FOOD FOR THOUGHT
LAST week we had a few days away in the south of France. The weather is usually fabulous, but this time there were strong winds when we arrived on Sunday that lasted for three days.
Great for sunbathing in the heat as these breezes keep you cool. However the heat caused forest fires and the high winds fanned the flames. We could see the water planes coming and going all day every day for the entire few days we were there.
There were 900 hectares in the St. Tropez/ St. Maxime area alone destroyed by fire and the entire Navarre region was on high alert.
Towards the end of our stay it was reported on local radio that six out of 10 of these dreadful fires were caused by discarded cigarettes. Others were put down to arson. Who would do such a thing?
Residents and people on holiday in these stricken areas were sleeping on the beach as they were afraid the fires would engulf their homes or accommodation. The actress Joan Collins’ home was under threat. Not how anyone would want to spend a holiday. There are so many camper/caravan and mobile home parks along that area of the coastline too that were under close observation. Thankfully there were no casualties.
My mum and I love the markets in France, but I wasn’t up early enough to go to the Thursday one in Antibes — the best one. We did make it into the market by the railway station in Cannes on Sunday. It was packed as it has food as well as shoes, clothes and jewellery. We love browsing and I was looking at sandals for work when this lady said ‘hello Sallyanne’.
I’d never met the lady before and introduced her to my mum when she explained she knew me from my Irish Daily Mail column and she loves TV3’s Elaine. She and her husband have a place just outside Cannes and they go to this market all the time. She introduced me to the lady that owned the shoe stall and asked her to look after me. Just goes to show you, we Irish are everywhere.
When we came home to the rain it wasn’t as much of a come down as usual because although we do get good weather, we get lots of rain too. It means we’re less likely to suffer forest fires, although they’ve happened in the Dublin mountains in the past.
Speaking of fires, one of the nights out last week in France was to a fireworks display. There’s an annual competition from mid-July to the end of August with many countries taking part. It was brilliant — the Croisette in Cannes was thronged with onlookers.
We had dinner on the beach at Martinez Sur la Plage. The Martinez Hotel has a onestar Michelin restaurant — every morsel was delicious. Looking forward to being invited next year again.