Basque Beaches
Leaving the vineyards of the Bordeaux region we headed south on the next stage of our journey into French Basque country passing through a brief storm on the motorway with flashes of lightning and heavy rain. By the time we reached Bayonne for lunch the sun was shining again and temperatures were back in the high 20's.
Bayonne is the cultural capital of Pays de Basque and is was noticeable that the architecture was different. Many houses now had half timbered facades, the wood predominantly stained red or green to match their shutters. We walked through the old town before visiting the cathedral. Solid from the outside the interior was surprisingly colourful. Ceiling roses carried a variety of emblems including one with the English coat of arms. At one point in history this southern French town had been ruled by the England - as had part of the Dordogne.
Finding a shady spot by the side of the cathedral we lunched on ham and cheese rolls and them continued wandering through the maze of streets soaking up the atmosphere.
Shop and street signs were often in the Basque language which seemed to have lot of k's, x's and z's in it! Our brief visit to Bayonne concluded, we carried on our journey just a few mile further south and checked into our hotel in Ciboure.
Ciboure sits on the western side of the Nivelle river but its more interesting neighbour St Jean de Luz was a short walk away across a bridge and alongside the harbour. Like Bayonne the old part of the town is full of old basque style houses and in the centre an impressive church with unusual internal wooden galleries. In the centre of the nave was a model of a sailing ship - entirely appropriate - St Jean de Luz made its fortune as a town from piracy.
The main attraction of St Jean de Luz is its beach. In a gentle curving bay golden sands come up to the promenade. At the northern end of the bay a small promontory topped by a white building that from a distance looked rather akin to an over-sized seaside hut. The warm weather had brought plenty of families to the beach and along the promenade people of all ages were strolling in the sunshine.
As the town is close to the Spanish border the foothill of the Pyrenees form an attractive backdrop to thee views looking inland, with a prominent 900 meter peak, La Rhune dominating the skyline.
I did some research on Trip Advisor to look for possible places we could eat that evening and found a couple of options. The first was closed which turned out to be a stroke of luck, as the second called Toki Goxoa that served traditional Basque food, was not only the top rated place to eat, but cheap as well and, even better, located on the promenade. It was only tiny but we managed to get a seat outside with views over the bay. The restaurant owners were very friendly and helpful. We both ordered taloa, a savoury pancake served with a salad. They were very tasty, mine was filled with a red pepper sauce and charcuterie ham. The desserts however took things up a notch. Mrs B had home made chocolate cake, warm, moist and dark - I managed to get a small taste but she guarded the rest as though her life depended on it. No matter my home made nougat ice cream was superb - it could easily have passed muster at a Michelin starred restaurant. Amazingly they only charged €14 for two courses - our total bill including drinks was less that €35!
Surprisingly full we decided to walk a bit further and ended up on the promontory, by the 'beach hut' which turned out to be a small chapel. The views back across the bay and North along the cliffs were lovely. Eventually we turned back, walked a couple of miles to the hotel well fed and ready to rest our legs.
Before checking out the following morning and after breakfast we took a walk through Ciboure itself. Quieter than St Jean de Luz the coastal road provided lovely views and the streets of old houses were charming.
Time to leave but also stay. We had a short drive ahead to leave France but we'd be staying in Basque country - crossing the border to our next country: Spain.
Donostia or San Sebastian is a fine seaside resort on the Bay of Biscay. It was only half an hour drive to get there, as we passed seamlessly across the border between the two countries. We navigated to a public car park opposite our hotel which was located on a plaza overlooking the river. It was a blisteringly hot day - over 30 degrees c, but after getting our bearings we walked in the shade of the trees past some grand old houses until after losing ourselves in the new town we found our way to Playa de la Concha - the main beach. It was a lovely beach but absolutely heaving with people - a real hot spot.
Lunch taken under the shade of a parasol we waked back, stopping en route for a ridiculously large ice cream and then checked into our hotel to cool off.
San Sebastian is not only a vibrant city and popular beach resort - its now one of the foodie capitals of Europe. Famous for its pintxos (a Basque version of tapas) the old town is lined with bars selling all manner of tempting food. We set off in search of food. Many bars specialise in a particular pintxo and its all a bit bewildering and slightly intimidating at first, ordering food and drink is a bit of a scrum, and the small dishes are eaten standing at the bar. Paper napkins are then thrown on the floor and once finished you move onto the next bar. We plunged into our first bar - and ordered a pintxo each plus drinks, a generous glass of rioja for me plus a small beer for Mrs B, Total cost €7. we then moved on and had a couple more pintxos at another bar before finding Borda Berri. This bar took pintxos to another level. Mrs B had a succulent pork rib, I had beef cheek braised for 6 hours - melt in the mouth good.
Very full we walked further around the old town - resisting temptation for any more food, until eventually we got to La Vina whose specialty is cheesecake. I ordered two plates expecting a modest sized portion, not realising that each serving consisted of two portions each. It was so good...creamy and rich. By the time we had finished we were well and truly stuffed.
