Bike outing in the pine forest

Björn has been practising alot lately to be able to surprise his dad. Biking with no support wheels!! The actual pedalling was not so difficult, it was starting and stopping that needed to be worked on...

Today he was so confident we decided to go for a small outing in the nearby pine forest. The indian summer continues and we had a lovely weather for this family event... even if the trail was a bit sandy at times which proved difficult for our fresh pilot, otherwise everything was perfect... 

We sat down for a picnic by the trail, feeling alone in the world. We could hear the buzz from a fly or a bee from time to time, otherwise the forest was peace and silence. A good silence, calm and warm. I wished for a big blanket, to stretch out and gaze up on the tops of the pines and think of nothing...

(Trails like this are abundant in Landes, proper cycle lanes as well.)

After school beach time

I whisked the children from school and straight to the beach... isn't there something special about 'cheating' to get another swim at the beach in the after season? The beach is calmer, the sea is still warm and you're saying to yourself: is this the last swim of the year?

Surprisingly there were quite alot of people at the Moliets beach. German, Dutch... and of course, 33 degrees and sun can make anybody want to feel the sea breeze...

No pictures this time... the photos added are from another year, but the feeling is ther. Afterwards we had a mussels treat and then stayed on a while to watch the sun setting in the sea....

Going to the beach again.... (Moliets)

Playing at the beach and then some mussels... a routine that the whole family enjoys and we never seem to get tired of it...

Mussels in a spicy sauce!

The place: Cave aux Moules

Anglet, the beach again

Temperatures are diving... but I still went for a Sunday walk on the beach with my friend Anna and her children in Anglet.

This weekend in food photos

In French they call it flou artistique. I guess hazy is quite the equivalent in English? Anyway, this is côtes de canard and Roy helping out in the kitchen (oven tomatoes filled with goat cheese). And he has the helpers glass of wine within reach....

Well, this is normal looking bass.... in the oven with some coconut oil and veggies!

Most festive apéritif all categories: pink champagne!

Coffee and coca light in the sun in Léon

A walk around Lac de Cristus

In the beginning of the week we went here for a stroll around the lake in St-Paul-lès-Dax. A bike race was running through the parc, weather was sunny and nice.... (and we had hamburgers at Quick... not my choice but two out of three were happy...)

New cultural centre in Castets

The cinema is not new, but bigger

Party time in my little village! Our new cultural centre is ready! A meeting point for associations, the library and music in various forms. The photos were taken daytime, in the evening there were song and music, free beer and food..... nice!

Around Lourdes - Funiculaire du Jer

South of Lourdes a cable train takes you almost 1000 metres up to the Pic de Jer. 360 degrees viewpoint at the top with an incredible panorama....

Steepest part the angle is 56 degrees!

The small smiling guy burst out crying when I first said we would do this. Null, was his exact words to express his feelings. But at the top he said it was great. You were right, he said. Warms a mother's heart to hear...

Around Lourdes - Candle Procession

The city Lourdes is the third biggest pilgrim destination in the world after the Vatican and the Notre Dame in Mexico, with six million visitors every year. Every evening from April to October at 21 hours there is a procession with candles below the church Sanctuaires Notre Dame de Lourdes. Many sick and disabled persons participate.

I went there with the children to have a look... difficult to take pictures but a moving experience to hear the singing, see all the lights and the mass of people participating. When the children get bigger, we will come back to visit the city of Lourdes and the sacred well.  All around us we heard different languages because people come as pilgrims from all over the world to this place. As a protestant I felt a bit bewildered, because we don't celebrate saints, and I had some trouble explaining the whole thing to the children. I need to prepare things like this better!

The paper lanterns protect the candles and make the light yellow. Very pretty in the dark.

The pilgrims visit the holy source discovered by Saint Bernadette. Its sacred water is supposed to be healing. You see many statues of the mother Mary and bottles to bring home the sacred water.

Lourdes is a small city but rich. This is just one example of the beautiful architecture in the city centre.

41, everything is still fine

A happy birthday is simple. Retrieving old friends that just moved closer to us, sipping champagne in the pool and hearing the children playing without bothering us....

Eating artichokes with salted butter and nothing else...

Sharing a Swedish dessert....

... and some flowers!

My little philosophers

French school - maybe school in general - is tough and does not allow for the children to follow their own rhythm much... hang around, be curious, do nothing or invent things... which makes the summer vacation such a good opportunity to do just that.

Things we ate in July

July was time off. No photos, hardly no blog. But we kept eating. First all kinds of meat. Duck and Boeuf de Chalosse have a special place in our hearts, but we also do red wine marinated porc ribs occasionnally...