I apologise in advance for repeating myself – but I think I might have said before that if it flies, then I can’t help but be fascinated by it. As they said in Toy Story, it’s not really flying, it’s just falling with grace.
I simply can’t help myself when I see the para-gliders coming down – I tend to stand there transfixed.
I haven’t really been out much to get a shot of anything – as planned I’ve been putting down flooring all day downstairs. It’ll be close to finished tomorrow.
On such a cloudy day it doesn’t seem wise to want to jump off a mountain strapped to a piece of material, but this man, amongst many others, disagree. They’ve been emerging from the clouds all day, and tomorrow I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear news of an accident as is so often the case in these times.
I went to buy some parquet flooring with my dad today, we’ll be fitting that in the downstairs room tomorrow. It all needs a big clearout first though – joy of joys.
I don’t know how much you can see in the picture, but hundreds of buzzards descended upon a field right in front of us this afternoon – like something from ‘The Birds’… Who knows what they were looking for – I’m just glad I wasn’t underneath it all.
Ah the moon – always a point of interest, yet my camera’s autofocus seems to think not. Not matter what, it just won’t quite lock on. Guess it can’t see that far.
Can’t say much has been going on here today – food shopping mainly. Maybe we should buy more, shop less…
We travelled a long way into the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees today – further south than usual, but it was worth it. All in all, we drove 400 miles to see what was there, as it happens – this was there. Nice.
There’s not much I can say really – the whole day has simply been breathtaking. The scenery here is dry as usual, but the geology and topography are astonishing – strikingly different to France.
Stopping for lunch in a strange town in these parts is always like something from the Omega Man – after about 1230 you don’t see a soul outside a house or restaurant. Of course, lunchtime starts at least at 1300 so there’s always that half hour where we want to eat, but we have to wait – so we walk around for a while in a spookily empty village.
Anyway, it’s been a lovely day but a huge journey so I really should get off to bed – all those mountain roads really take it out of you.
OK, so shoot me – I deleted the picture I wanted to use by accident because it looked similar to this one. My point still comes across reasonably well though – it’s just that the other had a slightly wider angle and you could see the peak of the mountain to the right. My opening gambit was going to be something like: ‘Imagine this picture without the pylon.’
That’s as messed up as the countryside now, but you can still see how nice this place would be minus the electric Eiffel tower in the middle. I guess they have to power the ski resorts somehow…
I was also going to photoshop it out then put the two side by side, but it’s so hot and sweaty over the computer that I really can’t be bothered.
In the news, world champion Lewis Hamilton has won his first race of the season in Hungary while Felipe Massa is in a serious but stable condition after a stray suspension spring hit him on the head mid-qualifying, piercing his helmet and knocking him out, causing him to crash into the tyre wall. They think he’ll be OK.
Also, I should perhaps mention, President Sarkozy has had some sort of problem whilst jogging and has been taken to hospital. As far as anyone is saying, he’s fine and it’s nothing – but they really won’t shut up about it in the news. I’ll shut up about it.
Just look at that – it looks like someone took the sun and wedged it between two mountains. Sometimes things like this make me realise how lucky I am to be here in France. Other times, I wish I was in Britain. Quite often in fact.
You see, it’s the permanent discomfort that makes me dream of home. You get used to it – the stuffiness, the humidity, the heat, the sweat, but it does make you lethargic. That simply doesn’t happen to me in the UK, and it gets to me slightly.
Anyway, I haven’t got much to say so I’ll shut up and bask in that last shaft of light before sundown.
It’s been a dull, overcast day today – yet still quite warm and sticky. Luckily, up here in the mountains you can still sleep at night even in these conditions, unlike over in Provence, or even down in Spain. As I type, however, flies are sticking to me like glue. Hopefully they’ll bugger off when I switch the lights off.
Nothing much has been happening of late – so we decided to head out to Zaragoza, one of my favourite cities in Spain. My dad didn’t come, he was sore from a long period of strimming grass yesterday. There have been a few pictures of the day from here before – I couldn’t say when though! This is just a shot of the cathedral with it’s colourful roof tiles.
It’s a big city with a certain understated class – it’s so traditional, yet it feels so modern. They have a knack of keeping very old buildings clean, making everything seem like it was built yesterday, just ready for your visit.
When you walk outwards from the massive square, you soon hit small, winding streets with hundreds of little shops, bars and restaurants. It’s not as visually attractive, but rarely do you catch such an accurate glimpse of life in the city, especially as a tourist. I love this place. I wouldn’t recommend you to go on holiday here – but if you’re around northern Spain and you’ve got a day spare, check it out.
There’s been quite a lot of rain today, but above all – it’s the wind that shook the place to bits. Now, I live in a windy place up in Lancaster, and it’s no doubt gustier there than it is here. But today the gale was shit hot – like a bloody hairdryer. It sounds like a euphemism, but it’s the hottest wind I've ever experienced.
