Down the K9 Road
Having
travelled down past Bordeaux and Biarritz, not incidentally on the K9 road, we
arrived at the campsite near St Jean de Luz, that we had been to before and
provided a good base for exploring the surrounding Basque area, as well as providing
a great overnight stop for people en route to Spain and Portugal.
The caravan pitched, I was finishing off tidying away things like the peg and
pole bags, when our new neighbours, a Dutch couple who had arrived just after
us and were off to explore the site, stopped to talk. They initially “bonjoured” me, before
continuing in French and were a little surprised when I answered them in
Franglais, a posh word for poor French as spoken by an Englishman with a limited
command of French, so prone to inject the odd English word into the sentence,
at least whilst trying to fathom the correct word from deep in the dictionary
of the mind! Unfortunately, despite
having lived in France for several years, it wasn’t particularly that they
thought I looked French, but the confusion was caused by us having a French
number plate, having as residents had to re-register the car in France, a
bureaucratic nightmare worthy of a chapter somewhere else!
Realising
their mistake, as only the Dutch can, they slipped effortlessly into perfect
English, to the extent that I had to double check that I really had seen their
car with Dutch number plates!
During
the course of the conversation, I discovered that they were very excited, as they
were en route to Portugal to pick up their new dog!! Apparently, there was at that time a real
problem with stray dogs in Portugal, and a Dutch charity had been set up to try
and re-house as many of them as possible in Holland. Normally, the dogs are flown from Portugal to
Holland, but this couple didn’t like the idea of their new addition being
crated up and flown all that way, so had decided to go in person. It was, they agreed a long trek, but they
were making a holiday of it, although it was a case of speeding their way down,
picking up the dog and making their way leisurely back – I did say they were
excited. Needless to say, when I got up
the next morning they had already packed up and set off once again along the K9
road!
Good Deeds for the Day
It
was obviously a day that I was feeling extra helpful, maybe because I was on
holiday, relaxed and in no particular rush to do anything or get anywhere. So in the course of the day I did not one,
but four good deeds, helping a total of seven people from three different
countries. It left me with a good
feeling, so I poured myself a glass of wine that evening to celebrate, which I
would probably have done anyway as I was on holiday!!
Being
a pleasant day, the sun shining and relatively warm despite a strong on shore
breeze, I decided to make the most of it, as the weather had been a little
inclement over the last day or two. So I
got Linda, my wife, to drop the dog and I off, down the coast a little and
arranged for her to pick us up some way
back towards the campsite we were staying on, as it was inland a little and
rather too far to walk back to. We
walked north along the Cote Littoral, on a lovely stretch of cliff top path,
with pounding breakers being whipped up by the breeze and seabirds floating on
the eddies on one side and the snow covered foothills of the Pyrenees on the
other, enjoying the fresh air and scenery.
The
first of my good turns of the day was when I encountered a Spanish couple who
were attempting to do a circular walk first along the cliff top and then
doubling back to their car through the countryside back from the cliff. This area was riddled with pathways and they
had become disorientated, and liking to be prepared I had a simple map guide
with me. So in broken French, English
and Spanish I was able to point them in the right direction with a cheery
“Adiós y buena suerte”, Good bye and good luck, although as this happened some
time ago my memory might have got that muddled and it could have been a simple
adiós, au revoir or even good bye, but the first response was undoubtedly more
impressive!!
Then
a little further on I encountered a couple of rather attractive young French
women, as I was climbing up some rather muddy and slippery steps and they were
coming down. Ever the gentleman, I
stepped off the path to let them come down, slipped and ended up throwing
myself at their feet, well I did say they were attractive! As they descended, as well as telling me to
be careful, I’m sure they told me there was no need to throw myself at
them!! And I’ve only just thought of it,
but perhaps they meant that my gentlemanly charm was enough for a shared drink
at a nearby bar, when in fact all I did was laugh sheepishly and wish them a
bon continuation, literally good continuation, but more an “enjoy the rest of
your walk!” I suppose hindsight is all
well and good, but Linda was waiting just up the coast a bit and we needed some
shopping for tea!
Next
were a Dutch couple, in a large campervan, stopped in the supermarket car park
near to our campsite, pouring over a map and looking lost. Having parked the campervan, the man had
disappeared into the shop, probably to ask for directions, so as it was that
time in the afternoon when people who have travels are looking for the next
campsite in time to make camp before preparing their evening meal and settling down
for the night. As it was out of season
and our campsite was really the only one open nearby, I enquired from the lady;
if they were trying to find our campsite, which indeed they were, so I was able
to direct her. On my return I chanced upon
them again and asked if my instructions had been good and they had managed to
find the site easily, to which the gentleman, replied “Yes, my wife told me she
had met a very helpful Englishman!
Having
given the Dutch lady directions, I continued into the supermarket to do some
shopping and found a lady in a slight predicament! She was struggling with her husband’s boxer
shorts, so being in a helpful mood I proceeded to help this elderly French lady
to take down her husband’s new boxers! .. the size she wanted were on the top
rack of the supermarket shelf!
