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Sep 7

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The French Atlantic

A mere 15km from San Sebastian and we are back in France.  I’ve said it before, but it was instantly discernible with the appearance of red trimmed, white washed buildings.

With the promise of beach weather continuing, we didn’t want to venture far from the coast.  Stopping in at St Jean de Luz for a stroll, we decided it wasn’t quite where we wanted to stay.  I did, however, acquire a lovely pair of espadrilles and we then continued north along the Atlantic coast to Biarritz.

Donal Ryan (see Switzerland) had recommended the spot and we quickly agreed.  This town had a lot more going on. We did a reconnaissance of the nearby hotels, worked out the going rate and choose one.

If you venture away from the main tourist promenades you discover little backsteets with a spattering of bars and restaurants. Still under the influence of Spain, they serve sangria and pintxos, but with a french twist. We couldn’t go past the foie gras de canard, washed down with a french moelleux. This is a sweet white wine that goes perfectly with foie gras.

Biarritz
Biarritz, Pintxos
Biarritz, Pintxos
Biarritz, Pintxos

After a brief detour back to Beaulieu to pick-up our deposit (long story for another time), we continue north west arriving at La Rochelle.  The old town is a stunning medieval sea port with two old towers guarding the sea entrance.

Whilst clearly a tourist town, it also had the feel of a city going about its business.  The Saturday markets are a lively feast of colour.  We’ve been to many a French market, but never tire of them; you can tell by the number of photo’s I take!

A weekly produce market occupying an old town square is full of charm and character, they personify French life. The produce is so fresh and inviting, with wonderful smells and colour that overload the senses.

The French passionately support locally grown, fighting the ever encroaching big-box formats. It could be a career limiting comment for me, but I hope the local market does not fall victim to the convenience of the mass retailer.

La Rochelle Markets
La Rochelle Markets
La Rochelle Markets
La Rochelle Markets
La Rochelle Markets

Our accommodation is the Ibis and whilst 10km out of town, it’s near the beach and also in a small Albert Park-esq suburb.  The location worked out well as we managed to fit in a bit of beach time, well aware that this is probably our last hurrah for some sun and sea.

At an exorbitant cost of a €16 toll, we drive across to Isl de Rey (just off La Rochelle), it’s a popular holiday destination for cyclists and walkers with a great network of tracks crisscrossing the island.

After driving around a somewhat uninspiring flat island, we stop at St Martin de Ray for lunch. We feast on freshly shucked oysters and a bottle of local white wine, sitting on the sea wall; the island quickly redeemed itself.

We are counting down the days until we meet our new passenger in Paris, so it is time to continue up the coast.

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Sep 4

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Pintxos & Sangria

With a night up our sleeves, we head to Bilboa. Since becoming home to the Guggenheim in 1997, Bilbao has undergone a rejuvenation and enjoyed a steady increase in tourism. It’s a city that has blended old and new well together.

Bilboa is a ‘good news’ story; in 1991, the Mayor of Bilbao; Jose Ortuondo, passionately lobbyed for the city to be selected as the home of the Guggenheim Museum. Salzburg, the more favoured contender, couldn’t get it’s act together and the Mayor convinced the Guggenheim foundation to select his city.

Well known American architect, Frank Gehry, selected the site and had a vision for developing the surrounding landscape as well. The building is striking, an art piece in itself; built of limestone, glass and titanium.

Guarding the entrance to the museum is Puppy, a stunning sculpture of flowers. Puppy, a West Highland Terrier, stands 12 metres tall.  It’s host to around 60,000 plants, supported by an internal watering system.

On show is Yoko Ono’s ‘Half a wind’ exhibition, an interesting display of sound and vision, but we both enjoyed just walking through the building. 

We’ve once again arrived without accommodation, so we follow our usual routine; find a cafe, order a glass of red and hit the internet. This stop also included a few pintxos (bite size snacks, generally with a tooth pick and on a piece of bread). We discover the city is hosting the world basketball championships and is pretty full. However, with perseverance (and another glass of red), we secured a hotel in the old quarter of the town.

