Pau Travel Articles & Travelogues

FRANCE TRAVEL ARTICLES

PAU September/October 2003

We arrived in Pau around 2pm. It had been motorway all the way and the weather had been mainly cloudy with a little sunshine and a little rain. We had already reserved a suite in the Best Western Hotel Continental and were delighted with the elegant circular room on the fourth floor.

About an hour later, we left the hotel and walked up the nearest shopping street to the cathedral, back down Rue des Cordeliers and then down to the square near the château where there was a street market. After looking around, we walked along Boulevard des Pyrénées. A couple of Irish bars, a Russian bar and an Australian bar had materialised since our last visit in 1995. We had an awful iced coffee in l’Arragon. We thought this was the café we had frequented during our last visit and decided it had changed beyond recognition. This was not surprising as we later discovered it wasn’t the same café! In retrospect, we decided that must have been one of what are now the Irish bars.

We wandered around for a while but were caught in a sudden heavy downpour. After sheltering for quite a while, we decided to make a dash for the hotel, by which time the rain had almost stopped. We had decided to eat at la Brocheterie that evening, but arrived at 8pm to find the restaurant was closed for annual holiday until the next day. Second choice was Brasserie le Berry and we managed to find a table there. It was very busy, as it had been eight years ago. We both decided on a chateaubriand: Norman’s was with a béarnaise sauce and mine was with Roquefort. We both had chips and nice lettuce. The steaks were huge and very good. Desserts were disappointing. Mine was a pastry with fruit and cream which looked much better than it tasted. Norman had a disappointing crème brûlée. We had a pleasant red Saumur wine with the meal and good coffees afterwards. Not bad value at 49.60€!

When we came out of the restaurant, it was a lovely evening, dry and quite warm. We walked up Rue des Cordeliers, then to Place Gramont and up Rue de Liege as far as la Concha, a sea food restaurant that looks very promising. We returned to the hotel at about 10.30pm.

On Monday, 29th September, we started our day by going to Café Metropole, across the road from the hotel. It was the café where we had breakfasted during our previous visit to Pau. The owners were the same people, but the apricot poodle puppy we had seen last time was now a middle-aged dog – 56 by human standards! After coffee and a brief return to the hotel, we walked down to Boulevard des Pyrénées, along as far as the château, up to Place Gramont and then up to the market. We looked around the market, which was just closing, and then decided it was time for lunch.

After looking at a few menus, we selected La Taverne de Maître Kanter where Norman had an omelette with ceps mushrooms and I had bulots with mayonnaise. Unfortunately the sea snails had been spiced and were not as nice that way. It seemed totally unnecessary when they were served with garlic mayonnaise. With a bottle of Bâdoit, this cost 20.90€.

It was a beautiful day, warm with blue skies, but we couldn’t see the mountains. We walked down to the Palais Beaumont. This is a recently renovated building which now comprises of congress centre, casino, restaurants, all set in a rather pleasant park. The last time we were in Pau, the building looked derelict. We sat in the park and read our books for some time. Then we went to the terrace of the bar and had apricot juices. When we left to walk along Boulevard des Pyrénées, the weather was still good and the mountains were just visible.

On our way back to the hotel, we bought some tea bags and found one of the stamps shops. Of course, it was closed to Norman’s relief; by this time, it was almost 7pm. We were out again in little over an hour, and on our way to la Concha.

In spite of my disappointment at lunchtime, I decided on bulots again, and so did Norman. This time they were fine and plentiful. Next we shared a sea bream grilled with sliced garlic and served in a thin wine sauce with jacket potato and butter, grilled tomato and lettuce. It was delicious. We drank 50cl of white wine and some water and finished with coffee. The meal cost 57€. On our way back to the hotel, shortly before 11pm, we saw five vans full of riot police outside the Palais de Justice. There was no sign of any disturbance and we wondered why they were there.

