Lindsey, newsletter # 75
Nantes, Thursday 6th of April, 23-00.
So I stopped writing just before my 45th birthday. Or was it 46th? I get confused.
The return to Nantes was uneventful. The bonus was that we had eaten really well during the week end and have attempted to keep the standards up, both in the house and by going out for meals.
We were helped by having the visit from Claudie. Claudie is a friend from the Saint-Etienne days. Her sons James and Simon were in the same class as Boris and Vikki. And (for those in the know) her younger son Oliver is the reigning PIF champion. So when Claudie suggested that she would be happy to come and visit there was little hesitation. Yes! And during 3 days Lindsey took Claudie around her favourite spots, spent a lot of time chatting.
When Claudie left on Thursday evening, there was a real sense of emptiness, compensated in great part by Jill’s arrival.
While Lindsey and Claudie would be talking I was working or in the kitchen… Getting out of the way, mainly. Other jobs include cleaning out the terrace: the nice days are arriving and we are looking forward to sitting out.
Another key event of the past few days has been getting into zombies. One evening Lindsey decided to go to bed early I tried watching a successful TV show called « the Walking Dead ». At first it was ghastly but very quickly I got hooked. The next evening Lindsey was not wanting an early night so I tried getting her to watch it. To my surprise, she got hooked too. So that is becoming our evening pleasure.
We didn’t have many medical novelties these days. No frights, no urgencies. Routine… I try to diminish medication (inside what the Doctors allow me) but it proves difficult. Bring something down and the discomfort will only be noticeable 24 or 36 hours later. We keep having blood analyses regularly and this also keeps us busy. In the morning to get it done, in the evening checking that all is OK.
As I write these lines Vikki is still in the house. She is leaving tomorrow for l’Ile d’Yeu, a very beautiful island south west from Nantes, where a boy-friend and a job are waiting for her.
We will be missing her. Vikki appeared right at the beginning of this blog. She rushed up from Australia when Lindsey and I found ourselves stranded in Korea and left everything there.
She has since proved to be a great nurse, cook, housekeeper, organiser. She has cheered us and allowed us not to have to face routine (no routine with Vikki…).
I am not sure how we would have done without her. I would clearly not have been able to do all I have been able to.
So a new period is starting now. Even if Lindsey is much better, things are not sorted out yet. Far from it.
But I certainly should finish today’s post with: Thank you Vikki.
Love
Lindsey, newsletter # 76
Biarritz, Thursday 20th of April, 23-00.
Long time no see… One of the great advantages of the wonderful friends and family Lindsey has is that there are always people around and this makes it difficult for me to have time to digest the different photographs, reconstruct the stories and publish this blog.
So (back some time) Vikki left. And we moved on. At first, things have proved simple. On one hand, Lindsey has been feeling better. Which of course helps. We also had another visitor: this time Jill (Lindsey’s mum). So again, Lindsey went for long walks and did a lot.
As often we went to the market where I was convinced by the fishmonger that the tuna I was buying was so fresh we could eat it raw. And so we did. In sashimi at lunch, in Donburi in the evening. I added another sashimi to the menu by stealing the eggs from Mrs lobster. They were nice too.
On Friday (14th) we went down to Biarritz, stopping in Bordeaux en route where complex logistics allowed us to pick up Rob and Joan Jones, from Ontario Canada. My mother came up from Biarritz and Boris took a bit of time off work for us to gather at Place Saint-Michel for a meal. I had met Rob 20 years ago, but Lindsey, Lali and Jill had visited in 2013.
They went there on a trip to visit Vikki who was « studying » at the East point of Canada.
When I went, a few months later, I got to see Vikki, but not to go all the way to Ottawa.
After leaving Bordeaux, down to Biarritz where we will be spending the week. And straight away for a walk along the corniche, which is a path overlooking the ocean.
In Biarritz, we found Susi, Ramon, Aitana and Mateo who had spent the « semana santa ». We still managed to squeeze in a lovely meal, in remembrance of all the Sabado Santo meals we had had (in Morales) over the past.
They left on Sunday, just when Boris arrived. And the scheduled visits were only starting, with Luis and Corinne expected for Monday, and Jose and Luisa for Tuesday.
Love
Colin
Lindsey, newsletter # 77
Nantes, Thursday 27th of April, 10-00.
