France Wildfires

Wildfires are raging in France

As of yesterday:

• 12,000 people evacuated
• 15 square miles (9600 acres) burned
• 4,000 firefighters
• Soldiers and police drafted to firefight
• 19 firefighting planes
• European neighbors are helping

Fortunately for us, so far they are not in our area.

~~~ Update Saturday
Fires are subsiding after 4 days, and nearly 18,000 acres burned.

A Sète Stroll

I went on a little guided stroll around Sète the other day. We started at the original port and the Royal Canal, then walked past the Mayor's office. I have *plenty* of pictures elsewhere of those, so none here :-)
On to the church of St Louis

Street art

View from the high quarter

A typical Sétois home (kids had to sleep upstairs in the heat)

Handy public water near a bus stop

Théâtre de la Mer, which had many previous lives

Our route:

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Buy tickets at the tourist office, 6€. Skip it if you have knee problems (or other issues with stairs and steep-ish grades).

Jazz à Sète

Jazz à Sète, the annual week-long festival of jazz, has begun!

Besides the ticketed concerts at the Théâtre de la Mer, there are free concerts every day (11:30-1:30) at various stages around town. Today's was in front of Les Halles:

I just had to snap this - a Tielle delivery by scooter during the concert. These Sètois specialties are scrumptious octopus pies (I beg you, do not try the grocery store variety; they're just as bad as Wonderbread when compared to a fresh baguette)

Further down the beach, there are pre-concert concerts :-D

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http://www.jazzasete.com/le-festival/autour-du-festival
http://en.tourisme-sete.com/festival-jazz-in-sete-sete.html

French Beach Bistros

Ahh, the paillote! Our French temporary beach bistro, where one topless sunbather gives her order to the waiter while others read Le Monde. All the while, Wordwide Festival music competes with the sound of the surf...