My first task on my morning walk was to find a supermarket in order to buy some milk for our breakfast. I had the muesli!!
At the last minute, just before we departed for Brisbane Airport, I decided to pack some of my homemade muesli and some sultanas as my bag had a little space just made for them. However, it wasn’t until we were handed a declaration form to complete on the plane about any food goods we might be carrying that I started to have regrets about bringing some breakfast goodies with me.
I did the right thing and declared I was carrying some dried foods. As we came through security, I was asked by the Customs Officer exactly what did I have. When I explained it to her, she waved me off with a big smile. Phew.
So, yes I had the muesli but needed the milk.
In France, it can be hard to buy fresh milk. Most milk is ‘long life’ milk packaged in either cartons or thick plastic bottles. And, this morning – that was all that was available to purchase at the Casino Supermarket I found about 2km from our apartment. But, I was able to buy a fresh baguette and a croissant for Mick, so he wasn’t too perturbed. And as it turned out later in the day, I did find some fresh milk for him, even if it was three times the price.
Yesterday, when we checked in, it was lucky that we both had a little French, as the receptionist did not speak English. She handed us two sets of keys with our apartment number clearly displayed on them, and pointed us in the direction of an elevator.
The one bedroom apartment is quite large – with a separate room for the hot water system (which produces scaldingly hot water), and the washing machine – and is a wasted space really. There is a table inside the apartment and one on the large balcony as well. The shower is large and easy to use, and the kitchen is a good size too, with a microwave and an induction cooktop.
What the apartment does not have though is quite extensive as well.
There is no complimentary wifi – we purchased a plan for a week at 2225 XPF (or just over $30AUD) – which we can use when we are in our apartment. I knew this before we left, and I could have bought a local SIM if I had wanted to, but for 8 days, this was the easier option.
In the apartment, there is no complimentary tea or coffee (thank goodness I brought some tea bags with me as well as my muesli), there is no washing up liquid, no washing powder for the washing machine, no toaster and no kettle. In its place, there is a coffee machine, but no filters or coffee. Oh, and there is no hairdryer.
And there was only one roll of toilet paper for the 8 days. Well that definitely wouldn’t do.
Mid morning, Mick and I headed out to find a supermarket the lady at reception had told us about on check in. We needed to buy some essentials (wine and beer) as well as some food and toilet paper!!
The walk took us longer than we had expected, but we did find everything we needed.
Unfortunately for Mick, he started to go ‘down hill’ after the long walk, and being a diabetic, he was in need of something to eat. We stopped at a cafe and I ordered him a hot chocolate (as it has more carbohydrates than his usual choice in coffee). Just after I had ordered our drinks and I was heading back out to see how he was doing, a female customer approached me with a bag of pastries she had just bought from a nearby boulangerie (bakery). She had heard me ask (in by best French) if they had something to eat, like a pastry or a croissant. The answer to my question had been ‘non’, but this customer insisted I take two from her. Because Mick wasn’t feeling too flash, I took only one of her pastries and thanked her very much.
What a nice thing to do.
During the afternoon we tested out the swimming pool. Well Mick did as it was too cold for me and we then took a stroll along the beach which was packed during the afternoon with people enjoying a drink and one group was dancing enthusiastically to music being played by a one-man band.
These fellows had ordered a very large container of beer, complete with its own tap, to share while they watched the people pass by.
It was obvious that a ship had come into the harbour as all the tourist buses and little trains were filled with people wearing lanyards.
These buses ran quite late – well after 7pm anyway – ferrying people back to their ship for the night.
Our apartment overlooks a bus stop near the Aquarium – it did a roaring trade yesterday.
We are going to try to use the local buses tomorrow to explore a bit further afield.
We ate dinner in our apartment using the goodies we had bought on our trip to the supermarket. Mick cooked some marlin fillets – the first time we’d eaten marlin and it was very nice.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 