with me and I felt a nostalgia for the older European musical traditions (Magyar, Yiddish, gypsy) of our folk memory that are now virtually lost to the present generation. (Lady Gaga just doesn't come close!)

The sound of one always puts me in mind of the film noir genre that would invariably have the ultra sinister-looking Vladek Sheybal (below) cast as the softly-spoken bad guy - complete with cigarette holder of course..

Vlad the Impaler..

I've been a fan of the sound of the cimbalom since I was introduced to it during the course of a memorable visit to the legendary Le Grand Mayeur, the Russian/Hungarian taverne/restaurant, now sadly defunct, in Brussels.

Here's a regrettably short clip that features the Kalinke ensemble from Le Grand Mayeur:

  

Located in the Place du Grand Sablon, Brussels, Le Grand Mayeur was housed in a tall building (of 3 or 4 storeys) and the centre of each floor had been removed - making 3 mezzanine floors - so from the ground floor there was an uninterrupted view all the way up to the roof. It was candle-lit and, upon entering, there was an overpowering sensation you had entered a different world to the workaday Brussels outside. A gypsy orchestra consisting of a singer accompanied by a cimbalom, balalaika, guitar, piano, violin & bass provided the magic..

Le Grand 
Mayeur

Thé Slav

I think the bulk of the clientele must have originated from the backroom staff of many of the Central and Eastern European embassies based in Brussels - judging by the number of ill-fitting grey suits when I visited Le Grand Mayeur. One of the specialities of the house was Thé Slav - which was tea with Slivovitz or shoe polish (I was never quite sure which). The first indication that things were about to look up, or take a turn for the worse - or both - came the moment when the waitress served me with a glass cup of Thé Slav - pausing only to light it with a sudden whoof! The trick was to drink it before the flickering blue flame heated the rim of the glass sufficiently for it to bond directly to skin - as in lips! Drinking one felt like the blood in one's veins had been instantly replaced by 130 octane aviation fuel.. If the first cup tasted strong and removed all capacity for rational thought, the second scrambled all motor functions but curiously enabled you to understand Polish☺. So, a useful drink then.. The repertoire of the lively gypsy singer consisted of old folk songs which she sang in at least 5 or 6 central European languages, but somehow the enthusiastic cosmopolitan audience knew all the words, and after a Thé Slav or two, I found I did too..

That old favourite of mine - "Dark Eyes" - sounds very "listenable to" when played on the cimbalom:

This clip captures all the eerie echoing sound of the cimbalom that seems to speak to us from another time and another place:

Places like Le Grand Mayeur are few and far between. It seems bizarre that one had to visit a restaurant to discover that we shared a common folk heritage with our European neighbours. Le Grand Mayeur was far more than just "a nice restaurant with a band" - it reminded us that, whatever our nationality, we are all part of that broad river of humanity. Alas, for all of us, its doors have closed for the last time..

You may be excused for thinking that what started out as a look at the cimbalom has turned into a tribute to Le Grand Mayeur.. You'd be right!

The thing to drink there was a "Thé Slav" - tea served in a glass and flamed with (I think) slivovitz.. After one glass, you'd be humming all the tunes - and after two, you knew all the words!

So here, finally, is a last glimpse of it as it really was:

By the way, if anyone knows how to make Thé Slav, I'd be curious to find out. If you'd like to tell me, use the comment form below. Thanks!