WEATHER REPORT
RAIN..rain...pluie.
.. . pluie glacé. ... blue sky for a second . .....
...p.l..u.i....e
.. . .. ........ ..... . .. . ........ . . . . ... . . . . . . . ..... . . . . . . . . . . .rain
. ... ... . ... .. . . ... . ......... .
RAIN pluie pluie soleil rain VENT et pluie
RAIN
.. . ......... .sleet...hail SUN! ..rain . ...............pluie
.. . pluie glacé. ... blue sky for a second . .....
...p.l..u.i....e
.. . .. ........ ..... . .. . ........ . . . . ... . . . . . . . ..... . . . . . . . . . . .rain
. ... ... . ... .. . . ... . ......... .
RAIN pluie pluie soleil rain VENT et pluie
RAIN
.. . ......... .sleet...hail SUN! ..rain . ...............pluie
+
maybe some soleil again one day
BUT
who cares......
c'est
BIARRITZ
a few observations
the Pyrénées d'Espagne are just across the way
a lot of super huge waves here
they are so big that there's a plow on the beach.....fait attention! plowing the sand into a giant wall every day
it's the Rock (sable) of Sisyphus!
all to protect the Casino and boardwalk
the sun doesn't rise until 8 am and the streets are really empty
tout le monde est trés gentil, they have that sing song Bonjour Madame, Bonsoir Madame, Merci beaucoup Madame.....(it's a bit over the top, all day, everyday)
of course besides the beach there's the food
et du vin
what cheese for today?
chevre,vache, bresbi
et bien sûr le café et du pain
let's just leave it that I'm taste testing my way through it all
a lot of things are named for saints
St.Nectaire, St. Marcellin, (cheeses) Coquilles St. Jacques (scallops)
and speaking of poisson....who knew monk fish (Lotte) has cheeks (joues)
and they eat them here
there is a chorizo made from donkey (ane), they eat that too
there are a lot of small dogs and very weird trees
tout le monde parle....tout le temps
et très vite
the houses are painted red for France and green for the Basque
Etche in Basque, means house and they all have names
and it's been raining a lot on my parade
BUT
it's
Biarritz!
BUT
who cares......
c'est
BIARRITZ
 |
| Bienvenue à Biarritz |
the Pyrénées d'Espagne are just across the way
a lot of super huge waves here
they are so big that there's a plow on the beach.....fait attention! plowing the sand into a giant wall every day
it's the Rock (sable) of Sisyphus!
all to protect the Casino and boardwalk
the sun doesn't rise until 8 am and the streets are really empty
tout le monde est trés gentil, they have that sing song Bonjour Madame, Bonsoir Madame, Merci beaucoup Madame.....(it's a bit over the top, all day, everyday)
of course besides the beach there's the food
et du vin
what cheese for today?
chevre,vache, bresbi
et bien sûr le café et du pain
let's just leave it that I'm taste testing my way through it all
a lot of things are named for saints
St.Nectaire, St. Marcellin, (cheeses) Coquilles St. Jacques (scallops)
and speaking of poisson....who knew monk fish (Lotte) has cheeks (joues)
and they eat them here
there is a chorizo made from donkey (ane), they eat that too
there are a lot of small dogs and very weird trees
tout le monde parle....tout le temps
et très vite
the houses are painted red for France and green for the Basque
Etche in Basque, means house and they all have names
and it's been raining a lot on my parade
BUT
it's
Biarritz!
 |
La Grande Plage painting everyday and exploring the markets, Basque and French cultures, speaking french and avoiding the rain My hosts are Catou Guillaud and Caroline DeOtero artists and documentary film makers these are my digs at 4 Rue Boussingorry            Waves  
Big Sky and Waves
et Voilà
as a small aside, I met a couple of those friendly french people in my favorite café, Mokafina
and the next thing I know, Albanne and Aurélie have invited me to go on a hike in the town of Bidarray
I didn't quite understand how seriously these french people take their hikes!
After a few hours of steady climbing, we made it to the summit, took in the amazing view, saw the mini Basque horses calle pottoks, ate a chilly picnic, and then began our horrifyingly worse, steep, slip and your dead descent.....
here's proof of our ascent of
Les crêtes d'Iparla au Pays basque click on the name for more info  Recette du Jour of course it's fish Coquilles St Jacques avec épinards et échalotes 
go to the Marché et buy some scallops
the poissonnier will shuck them for you, but make sure you keep that coral!
and of course a few coquillages, seven to be exact (you'll understand soon)
have your sous chef clean the épinards and émincer les échalotes
sauté them both in graisse de canard.....right.... in that duck fat
remove when carmelized
add a bit more fat to the pan
sear the coquilles and the coral briefly at a high heat
serve with une salade de who cares et bien sûr avec
un verre de Crémont de Bourgogne or two, or three
Because it is so fabulous you will die and go to heaven and les Bonnes Soeurs de L'Abbe Cestac de Anglet (and they are silent too) will take care of your earthly remains.....
however you will remain nameless in your sandstone tomb
 
finalement
une petite amie pour Shamus
but I don't think she speaks l'Anglais
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