Can’t say we went out much as a result. So, the picture was of this – my ingenious idea of wedging a stick in the window to stop it banging about. Tomorrow, it’s likely to be a picture of a stick that’s gone through the window.
Spain, since my first extended visit, has quickly become my main reason for coming to the Pyrenees. For no reason we decided to go visit out west, find somewhere nice for lunch. There are a few hill top villages around, some abandoned, some still inhabited. We found one where people still lived, and stopped to eat. I should say that hill top is perhaps an understatement, more mountain top really – we parked up and I told my dad I’d give the place a look round and see what’s there.
That turned out to be on the one hand a bad idea as I basically climbed a mountain to get to the top in the extraordinary heat, and yet on the other hand it was a great idea as the view from the top was breathtaking. The village has more stairs than roads, and it’s at first difficult to understand how or why people live up there – but when you finally reach the summit and look out you quickly understand why there’s not an empty house anywhere.
Lunch by the way was great, the restaurant doesn’t appear to have a menu – we got in, sat down, a four course meal was put in front of us (for about £8), we paid then left. All in 30 minutes. No wait, no fuss, no worries about cost. It tasted good.
There are so many pictures I could have chosen from. The village was pretty, but it’s difficult to get a real feel of how steep everything is because of the intense sunlight bleaching everything out – so I chose this one because you can see how high up it’s perched, and it gives you an impression of just how hot and arid this place is. Those fields aren’t full of crops – it’s all just dead grass that won’t grow.
I hope to go back soon – there’s plenty more to explore.
We went to do some food shopping today, then we went to buy a cable for the TV, then we went to see an old aunt who lives in town. Life is so often so mundane.
It’s been raining and thundering all afternoon, I can’t complain – I was beginning to miss it. No, really.
40 years ago today, three men landed on the moon – since then we haven’t gone any further in space than that. Makes you wonder what would have happened by now if all that money spent on war was spent on space exploration. We’d probably have jetpacks – I would anyway…
Ah the Pyrenees – one can’t fail to love the fresh air up in the mountains. It took seven hours, as predicted, to get here; the drive was noisy in my car but bearable. My dad, in his much faster car, got here 45 minutes before us (my brother came along for the ride with me) so he opened up the house etc… which made life less stressful.
On the way, we got to the scene of an accident about five minutes after it happened. People still bleeding, no police, no ambulance – it’s difficult to see how it occurred though as the road was completely empty, it can’t have been past seven in the morning (we set off at five). There was another car behind, which hadn’t rolled, its front was smashed in, so I guess one hit the other. As far as I could tell, the driver of the car pictured here got out safely – can’t have been completely unscathed though…
Anyway, as I’d hoped the internet works here but it’s extraordinarily slow – I’m just going to stop typing, hit send and hope for the best. See you on the other side.
It’s the last time I’ll be seeing this place for a long while. We’re heading off to the Pyrenees early in the morning, then from there I’m off to spend the next year on Mallorca. So, it’s goodbye Provence for now. Obviously I’m going in my car, so there’s a seven hour drive ahead to get to the mountains – it’ll be nice, I like driving.
My dad has unlimited 3G internet on his mobile and I’ve just worked out how to tether it to my laptop. With a bit of luck then I might just about be able to get online without having to sponge wifi off a bar ten miles away…
I know it’s easy to complain about ‘nanny government’, particularly when it comes to the EU, but this leaflet I have been asked to keep in the car is really quite helpful. It’s about what to do in the event of an accident. Now, before I read this, if I had a bump I would have stopped the car, pulled the gun out of the glove box and pressed it up to the offender’s windscreen – who knows I might even have capped him in the leg.
Lucky for you shit drivers out there, I’ve read this leaflet. It says ‘Do not get angry’. ‘Stay polite’. ‘Be calm’. Wow – that’s so enlightening I think I might just stick to it. Thanks EU! What the hell do I do with my gun now though?
Before I sound like the bastard love child of Jeremy Clarkson and the Daily Mail, I should perhaps move on. In fact, I’ve just got back from seeing the new Harry Potter. I didn’t really want to go, but hey, I don’t like saying no to a free trip to the pictures. As it happens, my premonition was sadly correct. It was dull, uninspiring and nothing happened. Of course it was well put together but its main let down was that it was way too long. As in, an hour too long. If you want to go see it, just stay away.
Finally, after a week that seemed like an age, I’ve got my car insured and hey presto – off I go.
So, I went to get bits and bobs needed for it – a new gear knob (the existing one was crumbling away), emergency triangles and a yellow jacket as required by French and Spanish law.