On Tuesday 30th September, we had coffee and pastries at le Cristal, a bar close to the hotel and on the same side of the road. Then we decided to walk to Jurançon, a small town on the opposite side of the river to Pau. We walked around the side of the château and over the bridge. Eventually, we found our way to Chez Ruffet, a Michelin one star restaurant. It was probably a couple of miles away from the hotel and took a good 45 minutes to walk there. We hadn’t intended to have lunch there but, after looking at the menu, we were tempted. It was just after noon.

The restaurant is in an eighteenth century farmhouse and has rather nice décor inside. The menu was 22€ per head, including wine, which seemed incredibly cheap. The wine was a nice red and we must have consumed around a bottle between us. We were given several amuse bouches to begin with, including a double helping of one by mistake. There was a soup of ceps and cheese, served in a glass, miniature spiced pancake balls, and fried battered leaves. Then the starter was a confit of pigeon legs, served with Jerusalem artichokes and mixed salad leaves in a brown sauce. The main course was veal with mashed potato and mixed vegetables, served in a subtle ginger sauce. Dessert was a fresh pineapple fritter with coffee ice cream. We had a bottle of Bâdoit with the meal and coffee afterwards. With the coffee, we were given raisins in chocolate, sorbet in wine served in a small glass, a mini sandwich of mousses, and a mini brioche with chestnut cream. This was excellent value at 53€.

After we had eaten, we chatted to the waiter for a while. He told us he had worked in England for three years, at a top hotel on the coast near to the Isle of Wight. He said he had visited the Penzance area and wanted to return to Cornwall to go to Rick Stein’s restaurant in Padstow. He said his wife was English and they had just bought a large house in a village close to the mountains. They were hoping to let out part of the property. He offered to take us back to Pau, but we decided to walk back, as it was such a lovely day. It was very warm, about 25°C.

We walked back across the bridge and then down and along the level of the river as far as the funicular, which we caught back up to Boulevard des Pyrénées. We sat for some time, looking at the mountains, before returning to the hotel at about 4.30pm. When we ventured out again soon after seven, it was still very warms and we didn’t need coats. The mountains were very clear as the light started to go. We walked around for a while and eventually sat on the terrace of l’Aragon and drank a beer. The crescent moon was visible for a short time, but then it clouded over. We were forced to return to the hotel at about 10pm, when it started to rain a little.

The first day of October was beautiful, so we decided we would lunch in Spain. The sky was blue and the mountains were really clear, as we drove out of Pau at about 9.30am. We made our first stop at Oleron-Ste.Marie, where we climbed up to look at the old church and to admire the view. It was an attractive town, built on the banks of the Aspe, with some lovely old buildings. Apparently, it is famous for the manufacture of the Basque beret.

Our road followed the river through some beautiful countryside, with lots of trees, as it wound through the lower slopes of the mountains. We passed through several small villages with attractive stone buildings. We left the Aspe when we reached the mouth of the five kilometre Tunnel du Somport, which took us across the Spanish border to the other side of the Pyrénéees.

In Spain we crossed over the River Aragon a couple of times, before reaching Jaca. We parked close to the enormous 16th century citadel and walked into the old town. We decided to try a tapas bar in the square opposite to the 11th century cathedral. This proved to be rather disappointing. Perhaps the location had something to do with this. Prime tourist spots are not always the best places for good restaurants.

We shared six tapas, all deep fried in a heavy, rather soggy batter – prawns, pepper stuffed with tuna, stuffed mussel, salt cod and boiled egg. We also had some nice octopus, a ceps quiche – the mushrooms were nice but the pastry wasn’t – and some passable Manchego cheese. There was plenty of bread and toast, and the whole thing cost 26.75€, including mineral water. Afterwards, we had a look around the town. It had a sort of sleepy, out of season feel to it. Then we returned to the cathedral square for a coffee at another café.

On the way back, Norman filled up the car with cheaper Spanish petrol. As we drove, I took a photograph of the Fort du Portalet, a large impressive edifice built into the rock close to Urdos. Apparently, many of the French politicians were imprisoned there during the Vichy period. We detoured slightly to have a look at Borce, a medieval village close to the main road. The road up to the village was quite steep and the streets were narrow, with tall stone buildings on each side. It was an extremely pretty village, surrounded by spectacular scenery. We decided it had been well-worth a visit for the views alone.

