Monday session was just OK finishing about even in IMPS. Tuesday back to San Sebastian to the store I wanted to go to and…..bought nothing. Back for lunch and bridge and the second session being the fifth session of very ordinary and luckless bridge. That night we go back to Chez Albert Seafood with the Brogelands and his sponsor partner’s family. Sitting next to Zia is always entertaining listening to his bridge and life stories.
Often when somebody unexpectedly insists of paying for dinner I comment “damn! Had I known I would have ordered the lobster”. That line wouldn’t have worked tonight as I did order the lobster and Simon Gillis insisted, after a knockdown argument I might add, on paying for the meal. The lobster was great and perfectly cooked – must have been as I cracked every morsel to get as much as I could.
I went to the casino with Zia and Paul deciding to play Poker as there were some bridge players in the game. I knew I would lose as I always do on my annual decision to play poker. I simply don’t have the patience. Mercifully I won back what I lost at Poker so finished a handsome winner from the Biarritz Casino which is a pretty shitty excuse for a Casino. Chris Brogeland went there at lunch time to enter the evening poker tournament and was told “oh no problem just be here at 20:00 and enter”. He turned up at 20:00 to be told no he was too late and would not be allowed to play. This was of course accompanied by the normal French passive resistance.
Wednesday morning and we, the Brogeland, Paul and I head towards Relais de la Poste in Magescq, a two star Michelin Restaurant. I don’t recall having previously gone to two star Michelin because it is a little like Hi-Fi systems – I can tell the difference between a $400 and $2000 system but anything beyond that and I can’t tell the difference. The meal, lobster bisque cappuccino style, foie gras, duck and dessert was outstanding but not amazingly memorable. Interestingly the restaurant is in a small village four star hotel and is exceptionally well appointed and incredibly overstaffed. For the second day, this time Boye insisted on paying but as his brother Chris has been my guest in our house I didn’t argue too much but the next one is mine. This is because our last meal in Nobu Las Vegas ended up being $180 per head and it was his turn to pay so I better make a mental note of this.
We get in the car which shows 60kms of fuel left and 55kms to travel. My car deal is that I need to return it empty so we make it back to the bridge for our only moderate session finishing the event at +15 (winners around +165) with zero being average.
We head back home for a home cooked meal of steak, salad and leftover items which need to be consumed before our departure the next day.
Next morning we clean everything up and the ‘landlord’ comes over for the check-out spending 15 minutes to make everything works and tat we haven’t ruined anything before returning my €1000 deposit.
With Paul’s not needing to be at the airport for two hours and me for three we drive down to St Jean de Luz which is a lovely looking seaside town 17kms south of Biarritz. We wander around before I drop Paul off at the airport and go down to Biarritz for a coffee before going back to the airport, returning the car and catching my flight to Nice.
Our landlord phones me while I am having my coffee to report that the dishwasher door is broken and it has been forced and must have been us and we will have to pay for it. After some to and fro discussion I asked her if she was a technician that she has been able to assess that it was our fault. Anyway she is expecting us to pay and I leave ti to you to decide what my expectation is.
I was semi-expecting a problem at the airport when my ticket was booked in my middle name last name so Alan Stern. The reason for this is that I use an auto-fill program and it must have misunderstood one of the fields. I had visions of turning up and being told that the ticket wasnt booked in my name but....nothing - immediate issue of boarding pass.
Arrive in Nice and go to the Novotel Airport Hotel but surprise surprise the Novotel hotel at the airport is NOT the Novotel airport hotel, that is the one 2kms away. I am not a happy camper so they call for a taxi and I get to the correct hotel to find that the taxi fare is $A23 because when you call for a taxi in Nice they turn on the meter from when they take the call. Now I am really angry and ready to leave France.
Anyway I check into my hotel and decide to deny the taxis of Nice any fares so go to the nearby railway station to take a train the 8kms into the centre of Nice as I have booked at a Japanese restaurant for dinner. The train is ‘retarde’ so I wait the 40 minutes till it arrives for the 10 minute ride and 10 minute walk to the restaurant. Excellent meal but when they call for the taxi, n taxis available. I find out why – there is a fireworks display for Bastille Day and the streets are closed. I watch the fireworks and walk about 2kms along the Promenade des Anglaise to a hotel where the streets aren’t barricaded and ask them to call for a taxi. They say that it would be almost impossibly but one of the workers offers to drive me there for €30 ($A40) which is about one third of what it would normally costs I am told.
