Titch arrived at Pau airport on the 23rd July to spend a week with us. It was my first visit to the airport and I was very impressed with it, a beautiful, new, modern building on the edge of town. It was quite late when we got back here, almost midnight, so after showing Titch to her room and a quick chat it was off to bed.
We had a very busy and enjoyable week and managed to fit in a lot.
The first afternoon I took her on a tour of the Tursan, visiting Geaune, Miramont, Pimbo and then on to Eugenie for a coffee and a look around the gardens.
On Friday we went over to Lily's for coffee and then brought Lily back here, picked up Nigel and the 5 of us went down to Grenade for lunch. We had lunch at the Pain et Adour hotel/restaurant, sitting on the terrace by the river. A beautiful setting and beautiful food, what more can I say, we were all very impressed!
Saturday was to be a relaxing day but Titch was kind enough to start cutting the lawn for us, something that Nigel hasn't been fit enough to do since he came out of hospital. It was very hot and after doing most of the grass we were able to stop her and drag her indoors to cool off. In the evening Titch and I went to the night market in St Sever. Lots of interesting stalls to look at, a nice bar to sit outside, enjoy a drink and watch the world go by. The evening ended with us sitting on the curb eating ham and cheese crepes.
Sunday morning we went over to Hontanx to a very poor vide grenier (car boot sale), it had rained heavily during the night so there were few stalls there. By the afternoon the grass had dried out and Titch heroically finished cutting the grass. What a star!!
Monday morning we went into Mont de Marsan and had a look round the town. It was looking rather less pretty than normal as they were clearing up after the big fete and many of the shops were shut. We did a quick shop at Leclerc as my hard working guest wanted to cook dinner for us in the evening. Another gold star for her!!
Nigel and I went to see his consultant in the afternoon, all nicely refreshed after her holiday. She has made an appointment for him to go to Bayonne on Thursday to see the aneathetist and surgeon as it has been decided that they need to do a lung biopsy to try and find out what exactly is his problem.
My dreams of sitting on the patio with a glass of chilled rose were slightly shattered as Titch needed to know where everything was in the kitchen whilst she was preparing our meal! Not complaining, honestly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The meal was well worth it and I will let her cook again (and cut the grass again) should she ever dare set foot in the house another time.
Tuesday we went over to Estang and had a menu du jour in the garden of the hotel du Commerce, a very pleasant lunchtime.
At 5pm Titch and I did a guided tour of the chateau de Ravignan not far from here. Another chateau that is lived in and one where the owner himself does the tour. At the end of the visit we were taken to see the "chai" where the armagnac that is made there is stored and given a tasting of the armagnac too.
Wednesday was Titchs' last day and in the morning we went up to the market at Villeneuve. As her flight wasn't until 10.30 pm we thought that it would be a good idea to have a look around Pau and its gardens in the afternoon and early evening. Nigel, wisely as it turned out!, decided to stay here. Not that there was anything wrong with Pau and its gardens but it was extremely hot, about 35C and not quite the ideal day for walking round a town. However we managed, with a couple of pit stops, to see the gardens and the town centre as well as having a meal, near the chateau, before it was time to leave for the airport.
Despite all the outings and sightseeing I think that one of the biggest delights of Titchs' holiday was the sight of 2 woodpeckers on the lawn at the back of the house early one morning.
A busy week, lots of food, quite a lot of drinks (especially the rose at Estang!!) and lots of fun.
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