Today’s picture comes from Martigues, by birth town if you’re interested. From there I went with my brother to a sports shop to try and pick up some empty bicycle boxes – something to do with the charity bike trip across France he’s planning. As it happens, we have to go back tomorrow to have any chance of getting anything…
I’ve really not been up to much today. The heat has remained high and humidity is spiralling upwards. It’s truly, truly uncomfortable.
So, as a remedy, I decided to watch this – a boxed set someone gave me a month or so ago. It was actually aired in 2006 and went by pretty much unnoticed – can’t say I heard of it myself either. However, much like Sean Lock’s ‘Fifteen Stories High’, it truly is a hidden gem. It’s dark and often confusing, maybe slightly crude at times, but the music is ingenious and there are running themes which give it a clever edge. Sadly, they only ever made one series of Snuffbox, so I watched all six episodes in one go. If you can find it cheap somewhere, it’s really worth a look.
A quick car update: registration papers are sorted, I have to go to the insurance office tomorrow to get that all signed off. It’s another delay, but the good news is that the insurance shall cost the equivalent of about £380 – more than half the price of what it costs in Britain.
We all know French drivers have a reputation for driving with a hand out of the window, but this takes it all to the next level…
It’s Bastille day today, and I think this fits the bill perfectly – I don’t think I’ve taken a picture which sums up French driving more. There’s always a casual disregard for common sense – even if it means you can’t change gear most of the time. If he could, I’m sure he’d have both feet out of the window.
It does show quite how hot it is though – today got up to 35C. It’s getting to that point where the heat stops you doing much; it’s just about bearable though.
Ten days after independence day in America, it’s France’s turn to have a crack at a national holiday. It’s not today mind you – tomorrow is Bastille day, but the festivities start tonight to take it over midnight and through to the actual day. It marks the fall of the Bastille prison, but nowadays it marks a day off work.
Now, it’s Monday today, and the holiday is tomorrow on Tuesday. There’s a tradition in France in situations like these - ‘faire le pont’. This literally means to ‘make the bridge’. That is to say, when the break is on a Tuesday, or a Thursday, you might as well fill in the gap from the weekend – the Friday or in this case, Monday. Makes a long weekend you see. In Britain, we just make sure all holidays land on Monday – oh well.
Only about half of the country take this extra day off, so you’re never 100% sure what’s open and what isn’t. Turns out, the town hall was closed, so getting the paperwork done on my car has once again been delayed. It’ll be Wednesday before I can go now at the least. Oh the bureaucracy.
Anyway, here’s a picture of the village member’s club having it’s party – I live just next door so it’s kind of keeping me up. Sorry it’s so blurry, but as I said, you have to be a member to get in, and I thought it might seem weird having a total stranger wondering around trying to find a steady spot for a picture of something he’s not attending…
Ants! Hundreds of the little bastards, all over the side of the house! Don’t even know why I’m mentioning it – but there they are.
It’s been so hot, so sticky today. It’s not really a holiday when it’s like this – sweat clouds my vision as I type. Hopefully it’ll be fresher tomorrow – looks like a thunderstorm tonight. Having said that, it’s midnight and there’s still no rain so maybe I’m too optimistic.
That wasp in the picture is a helicopter. It’s been flying around all day. People set up on the hill below it offering rides above the countryside. That’s been annoying me all day.
I’ve spent the evening installing Ubuntu on my crappy old laptop – it works, but my brother wants to get a crappy cracked game working, and it just won’t. Everything else will, but not this one. The worst thing about it is that it’s Pro Cycling Manager – something extraordinarily boring anyway.
As suggested yesterday, here’s a picture of my new car. It’s a funny shot because it’s parked in a funny place – it’ll do.
I’ve spent a while doing the washing up today – nothing else. Nothing. I was going to go for a drive, but I’m not insured yet. I was going to go for a walk, which I normally do, but it was too hot. Next week I shall be insured, so I’ll go somewhere nice – maybe with my brother if he wants to come.
I’ve said this before, but France seems to really sap any inspiration from me – just typing this is an effort! Maybe it’s just from being stuck in the house all day – I’m sure the picture of the day will be exciting once I start getting about the place a little more.
I got bored so went for a walk today. I noticed that like so much of rural France, this place is falling apart. The houses, including this one, crack up every year because of subsidence and the road has been torn in two. As a result, when you walk through the village (or hamlet) and there’s nobody around, like today, it’s like walking through somewhere that everyone had to flee because it got nuked or there was anthrax or something…
I’ve got a car now, a Peugeot 306, it’s not bad, bit rough round the edges, but I’m sure it’ll run. It’s a bit dull though, so I’ll get a picture of it on a day where there truly is nothing else. Like tomorrow probably.
Can’t say I’ve been up to much today – the morning was spent putting together a voice over project I recorded before leaving on Saturday. Then for lunch we went to the area’s over-priced, slightly average nautical themed restaurant with a few of my dad’s colleagues on a visit from Vietnam. As I said, it’s a fairly expensive place, not over the top – but the food is nothing special at all. Can’t say why they keep going back there…
Looks like I might end up with a Peugeot 306 for next year – I spent the afternoon looking at options, and it seems like one at a local garage could well be the best idea. So there we are.