I couldn't face breakfast the next morning, contenting myself with a cafe con leche. We were due to move on, which was probably for the best. Any longer in San Sebastian and our waistlines may have expanded!
We still had some time left in Basque Spain. Our next destination wasn't far away, the capital of the region: Bilbao.
Bayonne is the cultural capital of Pays de Basque and is was noticeable that the architecture was different. Many houses now had half timbered facades, the wood predominantly stained red or green to match their shutters. We walked through the old town before visiting the cathedral. Solid from the outside the interior was surprisingly colourful. Ceiling roses carried a variety of emblems including one with the English coat of arms. At one point in history this southern French town had been ruled by the England - as had part of the Dordogne.
 |
| The Cathedral at Bayonne |
 |
| Bayonne |
Ciboure sits on the western side of the Nivelle river but its more interesting neighbour St Jean de Luz was a short walk away across a bridge and alongside the harbour. Like Bayonne the old part of the town is full of old basque style houses and in the centre an impressive church with unusual internal wooden galleries. In the centre of the nave was a model of a sailing ship - entirely appropriate - St Jean de Luz made its fortune as a town from piracy.
 |
| The church at St. Jean de Luz |
The main attraction of St Jean de Luz is its beach. In a gentle curving bay golden sands come up to the promenade. At the northern end of the bay a small promontory topped by a white building that from a distance looked rather akin to an over-sized seaside hut. The warm weather had brought plenty of families to the beach and along the promenade people of all ages were strolling in the sunshine.
 |
| The beach of St Jean de Luz |
I did some research on Trip Advisor to look for possible places we could eat that evening and found a couple of options. The first was closed which turned out to be a stroke of luck, as the second called Toki Goxoa that served traditional Basque food, was not only the top rated place to eat, but cheap as well and, even better, located on the promenade. It was only tiny but we managed to get a seat outside with views over the bay. The restaurant owners were very friendly and helpful. We both ordered taloa, a savoury pancake served with a salad. They were very tasty, mine was filled with a red pepper sauce and charcuterie ham. The desserts however took things up a notch. Mrs B had home made chocolate cake, warm, moist and dark - I managed to get a small taste but she guarded the rest as though her life depended on it. No matter my home made nougat ice cream was superb - it could easily have passed muster at a Michelin starred restaurant. Amazingly they only charged €14 for two courses - our total bill including drinks was less that €35!
 |
| My nougat ice cream...and in the background not much of Mrs B's cake... |
Surprisingly full we decided to walk a bit further and ended up on the promontory, by the 'beach hut' which turned out to be a small chapel. The views back across the bay and North along the cliffs were lovely. Eventually we turned back, walked a couple of miles to the hotel well fed and ready to rest our legs.
Before checking out the following morning and after breakfast we took a walk through Ciboure itself. Quieter than St Jean de Luz the coastal road provided lovely views and the streets of old houses were charming.
 |
| Ciboure |
Time to leave but also stay. We had a short drive ahead to leave France but we'd be staying in Basque country - crossing the border to our next country: Spain.
Donostia or San Sebastian is a fine seaside resort on the Bay of Biscay. It was only half an hour drive to get there, as we passed seamlessly across the border between the two countries. We navigated to a public car park opposite our hotel which was located on a plaza overlooking the river. It was a blisteringly hot day - over 30 degrees c, but after getting our bearings we walked in the shade of the trees past some grand old houses until after losing ourselves in the new town we found our way to Playa de la Concha - the main beach. It was a lovely beach but absolutely heaving with people - a real hot spot.
 |
| Saint Sebastian |
 |
| The beach at Saint Sebastian |
San Sebastian is not only a vibrant city and popular beach resort - its now one of the foodie capitals of Europe. Famous for its pintxos (a Basque version of tapas) the old town is lined with bars selling all manner of tempting food. We set off in search of food. Many bars specialise in a particular pintxo and its all a bit bewildering and slightly intimidating at first, ordering food and drink is a bit of a scrum, and the small dishes are eaten standing at the bar. Paper napkins are then thrown on the floor and once finished you move onto the next bar. We plunged into our first bar - and ordered a pintxo each plus drinks, a generous glass of rioja for me plus a small beer for Mrs B, Total cost €7. we then moved on and had a couple more pintxos at another bar before finding Borda Berri. This bar took pintxos to another level. Mrs B had a succulent pork rib, I had beef cheek braised for 6 hours - melt in the mouth good.
 |
| Borda Berri |
Very full we walked further around the old town - resisting temptation for any more food, until eventually we got to La Vina whose specialty is cheesecake. I ordered two plates expecting a modest sized portion, not realising that each serving consisted of two portions each. It was so good...creamy and rich. By the time we had finished we were well and truly stuffed.
 |
| I am not balancing a pile of cheesecakes on my head..... |
We still had some time left in Basque Spain. Our next destination wasn't far away, the capital of the region: Bilbao.
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