Iturrienea B&B is only accessible on foot, located in Casco Viejo, the old quarter. With the car parked and bags in tow, we head down the charming cobblestoned streets to check in. It’s a gorgeous old building. The rooms are comfy and we have a little balcony onto the street. Our hosts are friendly and informative, we couldn’t have asked for more.

Some parts of the old city date back to the 1400’s. The Plaza Nueva comes to life at night with boisterous bars serving pintxos, our dinner consists of sampling a few at various bar’s. The plaza is buzzing with life, adults chatting and children playing games. The spanish are big on eating late and socialising.

In this part of Spain the food is all Pintxos, dinner is not about sitting down at a restaurant; its about bar hopping, sampling a few pintxos and moving onto the next.  Anything from simple ham on a thinly sliced baguette to a scallop mornay is on offer. You generally pay about €2 a piece.

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San Sebastian is renowned for its food and it didn’t disappoint. Its coastal location provides a dominance in seafood and one of our favourite finds was La Mejinnonera. You know it has to be good just from the crowds. No seats; everyone is standing. Once you find a spot to order it’s a limited menu of mussels and Calamari.  Its quick, fresh and delicious.

Don has been on a mission to try all the local and/or national specialties and drink the local beer and wine. Churros being one of his favourite spanish delights, he is excited to find a street side van selling freshly cooked spanish donuts. Don, is in foodie heaven, sitting by the beach devouring his chocolate covered churros. All too sweet and sugary for me.

The beaches are crowded and the women predominately topless. I only make the comment from observation, as through Turkey, Greece and Croatia there was very little topless sunbaking, though you could always find a designated nudist area.

At midday the beach is vacated; the spanish like the french, love lunch and everyone packs up and heads off to eat and have a siesta, returning for the late afternoon; relaxing on the beach until the sun sets.

We have a frustrated love for the siesta tradition and in general, the work hours in Europe.

There is immense respect that much of this part of the world has not caved into spinning the wheel faster and faster. I could point out that this also coincides with deteriorating economic states for these countries and many others across Europe. But the question is – who has got it right?

Everyone stops for lunch; children go home from school and spend it with parents, or relatives. People stop and appreciate life, they know their neighbours, they sit and talk, chew the fat and solve the problems of the world together.

There is an overwhelming sense of family, community, companionship and love of life, no matter how simple it is. People greet each other, and us, in the streets. We’ve entered restaurants where the other patrons welcome you as you sit down. Leave the butcher, and the other customers bid you a good day as well.

Our frustration usually starts when we arrive somewhere between 12 to 2pm and want to gather some information and pick up a map of the area from the tourist office.  No, it’s shut, everyone’s at lunch!

And try being a tourist on weekends.  Retail shuts down from midday Saturday until Monday morning. Being a tourist on a weekend can be near impossible.   We have also learnt to watch the fuel gauge. Petrol stations switch to ‘pay at pump’ mode on weekends and we discovered that this meant our credit cards are usually rejected. Having come close a few times we ensure we fill-up before the weekend.

But, the pace of life seems to tick just that little bit slower and I like it.

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Sep 1

Basque Country

From Madiran we head into Basque Country.

The definitive feature of basque country is the architecture; white washed buildings, predominately with red painted timber beams, set amongst lush farmland. The grass is a vivid green, it looks like layers of rich silk rolling down the hillside.

Originally we thought it would be a two night stop over. But after we had rolled through one quaint village, after another quaint village, we decided one night would suffice and we would have covered enough of rural French Basque.

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is perhaps the most well known village in this area. It is a popular starting point for the Camino de Santiago, a 780km pilgrimage that people either walk or cycle to Santiago de Compostela.

Besides the spanish influence of bullfighting, Pelota is another particular sport unique to the region. We watch a junior team playing with a long basket scoop attached to their hands, catching and throwing a ball a bit smaller than a baseball and harder than a golf ball. It looks like a cross between squash, handball and lacrosse.

We stayed the night in one of the quaint villages; Saint-Etienne-de-Baigorry in a rural gite, waking to a wonderful view and the sound of sheep being milked – yes, sheep not cows!

Whilst the region is lovely, we felt it was becoming a bit ‘same-same’ for us. There are only so many quaint villages you can stop at!

