A Few Days in Town

The view from the hotel bedroom window, the rooftops, zinc guttering and cooing pigeons reminded me of my time living in Paris.

We have been away for a few days, staying in the beautiful south western town of Pau.  It's only an hour from us but the reason we went was so that the menfolk could enjoy the Grand Prix de Pau Historique.  Pau and Monaco are the only street racing circuits still in existence in France.

A change is as good as a rest and it was lovely to wake up in the centre of a town, walk down the road and enjoy coffee and croissants at a pavement café however the weather was extremely fickle, I think we experienced everything bar snow! I forwent the races and concentrated on the shops and Pau has beautiful shops!  I tend to buy most things on-line these days but nothing beats browsing round a beautiful town, I walked round clad in high heeled ankle boots, that somehow feel wrong in May but ... with the weather. My feet were almost dropping off by the time I had finished. 

 My purchases included a new tote bag and these plimsolls, every Summer I invest in a pair, normally classic navy blue, this year I was thinking about Converse, all the well heeled ladies in Pau seemed to be wearing them, but I wore Converse when I was a teenager with drainpipe jeans and mohair jumpers, as soon as I clapped my eyes on these lavender Pataugas, I was sold, with a Summer holiday in Provence and Corsica looming, I just know they will get a lot of wear!

My new plimsolls

We are back home again now and typically the weather is beautiful, whilst we have been away things have been stirring in the garden.

White Clematis Montana clambering into the Neflier tree

White Bleeding Heart

Crusoe happy to be back home in his garden, taking a break before the next round of ball chasing and tackling anybody willing enough to run with his ball...Johnny Wilkinson, you have serious competition, Crusoe is available on most days to assist Rugby training, you kick he will bring the ball back every time...he is happy to do this for hours!

A quick stretch before the off!

The haze of White Wisteria on our balcony is coming into bloom

This creature is a Carpenter Bee, they are huge but harmless, you can't see here but their wings are iridescent and they are really rather beautiful, a friend of ours nicknamed it 'The Prada Bee'

 Prada Bee, photo from the internet

Because everything cannot be White... the First Rose in bloom, from the garden and yes the scent is sublime.

Return To Pau

Well I said I would treat myself to a day in Pau after all my hard work, mowing the lawn and spring cleaning.  On Wednesday, I finished mowing the lawn, I was so pleased with myself, that I celebrated the first mow of the season by pouring myself a glass of chilled rose, during the course of the evening I managed to finish the bottle, strange how that can sometimes happen, well all day yesterday, I was feeling distinctly woolly, and my attempts at cleaning were, well feeble, to say the least.  I woke up this morning feeling fine, added to that it was a beautiful day, so I took myself off to Pau.

Pau is a lovely town I also wrote about it here.  And I said I would give you some history, on a future post, so here it is.

Pau is a town steeped in history with its ancient chateau, the birthplace of Henri IV. Marie Antoinette, tended the small garden when she stayed at the chateau, whilst visiting the city and Napoleon used it as a holiday home.

 The Chateau

 Chateau Courtyard

Henry IV of France 'Le Bon Roi Henri'

Chateau Garden

Known as 'La Ville Anglaise' (No wonder, I feel so at home) due to the fact that Wellington brought his troops to Pau for some rest and relaxation, finding the mild climate agreeable, many of them later returned and settled in Pau, with their families. They built grand villas, many of which still exist, established the first golf course on the continent, a cricket team and a foxhunt, Pau is still very much an equestrian town hosting many international equine events. In May, Pau also plays host to a historic grand prix one of the few events where vintage cars can still race round a street circuit.

Place de Deportation 

Chateau Archway

Bandstand

Street in the old town

It was so nice just ambling about Pau, on a beautiful day, I stopped off here for refreshment.

When I walked past here, the beautiful smell of roses knocked me out, they specialise in making the most exquisite  arrangements and bouquets only using roses.

This is the most wonderful shop, selling all sorts of interior design nic nacs, I always pop in, no purchases today!

Well, I have had my treat, MG does not come back until Sunday afternoon, so I have plenty of time to finish the cleaning.....I will be abstemious until then!
I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

An Unexpected Day Out

Yesterday, it was MG's birthday, I was downstairs making cups of tea when he called out, "Get ready, we are going to Pau, for lunch".  I was amazed, as MG started his own business last year and it has been almost impossible to winkle him out of his office since.

Oh joy, finally, I get to slough off my fleece and wellies.  Hair washed and blow dried, make up on, sophisticated outfit on, heels on, grab handbag, camera and keys, ready and off.
 

Pau is about a forty five minute drive from us and it is a smart town, I will write a more in depth post about it at a later date. The main thing is, it has very nice shops and restaurants, which are somewhat lacking in our rural but beautiful corner of the world.

First of all we had lunch at one of our favourite haunts.

  One of the things I love about France is the laissez-faire attitude towards dogs in restaurants and hotels, Crusoe get's to travel with us everywhere we go in France, and often the restaurant staff don't even need to be asked to bring a bowl of water for him, they just do it as a matter of course.

 I have seen dogs in the restaurants at The Crillon and The George V in Paris, this would be unthinkable in the UK with all the health and safety laws.  As you can see Crusoe is extremely well restaurant trained, he usually behaves beautifully and has a knack of making friends with restaurant staff, always paying special attention to the waiter or waitress who is serving us.  Once, when we were staying at a hotel, Crusoe escaped from our room, we looked for him everywhere, he had been spotted by surprised breakfast diners, running through the restaurant, where did he end up, why in the kitchen of course, making friends with the Chef.  Crusoe certainly has his priorities right.  Anyway, I have digressed.

After lunch we went for a stroll.  Pau usually has a number of a certain type of little old lady patrolling the streets, these little old ladies are extremely well coiffed and made up, clad in Chanel suit, matching quilted Chanel handbag, gloves and Ferragamo shoes.  I was longing to spot one of these little old ladies, so I could take a Sartorialist style photo, but alas, there were none to be seen, perhaps it was too cold or maybe they are at their other residences in Paris or the Cote d'Azur.

After our stroll we hit Galleries Lafayette where MG made some birthday purchases. Afterwards we visited a few more shops.

Sadly, I was just about to go into the shop below, after admiring the rather gorgeous dress and shoes in the window, when MG decided he had shopping fatigue and wanted to leave, well, it was his birthday! Maybe I will go back later in the week.

All images apart from lady with Afghan Hound and Coco taken by moi.