It was still glorious when we arrived back in Pau at about 5.30pm and the temperature was about 26°C. We went down to the Boulevard des Pyrénées. The mountains were still clearly visible, although it was beginning to go dark. We went into la Brocheterie at about 8pm.It was very warm outside and inside, but we decided it might be better to eat inside. The restaurant was reasonably busy and became more so throughout our meal.

Norman had entrecote with jacket potatoes and garlic cream. I had mixed ocean grill – baby squid, scallop, langoustine, red mullet, monkfish, prawns – with jacket potatoes and garlic cream, carrots and courgettes. We had a 75cl pichet of red wine and drank lots of water. We didn’t eat any bread and finished with coffee. It was a very good meal, just as we remembered from eight years before. It cost just 38€.

When we came out, we realised we had made the right decision in taking an inside table. It was pouring down. We waited, sheltering under the awnings of buildings, until it eased off a little and we were able to dash back to the hotel without getting too wet. We were back in the hotel at about 10pm, so I rang Chris.

Thursday was another beautiful morning, with no sign of the previous evening’s downpour. I suppose the rain might have washed some of the dog shit off the pavements. Not that it would make much difference, as there were always fresh piles around. This is one of the down sides of France – there is even more dog shit than in Penzance on a really bad day!

Anyway, we had coffee and pastries at le Cristal. Then we went to the post office to post a couple of cards and to buy some stamps for the post-cards. The next stop was FNAC, in a shopping centre close to the hotel, where I bought some film. Then it was off to le Viking, which proved to be a little further away than we had remembered. It took about 35 minutes to walk there. We hardly recognised the place, as it had been given an external facelift. Unfortunately, we realised it had changed hands but, having looked at the menu, we decided to book a table for the evening.

Next we walked to the university campus, where Norman made some enquiries about courses in French for foreign students. After being directed from one building to another and another, we discovered there weren’t any such courses available! After all this, it was time for a beer. We crossed the road to a bar which was aptly named le Hoegaarden. Naturally, that was what we had to drink and it was very welcome as the day had become extremely humid. Afterwards, we headed straight back to the hotel, as the sky was becoming increasingly black and threatening.

We missed any downpour but noticed that it had been raining when we left the hotel about three hours later. By 7.30pm, it was a lovely evening. In spite of this, we decided to catch a number five bus to Rue Wagner. From there, it was a very short walk to le Viking and we arrived early. The internal decoration had not changed since our last visit, but the arrangement of tables, pictures and linen were different. The linen was not well ironed. We decided the á la carte looked inviting.

An amuse bouche of small mussels in a tomato sauce with chives was very pleasant, and the crusty bread rolls were good. My starter was langoustine tails with mushrooms in a forestière sauce. Unfortunately, the mushrooms were tasteless in spite of the fact that there was a reasonable variety of different types. This was mainly due to a complete lack of salt used in the cooking. Norman had courgette flowers, stuffed with a sort of sausage meat. He was disappointed too. My main course was duckling and foie gras with rather undercooked vegetables – again without salt. This was served in a caramelised sauce, which I found far too sweet for my taste. Norman had lamb sweetbreads with girolles. Again, he found this disappointing.

We probably wouldn’t have bothered with desserts, but we had to order them at the start of the meal. They were very good. I had a dark chocolate mousse with biscuits, a little fruit, mint and mint sorbet with thin custard. Norman had four sorbets – peach, pear, pineapple and raspberry – with fruit and a red fruit coulis. We drank water with the meal and a nice red wine, l’Odé d’Aydie. With coffee, we had truffles and small cakes with slices of fresh fruit – strawberry and kiwi. The meal cost 118€, one of the most expensive of the holiday. It was disappointing on the whole and we wouldn’t go back there, especially since the original Viking was long gone! At least it was a lovely, starlit night when we left to walk back to the hotel.

