138. Back in town

20th April 2011. Back from Andalusia on Sunday evening.. and we've been busy getting things back to normal here since then. Clearing the inbox & mowing the lawn - both of which had flourished in our absence, and well, all the rest of it. Really enjoyed Andalusia.. we were lucky with the weather - it was above 30° most days with it peaking at 36° while we were in Seville. Low humidity made it very pleasant though.

Hotel Don Miguel, Ronda

We started in Malaga and then over the following week we visited Ronda, Arcos, Seville, Cordoba, Granada before returning to Malaga. This clip below was early morning in Ronda - from the spectacular terrace of the Hotel Don Miguel (where we had one night) perched on the edge of the vertiginous gorge of the Río Guadalevín. Turn up the volume - no tourists, just the birds singing:

And this was a late night visit to a flamenco cellar in Granada.. (a bit touristy I know)

We (the Royal we) discovered El Corte Inglés - a Spanish department store chain - while in Spain. Probably not news to 99% of you but it was to us. Not having the car with us saved my credit card from a Fukushima-style meltdown though! 

Whilst in Paris - we had a day free there before leaving for Spain - we swung by an old favourite Franc Pinot (1, Quai de Bourbon on the Ile St Louis) but it looked as if it had been closed for a long time. And on our return, we thought we'd stop off at La Rhumerie for one of their legendary rum based cocktails - but it too was closed (for re-decoration - it re-opens 19th May). One new place we tried that was open was Le Zimmer (no jokes please!), a traditional brasserie near Châtelet.. worth remembering if you're in the area.

We stayed M & C, old (French) friends of Madame's from the 60s, and they had me laughing with a story of when they were once on holiday in England staying with friends. Apparently the lady of the house was about to toss the salad one evening when M got to his feet and announced to one and all that he would do it - as he was a great tosser..! Apparently his English hosts cried with laughter at this - much to his bemusement!

We were both surprised by the prices in cafés in central Paris - we stopped for a drink just across from BHV and it seemed as though the minimum currency unit was 5€. A small beer was 5.10€! A coffee 5€..! Ouch!

Meanwhile, back in the Pays Basque, we picked up the pooch yesterday morning and he slept all day - I don't think he must have had much sleep at the kennel. He was in a daze most of the day..

Rowing last night - beautiful warm cloudless evening out on the Nive - did 13km in a VIII sculler. (Running total: 573km) By the way, that's the club above on the left. There's a long outing planned for this coming Saturday morning - a number of boats are heading up the Adour as far as Urt (difficult to pronounce) - which is about 20km upriver (map here - it takes a few seconds to load). One set of crews will row up river and will change over at Urt with another set who will have driven up there. I'll be in an VIII going upriver. And it's an 8am start..! Luckily the forecast is for cooler weather on Saturday.

A link for our readers in France - click on your department and then your town or village..

By the way, it was 28° here yesterday afternoon.. Madame had bought a v drinkable AOC Gaillac dry rosé from Leclerc. It really hit the spot yesterday lunchtime.. (Obligatory warning notice: it's 13° so, as they say here: à consommer avec modération)

I spotted this story in SUR - the giveaway English language newspaper in southern Spain. You couldn't make it up.

137. Andalusia

4th April 2011. We've been struggling with our internet connection (no names - but there's a clue in the colour of the record label below..) We had to phone the Call Centre in Tunisia (of all places!) on our mobile to sort it out..  Following the instructions over the phone I ended up on the floor pulling out the dusty tangle of electric spaghetti from under my desk in order to disconnect my router, before resetting the LiveBox and then reconfiguring it according to the distant voice - before going for a walk for an hour while ones and noughts were fine-tuned from afar. Miracle of miracles, when I switched on again - it was all working as advertised. We have a single broadband connection that gives us the internet, TV and unlimited free* phone calls within Europe and N America so when it goes down, we feel a bit isolated!      

* unlimited for 7€ a month.

Now tell me you don't rate Harry Nilsson..

On Thursday, we're away on a trip first to Paris, then Andalusia in southern Spain for a week or so. We're taking the TGV up to Paris, staying with friends of Madame's for a couple of days before flying to Malaga.

This is a trip organised by a group of current and ex-'profs' from Madame's old school - we had a weekend away with them last May when we went up to Rouen - and they're a really nice crowd. The trip is a tour of Andalusia visiting Malaga, Ronda, Granada, Seville and all stations in between. During the week, we're staying in about 5 different hotels and there's a coach to take us everywhere. All meals and wine are included.. It's a region I've not visited before so I'm really looking forward to it. The temps are forecast to be up in the high 20s in the afternoons. 

