Pau Heats Up

The crazy hot weather that we’ve gotten to know so well whilst living in Pau finally rolled around this week. It feels way later than normal. I remember that first summer here, staying in the Discomfort Suites all through June and July with the temperature sitting in the mid-high 30*s for weeks on end and us in the sweat box listening to the charming sounds of trail bikes at 2am. Anyway, I digress. 

With temperatures soaring and yet more days to pass, I’ve been looking for things to keep William occupied and ways to cool us down. On Monday morning we headed out to Idron for a run around the playground and a wee morning picnic. It’s crazy seeing him at this playground now - we spent so much time there when we just arrived and he could barely go on anything. Now he’s climbing all over everything with no support. We also went for a wander over the river and behind the Château. It was a lovely morning. 

We bumped into Claire Whitelock just as we got back to the house and she invited us out to their place in the afternoon. Given the soaring temps, and the fact they have a pool, it was a no brainier. William had an absolute ball and Iain even joined us after work. Given the 37* temps, I don’t know if having the oven on all day to slow cook ribs was a well thought out decision but getting home to an already-made-meal after being out all day was bloody awesome! Possibly the best yet. 

On Tuesday we made our first pilgrimage of the year to Parc Animaler at the back of Lourdes. Lee was taking her crew out and I was delighted to join her. Conrad’s cousin and her husband were also there for the day and it was cool hanging out with other kiwis and sharing stories. As ever, the kids had a ball and William was completely exhausted by the time we got home. 

He continues to embrace music as a whole. Zoe Ball was playing some Paulo Nutini this week and this was his reaction (!): 

Thursday was mega hot again and we went out to Jen’s place in Idron for a play in her pool. Hilariously, Hana and Sam that I’d only just met at Parc Animaler with Lee were there, and it was also great to catch up with Sally Cat who I’ve not seen in about a year!

This week also saw me finally getting to grips with trying to replace the broken lamp shade in the spare room. And typically, the whole thing was a right palaver. I'd checked out then bought replacement shades from Leroy Merlin but they didn’t fit so I had to take them back. You’d think these things would be pretty standard eh? No. After we took them back, we ended up going on this big lamp shade hunt through Pau and Lescar, ending up at a specialist lighting shop in Lescar where, after waiting for ages to speak to the shop assistant, she went went for a rummage through the stores and managed to produce shades that looked like they would do the job perfectly. Got them home and yes, they actually fit! Keeping our Bond safe, one step at a time! 

On Friday night we went for dinner at Passage. We’re bloody lucky to live where we live and that this is all on our doorstep. I think my gin was on the table before I’d even sat down. We followed up with a family run through the Château Parc on Saturday morning. It was good to have my pacemaker back today, so much so that I got *nine* achievements on my Strava. Note the use of the old stinker trainers through. So annoyed that the new black ones are causing so much grief. What a waste of money. 

The weekend consisted of some culinary experiments with the plums from Jess and Olivier’s garden plus a Sunday session in which we ended up hanging out with the Fish and the Ramseys. 

The tart may look great, but it was rubbish. The custard didn’t set (think I need to add eggs in the future) and it was just a bit of a runny mess. 

Sunday was a great afternoon spent on the Boulevard eating lunch and drinking fizz, and then Fish, Alisha, Ramo and the boys joined us. I was a bit disappointed with my lunch at Le Poulet à 3 Pattes as I specifically asked for a gf side and my fish turned up with a vegetable tartlet on the plate. 😤 They did rectify it, but it’s still a nuisance. After a few late afternoon Irish whiskeys and some more wines, we all (minus Fish) ended up in Bondi (where else) then back at ours for pizza and some of the mushy plum tart. 

William is an A+ street urchin. Good times. 

LM :)