The heat is taking it’s toll slightly, although it was cooler today, but I have to apologise in advance for any typos I might make – stupid as it may seem it’s more difficult to spot them when you’re all hot and bothered.
Outside my window, right now this very moment, the moon is shining through the clouds like something from a film. It’s like the sun at night. Sadly, my camera only has autofocus and it won’t fix onto anything in the distance at night. That’s annoying.
So, today’s picture is of a rusty chair also slightly out of focus, but when you look at it, just imagine what I’m seeing right now and think about how much better today’s picture could have been.
The moon’s gone now. What a shame. Oh well, you win some you lose some.
The fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square carries a different work of art every year or so. Today, it’s the turn of real people to stand up on there. They get an hour each, 24 hours a day, for 100 days. That’s 2400 people going on constantly until October.
It’s an interesting idea, it’ll be nice when the novelty wears off and people will simply be walking by casually observing the proceedings. It’s being streamed live on TV and online, so I took a look, and took a picture. It’s boring, I think the concept is better than the actual activity, but hey, it’s worth checking out in a bored moment. It’s called ‘One and other’ by Anthony Gormley. Google it and you’ll find the site.
The day started off on the wrong foot when my bag turned out to be overweight upon arrival at Manchester airport. Ryanair, saints that they are, charge £15 for every kilo over the weight limit. I had to shed some baggage – I wasn’t going to pay anything at all at that rate. Luckily it worked and I didn’t, so we boarded the plane without parting with any extra cash.
I might have mentioned last week that it was hot in Somerset. Honest to god, it is twice as hot here in France. Stepping off the plane was like hitting a brick wall – can’t say I’ve felt like that for a long time. I’ve just about managed to get used to breathing normally again, but it’ll be a while before I adjust to cope with the constant sweating.
Last summer I was in Seville, where temperatures hit 53 degrees C, far hotter than here, but at night time the heat is just the same – I’m getting tired just typing. I’m going to try not moving for a while.
Just as I got in from the airport I saw Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick in a five set epic Wimbledon final, beating Pete Sampras’ record of 14 grad slams. It was close though, the fifth set went all the way to 16-14 – the equivalent of another set, and them some.
Right well, it’s time for some more water, then bed. Hope you’re not as sticky as I am tonight.
Today was spent packing to leave for France tomorrow. I’ve had to choose carefully mind, as I’ve got a 15kg limit on my bag – I’m going away for a year. Difficult.
I won’t be spending my year in France though as I’m working in Mallorca for 8 months, but before all that I’m heading down to the French coast to see my family etc…
I must stop typing and go to bed – packing’s not done yet but if I’m up I can do it tomorrow. Good evening.
It’s been one of those days where the morning’s events feel like they took place a week ago. It was time for the cookery course to end, but we still had half a day’s worth of cooking left to do – so frying pan pizzas (being expertly flipped in the picture), cookies, beer bread and brownies were on the menu.
We’ve all eaten so much now though that the actual eating part has become a chore. Didn’t think it would come to this, but it has.
Anyway, after lunch it was time to go home, and in true British fashion a simple nip up the train line quickly turned into a nightmare journey – a train broke down up the line from us and we had to push it to Gloucester before we could be on our way. As a result we were 45 minutes late, I missed my connection in Birmingham which I’d pre-booked and getting the conductor on the next train to believe about any of it me was difficult.
I managed to convince him though, and he let me off without charging me anything so the day wasn’t completely ruined. However, just an hour or so ago, at around midnight, we got a call from my mother who’s away with friends at the moment saying that she’s really, really ill and could my dad come down. I offered to go too, but we agreed it’d be better to keep someone at home – we don’t want to both end up stranded somewhere at two in the morning.
So here I am, typing away, hoping things aren’t too bad. It’s a shame that such a lovely week had to be marred by this – if nobody’s back tomorrow I might have to give the old cooking skills a bit of a spin. Goodnight.
It’s the final night of cooking tonight and we were asked to think of a theme for the evening. We settled on a barbecue dinner but had no barbecue to cook it on – fortunately one of the course organisers invited us to her house to use hers.
The house I’m staying in at the moment is massive, with several bedrooms and, not surprisingly, a vast kitchen. However the house we went to this evening was extraordinary well equipped. There was a hot tub, horses with fields and even a boat. I was duly impressed.
Enough said – there’s more cooking to be done in the morning then it’s home on the train in the afternoon.
Here’s a picture of some more food we cooked – this time it’s Blinis with various toppings.
I haven’t got much to say – I think I’ve eaten far too much though. Far too much. Oh God. Call a doctor.
Posts
All Comments
