Pyrenean Weekend

It's been a fabulous weekend here in the Pyrenees, this shot of the mountains was taken first thing in the morning, the early morning sun is just hitting the mountains, you can see how the snow is melting.  I could not resist the other shots, a Pyrenean Mountain dog with Crusoe, does anyone remember Belle and Sebastian?

The Pyrenean Mountain dog in the picture is called Falko, he is a puppy but already huge, Crusoe naturally has the heart of a lion and thinks of himself as a big dog, but when in the presence of a giant I think he feels overwhelmed however his unique terrier intelligence always shines through! Falko is the sweetest, softest, mutt imaginable, all he wants is attention and hugs, big dogs normally have a shorter lifespan than small dogs but in the case of Pyrenean Mountain dogs they can live up to seventeen years old, they are gorgeous.

Falko, a great, big, fluffy bear of a dog!

Still from the delightful sixties children's TV program;  Belle and Sebastian

India

Norman Parkinson for Vogue, India 1956.
Parkinson’s work in India prompted  Diana Vreeland to say that, in her view, he had captured the country spectacularly, “Because he understands that pink is the navy blue of India.”

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend

XXX

Hot Enough For June

It's hot here, 27 degrees Celsius at the present time, more like mid June than April and according to the i phone this weather is set to continue until next Wednesday.  Although very welcome this sudden burst of summer weather has caught me unaware, I still have not got round to having a good old waxing session and my winter Wellington clad feet are crying out for a pedicure.  I desperately need to buy some sensible summer shoes for loafing around the garden in, my previous summer shoes all look a bit gone on and I can't really totter round the garden in high heels or towering wedges.  Must pick up a few pairs of espadrilles on my next trip into town, I really was not expecting to buy them so soon!

This balmy weather has sent the growth rate of the flora into overdrive, as I type, I can hear the hums and whirrs or mowers and strimmers in the distance, our lawn desperately needs another cut.  The Crocus are now a distant memory and the Daffodils are on their way out, Wisteria and Lilac are now blooming and Tulips and Irises are raising their heads.

I always think of the Iris as the true national flower of France, The Fleur de Lis was not a lilly but a yellow Iris which grew along the banks of the River Lis, it was during the Middle Ages that the Fleur de Lis started to become linked to the French Monarchy.   I once read somewhere the French traditionally plant Irises along either side of the entrance or main doorways of their property to ward of evil and invite good luck and it is certainly true in this part of France where you often see stunning Irises growing on each side of entrance gates.

The Iris symbolises good news and luck. It is also said its three upright petals symbolize faith, valour, and wisdom.

The iris got its name from the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris. She was the messenger of the gods, and would ride on the rainbow to and from Earth in her beautiful, multicoloured robes. She acted as the link between heaven and earth. It is told that irises were planted at the graves of women. People believed that this would summon the goddess to guide the souls in their journey to heaven.

Here in the Pyrenees there are a few native varieties that grow naturally in the wild, conditions are perfect for them.  According to one of our neighbours these one's pictured from our garden are a local variety.  They are ethereal and beautiful and I could not resist cutting a few for the house, indoors and outdoors they make me smile whenever I walk past.

Cleo De Merode

I am still researching the ladies that sat for Giovanni Boldini, Cleo De Merode is the latest subject I have been looking into.  Cleo's brand of beauty seems to transcend time, she looks as if she would have fitted quite happily into any decade of the Twentieth Century, even the silk taupe blouse she is wearing for the Boldini painting has a touch of modernity about it.  She has amazing eyes, what does she know that we don't?  Perhaps she knew she was a lady ahead of her time...

Cléopatra Diane de Mérode was born in Paris, on 27th September 1875, the daughter of the Austrian landscape painter, Karl von Merode (1853-1909). The painter belonged to a famous Belgian noble family 'de Mérode'. Nicknamed Cléo, at age eight she was sent to study dance and made her professional debut at age eleven. She grew into a beautiful young woman, noted for her tiny waist which was accentuated by tightlacing that was popular with women at the time.

Cléo de Mérode became renowned for her glamour even more than for her dancing skills and her image began appearing on such things as postcards and playing cards. A particular new hairdo she choose to wear became the talk of Parisian women and was quickly adopted as a popular style for all. Her fame was such that Alexandre Falguière sculpted The Dancer in her image, which today can be seen in the Musée d'Orsay. In 1895, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec did her portrait.

In 1896, King Léopold II attended the ballet and saw Mérode dance. It is said that the 61-year-old Belgian King became enamoured with the 22-year-old ballet star and gossip started that she was his latest mistress. Because the King had had two children with a woman reputed to be a prostitute, Cléo de Mérode's reputation suffered and she had to live with it for the rest of her life. Nevertheless, Cléo de Mérode became an international star, performing across Europe and in the United States. At the peak of her popularity, she chose to dance at the Folies Bergère, taking the risk to do something other elites of the ballet had never done before. Her performance gained her a whole new following.

Giovanni Boldini

Manuel Benedito

Georges Jules Victor Clarin

Very popular in her ancestral homeland of Austria as well as in Germany, her character appeared in the 1926 German motion picture, Frauen der Leidenschaft, played by Fern Andra. In Vienna her beauty caught the attention of painter Gustav Klimt whose primary focus was on female sexuality. Their story is retold in a film released in 2006 titled Klimt. In it, the American actor John Malkovich stars as Gustav Klimt and the British actress Saffron Burrows as Cléo de Mérode ("Lea de Castro").

