Mountain walking, rock spotting and wave watching….. That sounds like heaven to me! Where the mountains meet the sea, all sorts of past geological upheavals are exposed to wondering eyes! Our wonderful architect, Mariette Marty, moved to the Pays Basque with her family last year. They are just ten minutes from Biarritz, in the foothills of the Pyrénées, almost within spitting distance (except we are civilised people who would never do that!!) of Spain. With the mountains just a few minutes away by car, and with Bailey in the boot, we went for a fabulous 8km walk up and down pretty steep hills, watching new-born foals with their mothers sure-footedly trotting along precipitous ledges. The weather was kind to us, with clouds and occasional sun-breaks which illuminated the trees in an almost biblical fashion! There was even a calm lake to top off the experience.
The day before had been a little wilder, and we walked along the harbour at St Jean de Luz with the waves crashing over the harbour wall. It was quite dramatic. More wonderful strata was visible. Mariette knows what makes me really happy and had a couple of great rock formations to show me.
Wha le baleen? Just love those teapots!
That was last weekend.
This weekend is the local Fete de Nérac with its fun-fair, lots of bands, parades and food. The holiday runs from Friday to the following Tuesday, which is a bank holiday here – marking the remembrance of WWII – and there will be fireworks to finish it off with a bang. Last year’s were spectacular. And that is really the start of the summer season here. From now on there are festivals and celebrations all the way through to September – just one of the many reasons that we love living here! Next week is the Bandas festival in Condom.
Back to the weaving now for me, after a lovely weekend break. Happy Weaving wherever you are!