Anyway good night’s sleep, a full repack and writing this blog. Off to the airport in an hour for a flight to Dubai, 10 hours in airport hotel and then A380 to Australia, home, kids, family, home and dogs.
Well it has been a great holiday of seven and a half weeks without any regrets on the itinerary and no incidents of note. The only minor disappointment was the bridge results but that contrasted with the wonderful location and tournaments I have played in and I am hoping to play in Biarritz and perhaps Deauville which follows immediately thereafter at some time in the future.
Thanks all for paying attention to my travels
Catch up with all of you soon
Love to all David
That night we head down to the town and the bridge venue and catch up with various people we know including Zia, Steve Hamoui, John Kranyak, “Pepsi” and many others. The Italians, who I know reasonably well, do what they do and simply walk by without acknowledging your presence – y-a-w-n!
Next morning (Thursday) Paul and I got a late start and headed down to San Sebastian. This is the northernmost city on the West Coast of Spain and is a 45 minute drive along the freeway from Biarritz. I had been there once before and was keen to see it again as the old historical part of town, the beach in the city proper and everything about the place is charming and inviting.
Some late lunch and we head down to Bilbao but were too late to see anything as we had agreed to pick up Boye, his family and step-brother Chris. We collect them from the airport and head back for the 1:45 drive to Biarritz. We get back to the house where we share a dinner of bits and pieces and then Paul and I take a walk around Biarritz.
I must say that Biarritz is one of the nicest towns I have seen in France. Its seaside location, Versailles style architecture, its small and intimate streets lined with quality shops make it so inviting. Boye and his family are staying at the Palais Hotel (Chris is sharing with Paul and I) which, despite being run by the city of Biarritz is one of the most stately hotels I have ever seen. I am guessing that the place may be quite bleak but in the summer it is simply fantastic. High recommendation.
Friday morning and I spend a few hours walking around the township sticking my head in various shops etc. and then buying some groceries before going back to our house which is located just 300 metres from the Casino, Beach and town proper.
An early dinner (18:30) where it was hard to find a restaurant open and off to bridge which started at 19:30 – sorry France - was scheduled to start at 19:30 but started close to 20:00 finishing at 23:15. We started very well but a few bad boards saw our score drop to 51%. That night we played against Erwin Otvosi, Marek Borewicz and Chris Lasocki – old home week really. I thought I played really well and that we deserved a better score but them’s the breaks.
As I arrive at the bridge, a friend of mine whom I had tried to have lunch with last time in Phoenix comes up to me and says “what are you doing here, you should have let me know you were coming!” Anyway we will catch up here I guess.
After bridge I hook up with Erwin and Keiko Otovosi for a late supper after which home to bed for a poor night’s sleep.
Next morning I wake late-ish and head down for a walk along the entire waterfront of Biarritz proper finishing up at the Palais Hotel where Paul, Chris, Boye and Anders and some kids are playing table tennis, soccer and golf in the beautiful gardens of the hotel. After about two hours of shooting the breeze all came back to our house for lunch and a short relax before the one session of bridge scheduled to start at 17:00.
That night I played one of the worst sessions I have played for a long time scoring 43%. My bad bids would fill this blog so moving right along. After bridge I have dinner with Erwin, Keiko, Keiko’s daughter Kaye as well as Jerry Stepinski (Erwin’s Partner) and Paul Gosney at Chez Albert a well-regarded seafood restaurant. Erwin orders two huge seafood platter with a wonderful assortment of langoustines, prawns, oysters, sea snails – which I must say I quite liked and other bits and pieces. Too hungry for a main I went straight to a dessert which was a reasonably good choc fondant.
The next morning I have lunch lined up with Perla Sultan, a lovely Jewish woman from Venezuela – well now Miami where her daughters live. She sees me at the tournament and her whole face lights up as though I was her long lost friend which is kind of lovely. We sat by the pool at the Palais Hotel and told each other about our lives, bridge and in her case everything else. I was not relishing the thought of this lunch but it turned out quite wonderful.
Off to bridge where I played a little better scoring 53% after giving Alfredo Versace and Madame Maria-Theresa Lavazza’s son two top boards. Bridge finished at 19:00 and Erwin took us to a restaurant called L’Atelier which is designated “expected” to be Michelin one star in the future. The meal was very good but not outstanding. Paul and I head to the Casino, my second since being here and after winning for the second time I left for a relatively early night.
Next morning I headed to San Sebastian (40 minutes South in Spain) to a shop I was interested in looking at only to find that they were, like about 50% of the shops in France, CLOSED ON MONDAY MORNINGS – FARKING HELL.
Anyway made the best of it then headed back to the house for lunch and here I am.
