I can’t believe that just last week I was complaining about how cold it had become and was wondering where summer was. That’s because we have found the summer and it is here and now! On Sunday of last week it was really quite chilly, and rainy as well, but by Friday of this week the mercury had risen to 32 degrees with an extra one for luck on Saturday and not a breath of wind. Under these conditions all we can do is close all the shutters and some of the windows too, put the lights on and stay indoors. I think we may well be getting our money’s worth after all! During the week, we cut open the starnge tomoato that Ady had given us and it was, indeed, seedless. Also very delicious.
After watching me working away at my cross-stitch project for so long, Neels decided that he also needed something practical to do, so when I was surfing the ‘Net for embroidery projects we also looked for model building kits as well. He wasn’t too keen on just buying straight off the ‘net, which in this case was also very expensive, so we looked for an outlet not too far away. We found one in Tarbes, about 50 kms from here. Having never been to Tarbes, we thought it would make a pleasant outing anyway and decided to go there on Tuesday. It was a beautiful day, clear and sunny, but we had left rather later than we had wanted too, so asked ‘Jane’ to take us via the fastest route, which meant that we drove part of the way on a very nice, new, boring highway. When we got there we discovered that Tarbes is one enormous one-way system of roads, and although we actually drove right past our required shop, there was no parking and it took us about quarter of an hour to find somewhere to leave the car and another quarter of an hour to walk back to the shop itself which was, by then, of course, closed for lunch. So we bought a sandwich from a handy bakery and found a shady bench on which to sit and eat it. Then we still had an hour and a half to wait, so we went and had a cup of coffee at one of the cafes in the square, but after half an hour there we felt that we could more than easily fill the last hour with a walk around town.
The reason for the extensive one-way system was immediately obvious – Tarbes has very narrow streets and widening them to accommodate two vehicles would have completely destroyed the character of the town. Instead, the pavements have been made quite wide and beautiful hanging baskets decorate the lamp posts. In comparison with our local rural villages, Tarbes is very sophisticated and many of the clothing shops bear the names of well-known manufacturers such as Dolce and Gabbana, Tommy Hilfigger, Lafayette Gallery and so on. I was secretly pleased to notice a Marks and Spencer’s clothing shop squeezed in between two other larger shops. We also noticed several examples of 'trompe-l'oeil' paintings. A flat wall or surface is painted with a scene in perfect perspective so that it decieves the eye and one thinks the surface is not flat.Eventually we made our way round a big circular route back to the model shop only to find that this particular place only opened at 2.30 pm! But it had taken us more than an hour to walk around so we didn’t have too long to wait. Eventually the proprietor arrived with the key and let himself in. From their website we had expected a vast emporium, but when we finally got inside, the shop was about the size of a small garage and was jammed with goods. There was a young couple with a toddler in a push-chair ahead of us, which pretty well filled up the whole shop, but we squeezed around them and had a good look around but could see no sign of the model which Neels had set his heart on. Eventually it was our turn to be served. The man was so apologetic; there were no more of that particular model in stock. Oh dear! There would be new stock coming in September when the factories reopened, but that was not much consolation. We promised to return when he had his new stock, only this time we will phone first. On the way home we set ‘Jane’ to take us the shortest route, which is always fun as she gets us to twist and turn through almost impossible back roads and lanes in order to save perhaps one or two kilometers.
The rest of the week passed quickly. Wednesday was Market Day at Marciac again and we went to wander around there, and then came home via Plaisance which is our chosen shopping village. On Thursday, Neels painted the shutters in our bedroom – a chore he has been threatening to do since we arrived. Some time in the past, the shutters had sagged and had been taken off and re-braced but not re-painted, which had left an unsightly bare strip across each shutter. Now the repair is no longer obvious and the shutters look much better. On Friday we had promised to do some ‘man-about-the-house’ chores for Nicky, in return for a yummy cold lunch and a bottle of wine, and Saturday and today have been too hot for words, never mind deeds! The weather forecast says we might have a thunder storm tonight and if it is anything like the last one, it could be spectacular.
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