A stroll through Pau!

Wednesday night, 9/1/10

Hello!

(And for inquiring minds, I rabbit, rabbit, rabbited FIRST last night!!)

Have decided that for blog purposes, I will write about the city of Pau (with pictures) and then begin a new posting about today’s drive in the Pyrenees.

We headed out of the Hotel Bristol about 6:30 p.m. It had been SO hot when we arrived here, and we’d kept the windows closed in our hotel room, that I hadn’t realized how much it had cooled down! The weather was very pleasant, and very conducive to strolling through town. Much of the area immediately adjacent to the hotel is having road work done, but we were able to escape the construction madness and head right “downtown.” In fact, Pau has done a wonderful job of turning streets into pedestrian-only walkways, which is GREAT! We browsed a few windows of some very contemporary shops, but only actually went into one – that one advertising cooking and food (of course!) – and out we walked with a lovely bottle of balsamic vinegar as well as a bottle of proprietary ketchup – that actually tastes like tomatoes! Not sure how much more we would have come out with, as the proprietor was very friendly and persuasive!

Pau itself is lovely! It is very much of a small “belle époque” city, with wonderful, colorful and curlicued architecture everywhere. There are parks and gardens galore, and the main square has beautiful water fountains – in fact, they were so appealing that kids were all over it! (We thought about it, but figured it was better for the little people!)

We found the overlook to the Rue des Pyrenees, which is a wonderful square looking out over the Pyrenees – just beautiful, and glad the air was nice and clear! Started looking at menus, and FINALLY found one that included some CHICKEN! These folks have beef, lamb, veal, and all sorts of ways of serving duck – but NO chicken! Can’t imagine why, and we definitely had Tour-de-France-flashbacks from several years ago! Finally found a bistro serving some chicken, and in we went. Ordered one of their set menus. We both had a salad to start, and then R had filet de rougets (fish) with mixed white and wild rice. I had the chicken dish with a sauce of green and red peppers as well as the rice mixture. For dessert, R had an apple tart and I had a lemon tart with meringue – not sure how R’s was, but mine was YUMMY! Washed everything down with a bottle of local white wine.
Back to the hotel around 9:30 p.m. and in for the night!

More later! Love,
m
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