Lunch
with a friend over the telephone
I’ve never been one for
long conversations on the telephone, and well remember once, at work, being
asked by someone if they could conduct a somewhat lengthy interview with me
about some latest educational fad or other and could they do it over the
phone. My reply was simply “No!” if they
were that keen to hear my opinion, I would only be too happy to talk to them
face to face over a cup of coffee in my office.
They never came, and I’ve often wondered if in fact they didn’t really
value my views or simply had enough other people prepared to talk, at length,
over the telephone.
So I was rather amused
and indeed staggered some time ago to sit and have lunch at a campsite cafe,
during which time a single lady on the table next to us, completely ate her two
– course lunch having an animated conversation with her friend, who could for
all I knew, have been in distant Timbuktu, as the whole rather one sided
conversion, was conducted over the phone.
Thinking again, actually, it didn’t really amuse me, as people have an
infuriating habit of talking very loudly on their phones in public, so rather
impinged on the enjoyment of my meal, and perhaps even more infuriating was the
fact that being only able to hear half the conversation, I didn’t know what her
friend thought about the various dilemmas and problems that the woman on the
next table choose to share with everyone on the terrace and if it hadn’t been
for a mouthful of food, I might well have told her where to go, not I hasten to
add in a rude manner, but politely tell her that as far as I was concerned the
best option was to make an appointment with her doctor as soon as
possible! Well she had asked her friend
what she should do about the nasty rash on the inside of her left leg!!!
Paris,
London, Old York
A few years ago we had
some friends to stay from York, the plan being they were flying out to La
Rochelle, spending a few days with us and then we were going with them to visit
Paris, Steve had been before but Anne hadn’t.
From there we were taking them back to York, en route as it were for one
of our trips back to the UK.
We had a great time, Steve
helped with some of the house renovating and Paris was, as always fantastic,
and extremely tiring, as the hotel we had chosen was a fair walk from the
nearest Metro and for most of each day we choose, what is always the best way
to soak up any city, to walk it. We ended
up walking miles each day and apart from one evening when we stayed in the
centre, having had a quiet morning at the hotel, we returned weary and
exhausted early each evening for a meal at the hotel. Unfortunately, one evening we had failed to
notice that the restaurant was shut, so had a long walk to rather
unsuccessfully, find an alternative place to eat.
But, by and large, a
good time was had by all; Anne was introduced to the wonders of the length and
breadth of Paris, the rest of us were glad to be reunited with this most
magical of cities. It seemed that if it
was in the guidebook we did it and a few “local” non- tourist attractions,
having been shown them on a visit to a Parisian friend a few years previously.
But all good things
have to come to an end and weary, but happy, we set off for the UK, on quite a
long trip. Paris to Calais, M3 from Dover to the M25, M11, A14, A1/A1M and A64
with a few minor roads in between!
It was only a couple of
days later when, when I had a thought, we were on a bus going into the centre
of York and overheard a young American lady talking to a friend on her mobile
phone, the conversation going something like this; “ Hi Stace, it’s Kathy”,
Stace obviously then asked where Kathy was, to which she replied “York”. Stace then obviously said what New York and
Kathy replied “No, Old York!” before going off on one of those excited squeals,
that only Americans seem able to do, when visiting somewhere old, about how
wonderful and ancient it all is!
But, my thought, our journey
a couple of days ago was a little like an expensive scent bottle – “Paris,
London” and (OK, I did say a little like!) in this case “Old York” instead of
New York!
A
seat on the Paris Metro
A couple of little
snippets, both from the Metro, from the visit to Paris mentioned above. On the night we travelled back from the
centre of Paris, it was the end of a long evening in Paris and we were glad to
rest our feet as the train made its way to the end of the line. There were a few other passengers spread out
amongst the carriage, including a somewhat shady looking character, certainly
one you wouldn’t have fancied meeting in a dark alley. He was an enormous Jamaican-looking chap,
both tall and thick set and certainly with an air of menace about him. Imagine how surprised we all were, as well as
chastened by our stereo-typing of this chap, who as he got up and left the
carriage at his station, wished everyone in the carriage and cheery bon nuit
(Goodnight), as he strode out into the night, probably into the arms of a
loving family. Such public displays of
good manners and general bonhomie, are very common in France, we just made the
mistake of judging a book by its apparent cover!
On another day, heading
into the centre, in a very busy carriage with standing room only, we were strap
hanging, something that always takes me back to my childhood with my Aunt in
London. How I longed, at that time, to
be tall enough to reach the hanging straps and really ride the tube, like a
seasoned commuter!!
After a couple of stops
a seat became available, but I was now tall enough and enjoying riding the
strap, imagining all sorts of commuter adventures. I was roused out of my day dreaming by a
young Chinese girl carrying a violin case. She said “ Excusé moi” and offered
me the seat, before sitting down on it after I declined, it was much more fun
riding the bucking bronco holding the thin rein, I did say commuter adventures,
perhaps that should have been cowboy adventures. My wife always says I’ve got a vivid imagination!
Afterwards, talking to
my friends, I put it down to good Chinese / French manners, my companions had
the cheek to suggest it might have been something to do with the white hair and
aged appearance! It’s good to know who
your friends are!
