Bayonne, Biaritz and Pau.

This week has been very, VERY hot. We arrived at this campsite on Saturday after several stops from Pinehlu. This time, it wasn't the kids at fault – but rather the quest for a gas regulator. Now, we had two gas bottles from the UK, which cannot be swapped over for new bottles here in France – they're different. So we had to get two new gas bottles – French ones. Yay. ….. But they have different fittings for the regulator – BOOO! So we hunted for a regulator – and it seems that nobody had one – they were either sold out or just didn't have them in the first place. So in the absence of getting the regulator, we stopped at a another shop called Decathlon – a sports shop like Sports Direct in the UK, but with a bit more variety. And there, they had a lovely girl's bicycle for just 99€! So an early Christmas present for the girl. Thank goodness, as her old bike was so small for her, that her knees were around her ears! So at least she got sorted. But in the time that we took (all with caravan in tow!) the fridge got rather warm. With temperatures ranging from 34 – 36 Celcius, it certainly was not cool! But we finally made it to St Savier, and duly followed the SatNav. Hmm, perhaps not such a wise move. It led us right through the middle of the village, and I can tell you, doing that with a caravan in not fun. We eventually had to turn around – how my husband managed to turn the van and caravan around is beyond me, but we made it, retraced our route, and found where we'd turned left, instead of right. Camp finally found and booked in, awning put up, and finally ….. relax. Or should I say 'melt'?! All of Sunday and Monday were so hot that at one point, I thought I was going to pass out! Keeping very still in this heat rally is a good plan. Unlike some other places, this is a very dry heat. It isn't too dissimilar to being in a fan oven. There is indeed a breeze, but it is hot, and makes you feel even hotter!

Camping les Rives de l'Adour
The camp we stayed at - to be honest, the pictures made
it look far more impressive than it actually was. But it
was fine for our purposes.

On Tuesday, we tried to escape the heat, and headed off to Bayonne and then Biaritz to see what they're like. Bayonne was just a typical French city really with lots of shops and the required cathedral. It had some lovely areas and a lot of shops. It is very close to the Spanish border, which has a great influence on the area. There is a lot of bull fighting rings around, and it's seen as quite a big celebration here. As I understand, in France, the bull may not be killed, but it is still an activity that I don't agree with. The Basque influence here seems to be much greater than the French influence. We collect magnets from wherever we go, and we just couldn't find one for Bayonne – only Basque! It was quite surprising. Eventually, the heat caught up with us, and it was sweltering! So we decided it was a good time to head over to Biaritz. We arrived, but there was absolutely nowhere to park. NOTHING! It was so full, and people were still flooding into the city. It would seem that there was some sort of street party that night, so most people were there for the rest of the night! It reminded me a lot of Brighton, but much prettier. Very seaside resort type, but nice. There's a house that seems like it's clinging to the rocks right out at the very front of the sea front. It is really pretty, and makes for some lovely pics! The rock formations out there are also a geologist's dream!!

Extremely tall trees on either side of the
road - very beautiful, and seen quite often
on the rural roads here in France.

Bayonne Cathederal seen as we walked
down one of the narrow side streets.

Many of the narrow side streets in
Bayonne have
thriving businesses in them. There are
few empty shops - they're snapped
up fast!

Entering Biaritz

Looking down at the coast road in Biaritz
and the house on the rocks. (Note the
rock formations on the left of the pic).

The house & rocks from the lower coast road in Biaritz.

We both agreed though that while Bayonne and Biaritz are very pretty, and seem like lovely places, they're not quite where we'd like to live. But there was still one more town to visit before we could make any informed choice – we had to see Pau on Wednesday. It is is a city with a lot happening. In the Winter, it is the gateway to the Pirinese but sadly, the view of the Piriense mountains was obscured by the clouds. It is said to be one of the most beautiful views in the world, we may have to return on a clear day to verify this claim. There are numerous shops with high priced goods, and these really do cater for the upper classes. It also has an enormous student population, with many colleges and universities in the area. According to Wikipedia, it is where the Wright Brothers set up the very first school of fight, and nobility and aristocracy would come to view people taking flight. It's a lovely city, and somewhere I'm sure we could do business in, but it's not quite where we'd like to live.

Kids in front of the water feature in Pau.

Another photo op! :D 

This is a cable car that runs from the train station below to
the road level - a lovely old thing, and still well used!

Look Mum! Minecraft trees!!

A typical view of the minor streets in
France. This was in Pau - walking back
towards the city centre.

Chateau de Pau - it was beautiful, but sadly doggies aren't
allowed in, so we'll have to look inside on our next trip.

 On our way back, we stopped at InterMarche (a local supermarket) for some cool drinks and ice creams. While I waited in the baking car, I spotted a baguette dispenser!!! So if the shop is closed, you can still get your bread! And the French do looooooove their baguettes!! 10 BILLION baguettes were sold last year alone!! (Pain - pronounced 'pa' with the a as in 'apple' is bread!).

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It seems that every village – no matter how small – has a church with an impressive steeple. It might not be a cathedral, but it is impressive none the less, and possibly more importantly, it is visible from the whole village – no matter where you are!

A village church

So! Here we are on Thursday – aka French Monday! But today's rather cloudy, and cool, so it's a day for relaxing, washing and cleaning the caravan (a job that is considerably quicker than cleaning the house!). We are very fortunate, this is only the second day of cool weather in the three weeks that we've been out here. It bucketed down when we went to Bordeaux, and today, is just occasional light drizzle with a cool breeze. I'm still in shorts though. Tomorrow though, is moving day. We're going to head back to the Bordeaux area. It's an area that we all liked very much, and felt very comfortable. We need to see about a house. It might not be THE perfect house for us, that might take some considerable searching to find that one. But it will mean the kids can get into school, and we can get our things and the cat over here … and normal life (whatever THAT is!) can resume.

August is definitely festival month! There seems to be a festival planned in every village at some time or another during the month. And somehow, we've managed to miss all the markets! I'm really disappointed about that! They tend to be on quite early in the morning, and by the time we've made our way to a place, it's already been and gone. I will make a more concerted effort to make it to the market in Bordeaux when we go next.