Sculpture of Cleo by Alexandre Falguiere

Cleo de Merode au salon, Carlos Vasquez Obeda

Mérode continued to dance until her early fifties when she retired to the seaside resort of Biarritz in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France. In 1955 she published her autobiography Le Ballet de ma vie.

Cléo de Mérode died in 1966 and was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Cleo's Grave, complete with sculpture

Cleo de Merode, aged 94 in 1964, Cecil Beaton

Text Source for Cleo de Merode via Wikipedia

Biarritz

Biarritz, Saturday Morning, look at all the surfers in the sea, waiting to ride a wave, most of them have been there since sunrise!

It's my Birthday on Monday, a very boring day to have a Birthday on, so as the weather forecast looked good for the weekend I decided I would like to go to Biarritz for my Birthday, Saturday was the allotted day, I was quite happy to go for the day as it's only an hour and half away by car, yesterday MG decided on the spur of the moment that we should go instantaneously and spend the night, (Friday) he spent some time on the internet looking for a hotel that had availability, a secure car park and accepted dogs, he found one and booked, then announced, I had to get ready.

I was in disarray, chucking things into an overnight bag, the weather has changed dramatically here, yesterday was like a Summers day, what should I take?  Oh God, I am overdue for a leg wax and a pedicure, oh God what shoes, shoes... where is that pretty white bra?  Oh God it's in the laundry basket, which draw are the others in?  Do I need to take a bikini?  No the sea will be freezing, there might be a pool, pool... where is that bikini?  Can't find it never mind, chuck that in instead and that...   twenty minutes later I was ready.

Around an hour later (MG drove like a bat out of hell) we were in Biarritz, mind you it took half an hour to negotiate our way round the Biarritz one way system (with GPS) before we found the hotel, which was located right on the seafront.

We stayed at The Hotel Windsor which looked like it had been recently done out in boutique style, it was immaculate, clean and the staff at the reception were charming, the room was small but perfectly formed, comfortable, clean, with excellent linen and four plump pillows, (normally French hotels only provide, two pillows, with a spare in the wardrobe, why?  I have no idea).  The room was quirky and 'open plan' the bathroom was in the bedroom partitioned by the shower, which was in the middle of the room, I have never come across this before, obviously some kind of space maximisation tactic (you would be hard pushed to find a hotel room here in the high season, so seafront hotels can charge top dollar) there was no bath but the loo was separate with a door!

 We opened the small balcony doors and looked at the view...

Gorgeous, we knew, that night, we would drift off to sleep with the sound of Atlantic waves.

We have not been to Biarritz for about seven years, last time we came, this magnificent resort was looking a bit tired and jaded.  Not any more! Biarritz has had a facelift and been sympathetically rejuvenated in keeping with it's lustrous past, it's the surfing capital of Europe, the hip and the trendy rub shoulders with the elegant and the glamorous.  Biarritz is located on France's South West Atlantic coast, close to the Spanish border, in the Basque country and remains true to it's Basque roots, adding culture, great food and bonhomie to the mix.  Biarritz has been restored to it's former glory, not to mention it's natural beauty and stunning coastline and can happily compete with it's counterparts on The Cote d'Azur.

Biarritz is a popular destination and one of the earliest coastal resorts in France and it's all thanks to one lady, you can't really write about Biarritz without mentioning Empress Eugenie and her summer Villa (Palace) known as Villa Eugenie, now the Super luxurious Hotel du Palais.

The Empress Eugenie in Biarritz

The Hotel Du Palais, can you believe it took only ten months to build, there must have been thousands working on it!

 Edward VII, promenading 1905,  Biarritz was a favourite destination for European Royalty, celebrities and dignitaries, including King Edward VII

The same spot, Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

To read all about the fascinating and romantic history of Biarritz, Empress Eugenie and The Hotel Du Palais click here

When we arrived at the hotel on Friday evening it was already around 8pm, I was feeling a bit crumpled but had no time to change, I just had time to freshen up my make up.  We got some great recommendations for places to eat and drink from the charming hotel staff, there is no shortage of fantastic bars, cafes and restaurants in Biarritz but we were told to head towards the market place, we did and found Le Comptoir du Foie Gras, which was buzzing, it's a tapas bar specialising in regional products.  As the weather was positively balmy everyone was standing outside on the pavement in full summer garb, the atmosphere was great and some great tunes were playing subtly in the background, the tapas looked wonderful so we ordered some, it was so delicious we ended up ordering four plates and stayed there for hours, we never made it out for dinner as we were quite happy where we were and after consuming a lot tapas we were happily stuffed!

Le Grande Plage

Small cove with rock pools

The Old Port

After an excellent nights sleep,  on Saturday morning we went for a long walk along the beach, followed by a pre lunch aperitif,  Champagne in the Hotel du Palais, Crusoe was welcomed too and thoroughly enjoyed having a good old roll on the sumptuous carpets!  Then we headed off to the rustic Old Port for lunch, the best place to go for fish and sea food, the very plump Gulls kept us amused, once again the food was excellent.

After lunch we went for a wonder round the town, more grand buildings, fabulous shops, Biarritz has all the usual suspects; Hermes, Dior, Prada etc. as well as interesting, individual privately owned boutiques.  The Basque country is famous for it's great quality linen and towels and there are plenty of reasonably priced shops in Biarritz selling amazing table linen and the softest, fluffiest best quality towels and robes imaginable.

We drove home late Saturday afternoon, it was a wonderful trip, we will be returning soon...

Click here to read about other destinations on The Cote Basque