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Aug 30

Le Prielle

We enjoyed staying put so much in Villefranche, that we decided another week in one spot would be a good idea.

During our stay at the Ryan’s in Switzerland, we met David and Peter Appleby, whose parents run a Gite; Le Prielle, in Madiran. Located in the Haute Pyrenees, South West France.

On the way south from Bordeaux we randomly stop for lunch in Labastide-d’Armagnac, as in the brandy.

We have lunch in the Place Royale, a beautiful town square and well preserved example of 13th century architecture – lots of exposed beams and timberwork.  It was a charming village and one of those great unexpected discoveries.

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The Appleby’s have 4 beautifully restored Gites which have been created from renovated barns, in the grounds of an old Chateau, dating from 1745.  The 5 acres of grounds include an ancient chapel, moat & woodlands, as well as modern features such as a swimming pool and BBQ’s.

Paulette and Simon warmly welcome us to Le Prielle and we are treated more as friends, than guests, during our stay.

Keen to continue our cycling efforts, we rent bikes again and do most of our sight seeing on two wheels.  The Appleby’s share their wealth of knowledge about the area and provide us with great advice on where to go and what to see.

Most importantly,  Simon was more than happy to share with Don, his local wine knowledge and the two went off wine tasting one day.  The result was another substantial purchase of local wines – lucky we have a car.

Madiran is hosting a Course Landaise.  This is an ancient form of bullfighting, but without bloodshed, well at least not the bulls.  Actually, they use cows with mature horns instead of bulls.

It’s a game of bull dodging and leaping, with acrobatic somersaults over the animals and where young Matadors in the making, practice their techniques.

Whilst we are not supporters of bullfighting, this is more of an entertainment spectacle and the animals don’t get hurt.  They actually get a few opportunities to inflict some pain and bruise an ego or two!

Jumping the bull, Madiran
Ole! Couse Landaise, Madiran
Bull got his horns stuck!

We made a day circuit through the Pyrenees, taking the Col du Tourmalet, one of the highest roads in the central Pyrenees.  The Tourmalet forms part of the Tour de France, it is known on the tour as the ‘circle of death’!

We stopped at the Pic du Midi, where we opted out of the gondola ride to the peak, but enjoyed the menagerie of animals wandering freely around the summit base.

A donkey took particular interest in the tourist office and also joined the queue for the women’s toilets!  Horses, sheep and Llama’s happily grazed nearby.

Our last stop for the day is Lourdes.  Don is not religious by any stretch of the imagination, so we probably wouldn’t have had Lourdes on our list of ‘must-see’ destinations.  But, I have a friend from Coles working here, so we decided to come and say hello.

Every year for the past 6 years, Paula spends part, or all of her annual leave, volunteering in Lourdes.

On the surface, Lourdes appears to be the Catholic’s answer to Disneyland, I probably should point out right now, that I am Catholic.  I think this gives me some right to comment as an ‘insider’.  

My mother would disagree; she’d ask me when was the last time I went to Mass?  Anyway, we can have that debate another day.  

The streets of Lourdes are lined with trashy tourist shops selling you every religious piece of paraphernalia that you can think of and some you never even dreamed of.  Leave it to the Catholics to master the art of selling candles through vending machines.  

I can’t wait to see these in churches – credit cards accepted!  I’m sure the collection service will soon offer a ‘tap and pay’ function.  Come to think of it, that’s a really good idea!

Even regular shops are marketing under the guise of religion, like the designer shoe shop called ‘Mary’s Sandals’.

What I do like, is that once you cross into the Sanctuary of Our Lady Of Lourdes there is no commercial activity and entry is free.

With Paula’s insight we left with a greater appreciation of Lourdes and enormous respect for what she, and thousands of volunteers like her, do.  Over 6 million pilgrims visit Lourdes annually to seek physical and spiritual wellbeing.    

Religious or not, you can’t help but be affected by what goes on here.  It is an example of real faith, something you may or may not believe in, certainly something you cannot judge.

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In between cycling and the odd day trip, we spent the rest of our time relaxing at Le Prielle; we could usually be found on the comfy chairs in the garden catching up on emails.

And yes, me trying the catch-up on the blog.  Still failing!

