Uncategorized

Spain has reindeers

August 21, 2021 by Chantal Chaney

Saturday

There’s an antiques market down in Luchon this weekend so we are off to go and investigate. It was pretty small and extraordinarily expensive but worth a look. We then had a long walk around town to see what was around in the summer. We thought we might pop into Loz and Seb’s bar, until I realised that I didn’t actually remember the name of it, Tommy’s maybe, or Jonny’s, or… I don’t know.

As we were walking back talking about Matt being hungry I noticed a sign, ‘Billy’s’. That’s it! I then saw Loz out serving while Matt noticed the Australian Hot Dog on the menu. Seems like a good opportunity to stop and find out what an Aussie hot dog is and have a quick chat. Also managed to get the number for another mason/plasterer. It seems that all the trades are apparently super busy and everyone is backed up though so not sure if or when they might be able to help but every little counts and he may be able to give us a quote for the external work on the house which is going to need doing in the not too distant future.

After a tasty lunch we decide to pop over to Spain for some shopping, however the Col du Portilllon pass from Luchon to Spain is closed currently. Apparently they couldn’t man two check points – we’ve hardly seen them manning one so seems a bit of a stretch even though the restrictions have now been lifted they still haven’t reopened it. Seems that they have also put down some sort of gravel too to stop cyclists and motorbikes going through. Jokers.

Anyway, since the pass is closed over the mountains we need to go back via our place and the other border crossing. Quick toilet stop and we are on the way. This time we are off to Vielha, another 20 minutes down the road from Bossost.

Time to test your Spanish (or French) – assume that 1 and 3
are local dialects (Occiatania and Catalan maybe)

It seems that Spanish siesta culture is alive and well. We arrived around 3pm and almost everything, apart from a few bars and restaurants, was closed. We had a wander round though and look in the supermarket, really odd by the way doing a tour of a supermarket without the intention to buy anything, although we are plotting to come back later.

After more of a tour we stopped for a quick beer. A rather interesting discussion ensued as I spoke French to the bartender and he spoke to me in Spanish. We managed to get a small and large beer though so it worked out fine. The local facilities were a little intimating [it’s like the Fort Knox of toilets]. Being all automatic I’d hate to inadvertently get locked inside. I did get locked outside when it said it was ‘Occupado’ but eventually I opened the door and there was nobody there, and I didn’t get locked in. [I was tempted to put something both in the door to stop it closing fully and outside it to ask people not to open it. I was also reminded however that I don’t speak Spanish.] When Matt then decided he also needed to use the facilities I thought I’d go make a start on the actual shopping. Obviously again forgot that I don’t speak ANY Spanish. I couldn’t even work out which orange juice I wanted – what is Spanish for ‘sans pulpe’ (smooth)? So I just wandered about till Matt [and his translation app] turned up.

Looks like the shop we wanted to go to should be open now so we were off to the local homewares shop. Within minutes Matt and I lost one another. There were a few interesting bits and pieces but annoyingly, nothing had prices. Now while this is a hinderance in France, it’s an epic barrier in Spain. I have never learnt Spanish and despite Matt living on Roatan [a Spanish speaking island in the Caribbean] for 6 months, it seems that didn’t include learning how to explain what type of bathroom suite you would like.

I’m getting pretty hungry now and although it seems that the town is just starting to liven up I think it is time for us to head home. On the way back we passed a good 2-3miles of traffic heading the other way. I’m not sure what is happening in Vielha this evening but there is something on and seems every man and his dog is going that way. On the way home I did manage to take a picture of the ‘Attention – Flying Reindeer’ sign for Oliver.

Dinner time, I’m ravenous! A quick carbonara and it’s time for a nap. [I do like a good nap after eating.] Seems we’ve missed the opportunity to put the rest of the plasterboard back up as we’ve had to remove the light fitting so that’s going to have to wait until tomorrow. Best thing we can do is rest up, watch some TV and update the blogs.

[7 August 2021]

Sunday

Day started well, or at least the sun was shining. However the joy didn’t last long, and certainly not as long as the list of jobs that needed doing.

I found Matt down in the basement wiring up plugs for the soldering iron to do the replacement shutter cables.

Recalling a conversation from the other day about compost heaps, with the shredding done and looking at the mass of dirt and cut grass piling up it’s clear this needs sorting. It’s a going to be quite a big job though to consolidate it all in one heap and mix it up so that it composts well. I got about half way through and was already knackered. Maybe I’ll finish it later in the afternoon when the sun has moved round.

Over to the veg garden to see what’s happening. The Zinnias are looking glorious. The cabbage however, not so much, paricularly this one, who knew there could be so much caterpillar poo in one place – I only found one but I am certain there must be masses of them and possibly too late to net them. I shall do better next year. The broccoli, so far, doesn’t seem to have been too badly hit and good to see some heads starting to form. [My purple sprouting broccoli last year was a disaster.]

Matt is in the kitchen finally putting it back together but needs some help holding the boards while he puts them back up.

Back in the garden, time to look for the cornichons. It’s been a few days so a couple of big ones but generally a much better size. Now they just need salting, resting, cleaning and pickling.

Matt has the new wiring in for the shutter which is good. So time to get the last boards up. I’m off again to go finish trimming the hedges at the back. It’s not perfect but it will do.

Matt’s been up and down the scaffolding like a yo-yo. He’s managed to get some of the plastering bits done, but he’s also dropped some plaster into the box of screws so I need to wash them off before they are unusable. If there’s ever a time to wonder whether you are making the most of your time and skills this is definitely one.

Finally, I have also managed to clear up in the “kitchen” and it’s looking much better. Time for me to get on with dinner. In true Chaney style I will be cooking 1kg of meat and making enough to last us days. Chilli for two – for a week!