IMP Pairs – three days of one session a day starts at 17:00 and I am hoping for a better performance than the match pointed pairs – which shouldn’t be too hard.
For those interested table money is €25 ($A33) per session which isn’t too bad by European standards and the playing conditions are superb. In a double height convention area surrounded by glass overlooking the sea – quite excellent. There is another tournament in Deauville straight after this one and next time I come for the bridge I intend to perhaps play in both as my total holiday. We’ll see – not back from this one yet.
Anyway hope everybody is well
XD
Saturday morning and I go to St Remy de Provence and Avignon. I had wider plans including Arles and Nimes but simply didn’t get going early enough for all that.
That night cooked dinner and had a relatively early night – midnight. For some reason the days seem to be longer perhaps aided by the 22:00 sunset.
Sunday morning and I left around 13:00 towards Nice where I was picking up my bridge partner Paul Gosney (26 Australian living in London for 6 months) at Nice airport at 20:25. I stopped in at Boit which is a lovely village with a number of glass artists and many studios of various types. I saw a nice lamp I would have bought had I known how to get it back in one piece.
I have a nice dinner in Nice and head out to the airport having checked the arrival time. However it wasn’t till I arrived at the airport that I found out that the plane was an hour late – GRRR!!
Anyway collected Paul and drove around Nice to show him the city as he wasn’t going to get back here again and then to Monte Carlo for a late supper. Finally got back to Aix at 02:00 Monday morning.
Nor surprisingly we didn’t get going to fairly late and headed to Ilse Sur La Sorgue, Menerbe and Bonnieux followed by a lovely dinner at the Jules Cesar in Arles.
Tuesday we headed south after sitting in the traffic for close to an hour at one point alone in Aix. We lunched at Bastide St Antoine, a Michelin one star restaurant. The meal was superb but I guess I should have done better than order the John Dory. Sitting in the garden was stunningly beautiful and very relaxing.
We then headed to Tourettes Sur Loupe and St Paul de Vence (where somebody backs into my car but luckily no damage) which is probably my favourite village in the South of France - full of galleries with lovely pieces and all surrounded by the most charming of Village environments. I buy some steak and vegetables and we dine in the backyard in a beautiful sunset.
Next morning we pack up and head for Biarritz which is a 06:15 drive which takes 9:00 with stops at Toulouse and Lourdes – nope didn’t feel healed after being there.
Now came the fun and games. I wrote to the owner of an apartment to rent a two bedroom apartment for what was originally the two of us and made an offer for it. The response was: “offering j rent an apartment (Réf. 681010) to 0,7 km from casino, j can do 800 €/8 night”. What had not registered was that she was offering me a different property of just one bedroom at the same price I had offered for two. No sorry I cant let you have that one I’ll let you have this one I simply assumed she had accepted my offer. This all came to light when I told her there would now be three of us as Boye’s brother was coming to babysit and would be staying with us rather than paying €280 at the Palais where Boye is staying.
In the meantime I had tried to get another place fully prepared to write off my €250 deposit, sent emails etc. and nothing worked. When I arrived the owner and I had some direct words in different languages luckily for both of us and agreed that I would stay there for one night utilising my €250 deposit while I looked for somewhere else.
My luck was in when I found a five bedroom house which was ideal for our needs http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p663051a and she accepted an offer of €900 for the remaining seven days. It is better located and we each get separate bedrooms making it work perfectly. She asks me if I have an insurance policy in case I set fire to her house so I send her my travel insurance. She sends me a 9 page contract in French to sign which I will do not intending to cause any damage as she seems quite precious about her house.
After arriving and finding the new place from tomorrow we go to the bridge where I meet a number of people I know and finish up having dinner and walking back to our apartment for the night.
Well there you have the last four days in a nutshell. Am too tired for any more…..
Love to all
David
Sunday afternoon and it was in fact rooftop Jacuzzi – three sessions of 30 minutes each as the sun is strong and intensive. That night another two hour walk around town before returning to the hotel to cook myself dinner. I had a longing for a good salad with iceberg lettuce and as they say where there is a will there is a way. Found a Spanish (hopefully ecoli free iceberg lettuce and made a lovely salad with smoked salmon.
Next morning (Monday) I got started late and didn’t really do much for the day, a walk, some Jacuzzi and a lot of work on my computer catching up on banking, work and some overdue emails.
Tuesday and set off towards Aix-en-Provence. On the way I stopped in Grasse and had a look around and then to Mougin which together with Paul de Vence, is one of my favourite little towns in this part.
