Well, last week was almost a complete wash-out, with rain at some point nearly every day. However, at least its getting warmer, so with the rain, spring flowers and crops are starting to flourish. As most of our work here is outside, on rainy days we tend to catch up on emails, phone calls, and trying to learn a bit more French: this week's linguistic challenge was finding a garage to service on the air-conditioning, and getting the rear shock absorbers replaced on the car! Oh, and maybe we have a problem with an engine mount?! Lew had sweated over the computer for many hours conversing with Mr Google Translate, and between them they came up with several descriptive paragraphs of the noise when we turn on the fan, whether the shock absorbers were "critique ou non" and how much all of this was going to cost. I duly rehearsed my role in the forthcoming drama and we presented ourselves at a likely looking garage, feeling suitably prepared. After approximately 3 minutes of attempting to keep a hold on the conversation, I gave up and gave the mechanic Mr Google Translate's speech we had printed out! Luckily that did the trick, and within seconds the car was up on the stand and various French men were crawling around underneath, puffing out their cheeks and muttering "oh la la" under their breath. Seeing as we had fronted up off the street with no warning, they were surprisingly obliging and polite, and quickly had an official looking quote printed off the computer. All of which looked very reasonable, so we've booked the car in for Wednesday....when I'm in England! Lew is already rehearsing possible scenarios and questions that might arise; he already has the puffing out of cheeks perfected.
So, what else to do on a rainy day? Go to Ikea of course! For the Antipodeans who may not be familiar with the name, Ikea is a Swedish homeware brand, which produces cheap but stylish (according to some) self-assembly furniture and stuff that everyone "needs" for their house. So why are we going to Ikea? It's not as if the 30kg baggage limit with Emirates will let us bring back a flat-pack kitchen plus a reading lamp and 4 scatter cushions in pistachio green. No, we were going for the lunch! According to many reliable sources, Ikea "bistro" has the best value lunch this side of Bordeaux, so off we went to check the recommendation. Our nearest store is Toulon, about a 45 minute drive. Arriving at 12.30, we obviously hit the peak lunch rush, with the half the Toulon population queuing up for the experience. However, a very slick operation saw us grabbing our trays and loading up like the locals. Lew was very pleased with his selection of lamb shanks and chips, the obligatory bread roll (the French don't call it a meal if there's no bread ) and chocolate brownie (not sure about the authenticity of that one)
Unlike the rest of the Toulon Ikea lunch crowd, we didn't go for wine. The glass of some sort of cherry soda on the tray is just masquerading as a glass of rose, so we didn't look conspicuous by our teetotal state. My lunch of soup and bread didn't really warrant a photo. Was it the best lunch we've ever had? No. Was it amazing value for money and good quality? Yes. Was it fascinating watching our fellow diners from all walks of life consume their three courses plus wine? You bet.
By the time we had finished lunch, wandered around the store and found a pair of barbeque tongs and a mosquito net (I knew there was something we needed) it had stopped raining, so we carried on into the centre of Toulon for a look around.
The city is on the coast, and has a large and active naval base. It was noticeable different being in a city, after 10 weeks of living in and around villages. For a start, there were a LOT of people around, both in the shops and on the waterfront, walking or sitting in cafes. Lots of black leather and denim around, or smart city suits - quite different to the Le Thoronet village wardrobe!
Toulon is well known for the ironwork on the buildings - apologies for the repetition in the theme, but I got carried away with the beautiful buildings in the centre, and spent all my time looking upwards...
As usual with France, there's a lot of inner city living, and you've got to hang your washing somewhere....
We spent a bit of time walking along the waterfront with the rest of the Friday afternoon crowd, before heading home in rush-hour traffic: its been so long since we've been in a city we didn't think that leaving at 5pm might not be the best idea!
There was a lot more to see in Toulon, so we'll go back for another trip soon, maybe spending less time at Ikea!
A short blog this week, as I'm off to England tomorrow for a few days, leaving Lew to manage the cat and chickens alone!
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