Before breakfast on 3rd October, we bought some postcards, which I wrote in le Cristal, after we had finished our usual coffee and pastries. After we had posted the cards, we went to both stamp shops and I bought some air stamps. Then we walked to the park of the Palais Beaumont and down to the bottom road towards the station. Near to the bottom of the funicular, we saw the restaurant, Au Fin Gourmet, and booked a table there for 8.30pm. After going up the funicular and back to the hotel for an hour, we went to the tourist office and then down Boulevard des Pyrénées to the Palais Beaumont to what we thought was an Art Deco exhibition. It turned out to be an exhibition of “artistic” and furniture and décor. Nothing but a lot of arty shops – a rip off at 6€ each! Some of the things were quite attractive but they were all very expensive.

We went into the café for an apricot juice and then sat in the park reading until the sky became quite dark. Suspecting that rain was imminent, we headed for the shopping centre, where Norman bought some film in FNAC. We had coffees in one of the cafés before looking round the supermarket in the basement. There was a lovely chocolate shop down there, but the chocolate was very expensive. We later discovered it was part of a chain, when we saw the same shop in Poitiers. The sky was still threatening when we returned to the hotel at 6.45pm.

It was raining slightly when we left the hotel. The funicular had stopped running, so we walked down several slopes and flights of steps to the restaurant. It was quite busy when we arrived and eventually filled completely with a mixture of French people and foreigners. We decided on the 34€ menu.

Norman had a tuna steak to start with, and was slightly disappointed. I had chopped duck between two leaves of flaky pastry, served with rocket and tiny yellow tomatoes, in a subtle sauce. It was very good. Next we both had delicious fillets of sea bass with green asparagus and Jerusalem artichokes in a foie gras sauce. The portions were very generous and we began to wonder if we were going to be able to eat everything! Next came veal in a thin coating of breadcrumbs, stuffed with mushrooms. This was served with pak choi fried in garlic and tiny garden peas. Dessert was a walnut cream mousse. This was very light and was served with walnuts, caramelised pistachios and raisins in a light caramel sauce. It was lovely!

While we were enjoying our desserts, we couldn’t help noticing the fiasco at the next table, which was occupied by a French couple and a German couple. The French man was wearing a particularly bad wig. When the waiter wheeled in the cheese selection, the German woman went mad. She insisted on taking several photographs of the cheese. Admittedly, it was a good selection, but her reaction was well over the top. She continued photographing everything on the table until they finished their desserts. In the meantime, we enjoyed our coffees, which were served with a couple of small cakes. We drank water with the meal and a bottle of Saumur Champigny. The whole thing cost 95.50€ and was excellent value. It was a hard climb back up to Boulevard des Pyrénées after such a good meal

After breakfast at le Cristal, on Saturday morning, we walked up to the market. It was very busy and there were lots of stalls. Apart from those in the permanent section of the market hall, there were just as many on temporary tables. These seemed to be local growers selling their produce – fruit, vegetables, cheese, etc. There was a tremendous selection of produce and plenty of people shopping. As usual, we wondered what was wrong with the British. Why can’t we have markets like this?

We walked up to Rue Pasteur and had a look at a couple of restaurants we thought we might try. Then we went on to Place du Foirail, where there was supposed to be a flea market. There was a large hall in which there were several antique and other shops. In one of these a bought a couple of French novels for 3€ and six volumes of the history of France from 1939 to 1945 for 25€ - only 1944 was missing. Outside the hall, there were several stalls that seemed to be selling nothing but clothing.

When we had taken the books back to the hotel, we went out to look at another restaurant in Rue Hédas, a street running underneath Rue des Cordeliers and accessible from there by a flight of steps. We walked along this lower area below the château walls and eventually came out near Rue Marca. We crossed over and walked along Rue d’Etigny, eventually cutting into the park which runs alongside that road. Walking back towards the château, we climbed up a path through the trees and came out on a path overlooking the river and a large weir.

By this time, the weather was lovely, although the day had started dull and damp. We followed the park back, until we reached the grounds of the château where there was an attractive herb garden. This was close to the Tour de la Monnaie, where there is a lift down to the la Monnaie area. Back along the Boulevard des Pyrénées, we went to l’Aragon for camembert sandwiches and peach juice. Afterwards, we sat on the café terrace and read our books.