It is always interesting when you book a holiday apartment for a week as, unlike a hotel you can’t simply leave if it doesn’t suit. But I have to say this place is superb. It is everything that it was advertised to be and then some. A beautiful loft as Julie the host calls it but it is more like a garage converted into a two level apartment with living room and well fitted kitchen downstairs and a loft bedroom and bathroom upstairs. It ticks the two boxes of air-conditioning (the temp is 35+ degrees) and internet which wasn’t so important as I bought my own. Anyone visiting these parts and looking for such accommodation would be recommended to look at
http://www.provence.guideweb.com/location/loft52/indexa.html.
While on that note if you are looking for a week’s accommodation anywhere in the world try this website: http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/ I have had three good experiences through them.
Oh and the third box – a Nespresso Coffee Machine.
Wednesday morning and I head into Aix and spend much of the day simply walking up and down all the streets in the historical centre. Now I am an intrepid shopper and a person who, if there was a world shopping tour and a world museum tour would sign up for the former. But the internet has sort of spoiled that as there is almost nothing I can’t buy 50% cheaper on the internet so, apart from one sweater I bought at an outlet centre, I have bought almost nothing this trip – most unusual and very frustrating.
Back to the Gite for a rest and a 1:45 drive to Moustiere-St-Marie for dinner with Victor and Carol. The restaurant Las Bastide de Moustiers (http://www.bastide-moustiers.com) is located in a lovely hotel with superb gardens and olive trees. Seated on the balcony we had excellent if not slightly unusual meal. There was no a la carte simply two degustation menus to choose from. Luckily both were quite agreeable and together with the excellent service it was a special evening. Apart from the 1:30 minute drive back half of which was along narrow winding and unlit roads. Anyway survived that one.
Next day I got late start and headed for the one hour drive to Toulon which I would describe as a very ordinary city whose only redeeming feature was its location on the Mediterranean Sea. I gave it a chance by catching the tourist train around but…..
Off to the lovely fishing town of Cassis where I have been twice before. This town is simply what you imagine a fishing village to be plus a large marina of boats. A bit touristy but a nice part of the world to spend a few hours.
Then off to that Arabic Village called Marseilles. I had driven through Marseilles a couple of years ago and noted that it had been improved from when I was last here in 2003 with much of the waterfront being upgraded. Pity that is all they have done to the place. It is dirty, rubbish along every street and men simply sitting around studying everybody who walks past. The only language I heard spoken was Arabic and even the street vendors in the produce markets imploring you to buy their goods do so in Arabic. Couldn’t leave quick enough.
That night I cook dinner – lobster bisque from a carton and one I would be delighted to be served in any restaurant. I did add some crab meat and prawns and, together with my salad – superbe!
Next morning I take it very slow and easy and don’t leave ‘home’ till after lunch and even then just walk around for three hours as some therapeutic exercise more than anything else.
The temperatures have been between 30 and 35 but the Mistral has been quite blowy. The mistral is a strong, cold and usually dry wind coming from the north or northwest, which accelerates when it passes through the valleys of the Rhone and the Durance Rivers to the coast of the Mediterranean. The mistral is usually accompanied by clear and fresh weather, and it plays an important role in creating the climate of Provence. It can reach speeds of more than ninety kilometers an hour, particularly in the Rhone Valley. Its average speed during the day can reach about fifty kilometers an hour, calming noticeably at night. It sometimes lasts only one or two days, frequently lasts several days, and sometimes lasts more than a week.
I get back home and my host has set up the backyard for her 67 guests for this evening’s ‘festival’ as she calls it. I wish her good luck and she asks “am I not coming?’ I wasn’t planning to but she has seated me with her parents and clearly expected me to be there. So I will oblige.
As I write this the caterers are outside my door in the driveway preparing the Paella with mussels and all for this evening and darn if it doesn’t smell fantastic.
Off to buy a bottle of wine as a gift bet they don’t have any Australian.
The party kicks off at 20:30 with most people coming close to 21:00. All stand around till 23:00 with drinks and appetizers served. The party was for my host and her friends as well as her parents and their friends. Everybody was very warm and welcoming and were interested in me and my travels and Australia etc.
A young 33 year old woman came up to me and said I will talk to you because I know the French being French are probably ignoring you, which actually and perhaps surprisingly was not the case.
Everybody sat down and ate at 23:00 when the Paella was served followed by cheese and cake. I excused myself at 01:00 with the music playing loudly and the party in full swing. In Australia the Police would have been called but no thought of that here.
Anyway enough for now.
Love to all
D