To finish up with, here's a short video that combines three of my favourite things in life.. Django Reinhardt, rowing and the Impressionists - plus a touch of Jerome K Jerome! The artist is Ferdinand Gueldry who has up until now completely escaped my radar.

Well, as we're talking about favourite things in life, I'd better include this piece by Chet Baker. I'm in the "less is more" camp when it comes to jazz and if you're not sure what I mean by that, take a minute or two to listen to this:

5th April 2011. I must mention something that's been stuck in my mind ever since our trip up to Arès (across from Arcachon) last Friday - we drove past a discount supermarket that was called Le Mutant..! Wouldn't you think that, with all the health scares about GM foods, factory farming, growth hormones and all the rest of the brave new world that is modern agriculture, out of all the thousands of potential names there were to pick from, perhaps a better name could have been chosen?

Lunch outside again today..! Just picked up Madame from Biarritz - according to the car, it was 25½°C (or 78° in Ye Olde Fahrenheit) this afternoon.

Went out in an VIII sculler on a beautifully balmy cloudless blue evening with a warm slanting sun. Did 12km (Running total: 560km) Had a quick shower at home and ate out on the terrace.    

6th April 2011. The dog is spread-eagled on the tiled floor in the kitchen - it's 28°C in the shade in the garden.. or 82½°F if there's someone out there still using Ye Olde Royal & Ancient Fahrenheit. According to the TF1 Météo this evening (via the ever-charming Evelyne Dhéliat) it was 31° down in Saint-Jean-de-Luz this afternoon..  

Now I'm off to pack my suitcase - you'll have to talk amongst yourselves for a few days!

136. Summer's here (maybe)

31st March 2011. At last, we've reached the end of March and we can say finally goodbye to winter. No more endless days of dripping rain.. or squalls that blow in from the Bay of Biscay. Now the windows are open wide, the heating is off and the padded jackets are back in storage.. I've just given the table and chairs for the terrace their first wipe down with teak oil.. Next up? The plancha.. Its creaking journey from the dusty corner of the garage and up the steps to the terrace has all the mystery of the construction of Stonehenge. How did he manage to shift it without using a crane or block and tackle..? And without giving himself a hernia!

What is it about France that appeals to some of us Anglo-Saxons? If you're reading this, I'm presuming that you would count yourself as a Francophile. There remains, however, a sizeable wodge of people in England who are highly suspicious of all things Gallic; who are paranoid about any trace of Frenchness entering their lifestyle. Garlic studded into a roast leg of lamb? Sacrilege! A French car..? Fuhgeddaboutit.! Poncey French wine? No chance, mate - Jacob's Sheep Dip for me!

Being smitten with our neighbours across the Channel works both ways though. Last night I went to the Spanish cultural centre over the river to pick up Madame after her Spanish class and on my way in to the building I helped an elderly lady (OK, she was just a few years older than me) who had difficulty walking. She was taking a Spanish class as well but in the one after Madame's. It turned out that this lady was a former teacher of English and when she realised I was English she was soon waxing nostalgic about Penzance where she'd spent many happy holidays. She gave me her card and insisted that we come round one day for an apéro..

1st April 2011. We went up to Arès today (just to the north of Arcachon) today to see Madame's brother O and his wife F. See how many names of famous wines* you can spot on the map above.. (I'll give you a clue - don't waste any time looking for Jacob's Creek or Tesco's "Great with Chicken"!!) They're renting a place there for a few weeks while they house hunt around and about. They want to move away from the Paris region down to the warmer south west and it didn't disappoint today - it was 29°C! We had lunch outside and afterwards went for a walk down to the bay. It was still 27°C here when we returned home at 8.15pm.

* In a quick 10 second squint I counted 13 - there are probably a few more.

2nd April 2011. 14km on the river this morning - running total: 548km.

3rd April 2011. I discovered Mandion this morning.. Our neighbour mentioned the name to us the other day so this morning I thought I'd take a peek. The shop is set back off the RN10 in Anglet and it's fairly easy to miss. To call it a mere cake shop would be doing it an injustice. This establishment is nothing less than a temple dedicated to the art of the pâtissier and the cakes and chocolate on display are the ne plus ultra in the area.  The experience was reminiscent of going to look at puppies - it was impossible to leave without one. Up until now, Madame has bought her cakes at the excellent L Raux pâtisserie in the centre of Bayonne - but I suspect that might be about to change.