It had clouded over again and was a little cooler when we walked back up Rue Serviez into the Place de la Liberation, where we had noticed a bookshop earlier. This turned out to be a regional bookshop with lots of interesting local books and maps. It even had a few books in the Basque language. The proprietor was able to tell us where to find a couple of second-hand bookshops. I was hoping to find the missing volume from the series I had bought earlier.

We hadn’t booked a table at any of the restaurants for that evening. When we went out at about 8.30pm, we were hoping to get into one of the restaurants on Rue Pasteur. It was raining a little at first, but became heavier and heavier as we walked. We tried both Planche de Boeuf and Michodière without success; they were both fully booked. So we decided to go to le Ryad, a Moroccan restaurant we had noticed on our way to the other places. It turned out to be quite good and very busy.

We shared starters of aubergine and tomato with cumin and boiled egg, and peppers and tomato with chilli. Then we both had couscous with mutton. I ate a lot, but there seemed to be even more left on my plate when I finished. The portions were enormous and we should have confined ourselves to just a main course. We drank water and a bottle of Moroccan wine. Afterwards, I had coffee and Norman had mint tea, which was poured by the waiter from a height offering some amusement to a couple of girls at the next table. The meal cost 48.10€ and made a change to the sort of food we had been eating. When we returned to the hotel soon after 11pm, it had stopped raining.

On Sunday morning, we left the hotel at about 10.30am and headed towards Bétharram. It was soon pouring with rain. After following the River Pau through some lovely countryside and pretty villages, we parked by the caves. A couple of people were standing with the tour guide, who told us there would be a tour if a dozen people arrived before noon. We waited, but too few people arrived, and we were told the next tour would be at 1.45pm.

We decided to have a look at Lourdes, a few miles down the road. As we approached, we could see that the setting of the town is quite beautiful. It sits in quite a deep valley with the château above and the hills and mountains around. However, what might have once been a very pretty town is full of religious gift shops. The windows display really tatty religious memorabilia and signs in every imaginable language – including Hebrew, which seemed particularly inappropriate. Most of the hotels and restaurants are named after saints. There was even a Virgin Mary hotel!

The brasserie we selected for lunch was inoffensively called la Navarre, and proved to be better than we had hoped. Norman had an omelette and I had steak. Both were served with very nice chips. We just had water to drink, and the lunch only cost 13.30€. By this time it had stopped raining but felt very chilly when we went out again. Perhaps this was partly because Lourdes is at a higher altitude than Pau.

Back at the caves of Bétharram at St.Pierre-de-Bigorre, we found the tour group was ready to go. We were taken about two kilometres by coach to the entrance. We were guided through several chambers and passages and flights of stairs, stopping in strategic places to hear recorded descriptions in various languages. The French descriptions were supplemented by our guide, using the exact words of the recordings! At the bottom point, we were transported about 200 yards on a barge – a little silly, especially as the guide was walking along the path beside the channel along which the barge was pulled. Shortly after this, we went on a long twisting route by train through the caves, coming out near to the car park. Of course, the way out was through the obligatory shop.

By this time, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. As we drove away, the peaks of the Pyrenees were clearer than we had seen them at any time. We could even see the snow-capped peaks of some of the highest mountains. After arriving back in Pau at about 4pm, we decided to book a table at la Brocheterie for 8.30pm. We knew most restaurants were closed on Sunday, and did not want to be caught out again.

The restaurant was quite busy when we arrived and we both decided on the 14.50E menu. We started with Béarnaise salad – warm duck, mushrooms, potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes – very good. Then Norman had confit of duck and I had a kebab of duck hearts. Both were served with steamed jacket potatoes with garlic cream, baby corncobs and red pepper. We agreed that the food was excellent. Then Norman had raspberry and pear sorbets, while I had cheese – three types and all nice. The bread was very good and the 75cl pichet of red wine wasn’t bad. Water came automatically with regular refills. Even the coffee was as good as we have had anywhere. At 37.50€ inclusive, this was excellent value. In addition, the atmosphere of the place is good and there is no pretension but good service.

