Music and Beaches, a Perfect Summer Combination!

Last night was Fête de la Musique. We moved house earlier this year so it was our first one in this city. These festivals get easier as the kids get older. When they are tiny it seems more effort than it is worth, but once they can stay up later so many more things become possible.

We didn’t want to be cooking late, so we had a slightly early supper and then walked into town in the early evening. Most of the bands were still setting up but some were already playing and it was not too crowded. We hung around in town enjoying the huge mix of music until everyone was tired and ready for bed.

There was definitely something for everyone, even a mega sized karaoke.

My favourite were the drums. There were actually two of these bands.

So that was the activity for my week and now I am planning a chilled and relaxing weekend. It is incredibly hot at the moment and I think a visit to the beach is in order.

Where we are there are two beaches, the first is Narbonne plage and the second is Gruissan. At the moment Gruissan is my preferred beach. It is a strange little town which has always been popular for windsurfing, but many will recognise by its distinctive houses which were a central part of the 1986 film Betty Blue.

I like this beach for many reasons. Firstly, it is clean and that is an essential in my books. Secondly, it is buzzy – it has a real beach town feel to it but it hasn’t been overwhelmed by shops competing to sell their plastic toys. Also the price of coffee is not hiked up just to get the maximum out of every passing tourist. I don’t feel that they are trying to rip me off at every turn – they may be, but if so they are doing it well and subtly!