We pointed out to Simon that a little table would be nice, so Simon whipped one up!  Tripod the cat, often kept us company.  There are a number of cats but she (or he) seemed to hang out with us the most.  Real name is Boot’s, but she earned the nickname after she lost a paw in a trap, spent days missing and finally hobbled back home. Gorgeous cat, loads of personality.

Don, relaxing at Le Prielle, Madiran
Don relaxing with new coffee table, Le Prielle
Tripod – 3 legged cat

Le Prielle was a lovely and we had a wonderful week.  It’s in a great location from which to explore the region.  The Applebys are wonderful hosts, the gites comfortable and equipped with everything you need – yep, that includes my favourite appliance – a washing machine!

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Aug 23

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Bordeaux

“Take Versailles, add Antwerp, and you have Bordeaux” was Victor Hugo’s description of the city, impressed as he was by its 18th century grandeur.

I’d always thought of Bordeaux as grimey, sleazy and unsafe.  Perhaps an unfounded reputation, or at least an old one.

The city has been going through a concentrated effort to clean-up; the buildings in the old town were once blackened from pollution, the ochre stonework is now being returned to its original brilliance.

The first glimpse of the old city is as you cross the Ponte de Pierre.  Looking to the Port of the Moon, a majestic ensemble of opulent french architecture sweeping along the river front.

Port of the Moon, Bordeaux
Ponte de Pierre, Bordeaux

Claimed a UNESCO world heritage site in 2007, Bordeaux is enjoying a renaissance.   It is a quasi-Paris; there are wide boulevards with magnificent Parisienne style buildings, a towering cathederal and a scattering of churches.  

Head deeper into the old town where cobblestone streets narrow and the buildings lean, the city is full of character and life.  We loved it so much, we stretched our two night stay to three.

We’ve lucked out with AirBnB accommodation in the old town pedestrian quarter.  Penny has also joined us for one night.

After being in the countryside for three weeks, we missed the pace of a city and enjoyed wandering through the old streets discovering out of the way bistros and bars.

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However, the main reason for adding Bordeaux to our tour was to dine at Le Gabriel, a Michelin star restaurant.  Don received the dinner as a farewell gift from Keystone, his former employer.

Lucky for me, the dinner was for two and I got a gurnsey!  I might point out that our vacation may have abruptly ended if I hadn’t!

Le Gabriel is located in a beautiful 18th century building, at the Place de la Bourse.  We are dining on the second floor and are shown to the best table in the room, overlooking the square below with views across the river.  

The sun is setting as we sip our champagne and toast a thankyou to Keystone!

We are indulging in the 8 course degustation with matching wines.  The evening is an exceptional culinary journey, under the direction of chef François Adamski.  An experience of elegance and excellence, combining classic with inventive cuisine to create authentic flavors of the highest quality.  Please note, some plagiarism from the website may have occurred in this paragraph.

The menu had a summer theme with a heavy seafood accent, which included langoustines, fish, caviar and duck.  The only red meat was a superbly cooked rack of lamb.  The wine selection was predominately white to match the seafood.

We are not unaccustomed to dining well.  However, when you are traveling for a year, it’s a luxury we don’t indulge in too often.  We’ve had some amazing meals on our trip, but this was by far the only five star experience.  The food was superb, the service faultless and the venue, authentic French.

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Bordeaux almost met with a devastating fate in 1944.  Under German occupation, but with the realisation that this wouldn’t be for much longer, Hitler ordered for its destruction.

German demolition expert, Heinz Stahlschmidt, could not bring himself to wantonly destroy such a beautiful city, when the war was clearly lost.  Instead, he disobeyed his orders; destroying the ammuniation storage sites instead, saving the city and thousands of lives.

A traitor to Germany, the French granted Stahlschmidt asylum and he lived out his life in Bordeaux. Recognised by the French as a hero in 2000, he died at the age of 91 in 2010.

Bordeaux as a city, was a delightful surprise.  The best surprise was at the end of our stay when we went to pay the €49.50  for parking, our credit card wasn’t accepted.  Just as I was about to pull €50 out, the attendant simply told us he would let us out for free – bonus!!

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