6th October was a beautiful morning, but several degrees cooler than it had been – quite chilly in the shade. We went to le Cristal as usual and then to a second-hand bookshop near to Place Gramont. After a quick trip back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes, we walked down to Boulevard des Pyrénées. The view was stunning. The full length of the snow-capped Pyrenees was in full view, amazingly clear. They looked really beautiful under a clear blue sky. We sat in the sun, reading, for some time and then decided to have a little lunch. We went to l’Aragon first but the service was so slow that we left before ordering.

After wandering around for a while, we went into Chez Maman, a crêperie close to the château, where Norman had a cheese and salsa pancake and I had a cheese and mushroom one. We shared a pichet of cider. It was quite pleasant at a cost of 16€. An English rugby player was drinking outside with a friend. Every time he came in for a refill, he made excuses in very bad French – even worse than mine! He was very tall – over six and a half feet. Rugby has been very popular in Pau since the British introduced it in the nineteenth century.

A brief trip back to the hotel was followed by a look around the shopping centre and then a walk as far as Place du Foirail. Then it was back to the hotel again until around 8.30pm. We walked up to Michodière again, but it was closed, contrary to what the guide book had indicated. We were not far from la Concha, so we decided to go there again.

I started with the dog whelks again but Norman had a salad – lettuce, peppers and tomatoes. Then I had gambas with chopped garlic – five huge ones – but unfortunately one of them didn’t taste too good. I told the waiter and he brought a replacement, freshly cooked. They were very good. Norman ordered trout-salmon, which turned out to be a very ordinary salmon steak and was a little dry. This was disappointing, especially as he had been expecting trout. Both main courses were served with baked potatoes and butter in foil, lettuce and tomato. We drank water and a 50cl pichet of Jurancon yellow wine, which was very nice. Norman finished with crème caramel but I just had a coffee. The meal cost 54€ and was a little disappointing for Norman. We returned to the hotel around 11pm.

Tuesday was our last day in Pau. We had breakfast as usual at le Cristal, where we paid 5.50€ for coffee, large coffee crème and two pastries. Then we went to another second-hand bookshop but didn’t find anything of interest. We decided to look at a few menus, in preparation for the evening. We looked at Au Fin de Gourmet, Michodière and la Planche de Boeuf. We decided on the last one, and booked a table for later. Then we walked to the end of Rue de Montpensier and back down Avenue de la Résistance past the military archives. We had noticed this building before and wondered what it was.

We left our anoraks back at the hotel as the dull start to the day had turned to sunshine. Then we decided to go somewhere for coffee and pastries. We settled on la Maison de Jasmin, a café at the château end of Boulevard des Pyrénées. The coffee proved to be very good but the petits fours were not so good. The café was a rather shabby place in what must have been one of the grander buildings on the boulevard. There seemed to be some renovation going on elsewhere in the building. Naturally, the view was magnificent, even though the mountains were not so clear today. There was a brief shower whilst we were in the café but, by the time we left, the sun was shining again.

I wanted to look in the toy shop, as I had seen a toy piano accordion in the window. It turned out to be for children aged six and over, so unsuitable for Ben, even though he’s probably as big as some six year olds! Norman’s library book set off the alarm in the shop! We walked past the hotel and carried on up that street for quite a long way, eventually turning back when the sky grew dark and threatening once again.

La Planche de Boeuf proved to have been a good choice. Norman had the 25€ menu and I had the 30€. Norman started with a salad of smoked salmon, prawns, mussels, rocket and cherry tomato, in a dressing. This was served with nice country bread. I had foie gras bloc with toast, apple compote, fresh fig, rocket and cherry tomato. For his main course, Norman had fillet steak au poivre with sauté potatoes, courgette, ceps and tomato with garlic. I had a kebab of prawns and monkfish with boiled potatoes, courgette, ceps and tomato with garlic. We had water and a 50cl bottle of Merlot with the meal. For dessert, Norman had strawberries with a thin custard and mint. I had profiteroles, filled with ice-cream and cream. We both had coffees served with little chocolates. It was a very good meal, costing 67€. We were back in the hotel at about 10.30pm, congratulating ourselves on having eaten well in Pau.