In Bayonne, they also have these little cuties:
They are free electric shuttle buses that circle the city and hit all the major destinations, designed for tourists and locals alike. They don't go very fast, but then Bayonne isn't very big, and if you're doing everything à pied it might be nice to have another option now and then. They service each stop every 6 minutes...pretty convenient if you ask me.
I'm starting to think I should have figured out how to bring a bike, because there's also no end to the bike trails here. There are bike lanes on most roads, but there are also miles and miles of two-lane trails, especially along the Ardour and the Nive (the 2 rivers that meet in Bayonne), complete with little traffic signals especially for bikes. Today I took advantage of the free bike rental from the Office de Tourisme to take an easy ride out to Anglet, the next town, to make some much needed purchases at France-Asia, the Asian grocery that I found out about just when I was starting to panic a little about the non-availability of Asian food (I'm going on more than a week without rice now--I don't know how much longer I could last)! They do have a *few* things at the normal grocery stores, but my cheap self was cringing at the thought of pay 3.50 euros for a tiny little bottle of soy sauce. As it was the stuff was not cheap, but it was better than that at least, and there was more selection. Now I have my soy sauce, fish sauce, curry paste, sriracha, etc. Now all I need is something to put it on (that's another story--I always have a hard time paying for meat anywhere because it's so expensive, but tofu was also ridiculously priced. However I'm thinking it's probably not a good thing that currently all the protein in my diet is coming from cheese.)
So it was quite the pleasant trip--the cycling part at least. It looked really far on the map, but it only took me a maximum of 10 minutes to get to France-Asia from the tourist office, even though I didn't know where I was going and was scared to go too fast on the bike since the breaks seemed to be pretty much non-existent. Unfortunately that meant that I got there too early, as the store was closed from 13h to 15h, as seems to be the tradition here (although the chain grocery store down the street from my house is closed from 12h30 to 14h30, and some places close as early as 12h and re-open as last as 15h30). Waiting around for a store to re-open is a group activity I've already had the chance to participate in 3 times. Usually about 20-30 people are congregated around the doors 10-15 minutes before they re-open. If you know people, it seems to be a great time to catch up on the latest gossip. If you don't...well, then it's a good time to discreetly observe the interesting characters who are catching up on their gossip...
The trip back was only slightly less pleasant, as I was loaded down with bottles of sauces and cans of bamboo shoots. I put most the heavy stuff in the basket, so it was only a problem going over bumps, when everything would clank and rattle and I would cross my fingers that I wouldn't have a cracked bottle of fish sauce to deal with at the end. When I gave the bike back, though, was when the suffering started. I suddenly felt a deep connection and empathy for mules, camels and pack horses as I labored my way back to chez moi with my backpack ripping at the seams. I made it, though, and once my back stops aching I think I will be very grateful to have those basics of life. As much as I love the food here (and I do), as good as the bread and cheese is (and it is), I can only go so long without rice and vegetables and Asian flavors.
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