Even though the weather man is struggling to get it right, the weather in the Pyrenees is spectacular. We started our day driving through the clouds up the Col d'Aspin. At one point we had a cow jogging down the road in front of us. All day long the clouds were moving around the peaks of the mountains, undecided on whether to rain or not. On our return home they we're still hovering on the peaks, and the cows had made it to the top of the Col d'Aspin and were resting in the sun, and the Col du Tourmalet was popping it's head through the clouds in the distance looking spectacular.
Today the kids and I returned to Arreau, while Neil rode another col. We had already spent half a day exploring Arreau so technically we'd done it, however on our previous visit I'd enquired about when market day was and was informed it was Thursday, so when Neil was planning his Pla d'Adet ride a small request was made that it occurred on a Thursday. I was delighted when we arrived in town that it wasn't just a small farmers market but one that took over the entire town. We waved goodbye to Neil and headed off to see what the delights Arreau's market held for us. We were not disappointed.
There was fresh fruit and vegetables, dried meat products, clothes, art, yummy baked goods and berets. It was all there. We did a lap picking up the odd bits and pieces, such as the mandatory pot of jam for Neil, our fruit and vegies for the week, daily baguette for lunch, all while sampling the odd bit of saucisson (dried salami) on the way. The kids were then treated to a fun fair ride that was doing a roaring trade in this small rural town. Heather had learnt from the previous visit that the operator holds out this weird fluffy purple thing and if you catch it you are rewarded with a free ride. With Heather's enormous competitive streak and determination she did just that, whoever was not pleased when I said take to it later. We then unloaded our purchases into the car and went back for more. It was wonderful just wandering among the locals and seeing and smelling all the fantastic local fresh produce on offer. After testing the kids with round two they had another fun fair ride where Heather once again caught the fluffy purple thing. We then headed for the car which was timed perfectly with Neil's return from his ride. We had our now traditional brie and baguette lunch, then I wanted to show Neil the market so the kids got dragged around for a third time. They were not fussed they got another fun fair ride (we told Heather that she caught the purple fluffy thing that there would be no fourth ride). By this time it was beyond most French folks siesta time and the market was beginning to pack up so it was time to head home. It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning, soaking up the French culture of market day.
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