Back from Biarritz where we had a great week. [Actually, posted 4 days later…]
Monday 17th
We went out to Ascain and walked the « Chemin de Saint-Ignace ». This took us from Ascain to the train station which brings you to the top of the Rhune. After getting lost (not much) we had a lovely walk of more than 7 km. I was doubtful this would be too much for Lindsey (I actually had the same worries about my mother). But with her new sticks, jolly conversations and a great scenery, we got round nicely. The lunch in Ascain (with about 5 restaurants to choose from!) was brilliant too.
In the evening Luis and Corinne arrived, straight from Santiago de Compostela.
Tuesday 18th
We had a nice quiet day. Some walks, a lot of talking. Then we suddenly decided to play ping-pong. To my great surprise, Lindsey tried too and it was interesting to see that coordination was still very good.
The medical event of the day was taking the weekly blood analysis. We did this in Biarritz. I asked for a count (in French Numération) which consists in saying how many primary components can be found. But they did a full analysis without the count: they even found that Lindsey had huge sugar levels. Of course! She had had a large breakfast just before (which is OK for a count). Interesting to notice how many times things go wrong in these medical examinations.
At the end of the afternoon, Luisa and Jose, from Alicante, got here. Then Boris, Luis and Corinne left.
Wednesday
On Tuesday evening it was decided to go for the Rhune on the next day. The Rhune (or Larrun in Basque) is the mountain you can see from everywhere down the Basque coast. There are several ways up to the top, including a 1924 train line!
We did 2 teams: Lindsey and Lali took the train to the top, Jose, Luisa and I walked from Olhette. A long walk up: it took us 2 hours. Very sunny but a cold wind. We joined up around 11-30 drank some hot chocolate and started together the walk down. The original plan was to walk from Larrun to the Venta Yasola. Ventas were trading posts all along the border between Spain and France. The Venta Yasola’s main business is just food: they provide lovely lunches. But when I phoned from Larrun they told me they were overbooked. That sounded like bad news, but having nothing better to do we walked there anywhere, with a one hour short trek in mind.
The short trek proved to be quite a challenge. It started as a road used by the cars to bring things up to Larrun. But the steepness of the slope made is very difficult, and a couple of slips arrived rapidly.
Then we got lost and started taking paths that were no loner on maps but seemed to be going in the right direction.
We eventually got back on track, only to find that it was very difficult for our less well equipped/less steady on their feet members. Very steep, gravel and stand, slippery and even dangerous at moments. Lindsey found the way to do this: just sit down and slide down. My mother eventually followed suit.
With that the easy trek took us 2 hours and a half and we reached Yasola at 2-30, feeling ravenous and knowing that the cars were still possibly 2 hours away.
Luckily, at that point Yasola had seen most of their clients leave and they were happy to serve us a meal: essentially omelette which just tasted delicious.
Down from Yasola to the car did take us those extra 2 hours and we got home at around 6, exhausted but happy for having done it.
The walk was great and the scenery was beautiful.
Thursday
Resting after La Rhune. We walked into Biarritz. I had my first attempt with Uni. Uni are urchins. They went into my favourite sushi in Japan. They proved to be both the easiest thing to prepare and absolutely delicious. We will have to do these again
Friday
The outing of the day was to Bayonne. We stopped on the way in an Asian shop where I was able to reload on a number of Japanese and Indonesian ingredients I wasn’t being able to find. Then a walk in Bayonne and lunch at Ttipia. Ttipia is a sidreria. The meal typically consists in an Omelette, fish, meat and cheese. We went for the « light » version: no fish (Bacalao). The special thing in a sidreria is drinking Cider. Every cider is different. The Basque one comes out of a Barrel which is placed against a wall; There is a tap, you place your glass a yard away from the tap, aim and open the tap. Obviously you miss a little.
Saturday
I was left to clean the barbecue and other jobs while Lindsey, Luisa and Lali went shopping. A bathing suit and a pair of jeans were produced (for Lindsey). More importantly, it was clear that They all had a great time.
Sunday
The long trip back to Nantes… This is one moment where I miss Lindsey’s skills. She has always been the driver. I have always said that the only reason for that was that I was the one who could read the map. But to be fair, she probably was also the better driver.
Love