Bastille Day
Bike around the Lac Hossegor - reprieve from the heat - beach and fireworks in Biarritz. Today was scorching hot! Despite the intense heat, we went on a bike ride around the Lac d'Hossegor (13km). The scenery was beautiful, but the temperature reached 34 degrees Celsius with high humidity. Thankfully, we took a break for lunch when we were about two-thirds of the way there and retreated to our house to escape the heat for a few hours. Later in the day (6pm), we decided to go to Biarritz to check out the Bastille Day festivities. We weren't sure what to expect, but we managed to find parking near l'Hôtel du Palais. We made our way down a set of steep steps towards the Grand Plage. The beach was packed! Gabe and the boys swam out to a large rock with a wide opening in the middle. While they were swimming, I noticed the seasoned sunbathers with their headrests and backrest mats – a funny sight.
Eventually, and to my relief, clouds rolled in with a refreshing breeze. We decided to leave the beach to search for a dinner spot. As we walked into the centre ville, there were clouds looming in the distant east. Enormous billowing cumulus clouds stacked on top of each other, resembling fluffy cotton candy. After dinner, we walked along the coast, from above our future apartment all the way back to the Grand Plage. The entire area was bustling with people streaming in from every direction, claiming their spots to see the Bastille Day fireworks, scheduled to begin at 11 pm. We managed to find a good spot on some steps overlooking the Grand Plage, surrounded by so many people. The fireworks lasted about 30 minutes. It was quite the display of lights and colors. The crowd remained silent, which surprised me. I was expecting raucous behavior since there were police and first aid set up in several spots along the coast. Charlie was stoked. It was his first time ever seeing fireworks (at least that he could remember). When the show was over, there was a brief applause and everyone dispersed in a calm, orderly fashion. I found it difficult to choose between the fireworks or the lightning (that appeared on our walk back to the car) as my favorite part of the night. The sky flashed, distracting Luke and me in an instant. Initially, we thought it was distant fireworks. Instead, flashes of light and bolts of lightning illuminated the night sky. We were mesmerized and the rest of the crowd was probably like, “Nous avons déjà vu cela, rien de nouveau. Continuez à bouger.” “We’ve seen this before, nothing new. Keep moving.”
Getting out of Biarritz was a challenge. Every street, sidewalk, alley was bumper to bumper with cars, motos, cyclists, pedestrians … it was intense.
