Au revoir, St. Jean de Luz. We’ll be back some day, I hope. But for now, it’s time to hit the road to Carcassonne. We’ll stop for lunch in Pau. It’s a beautiful day for a drive through the French countryside, so let’s go. Allons! Continue reading “Pau!”
Last Day in St. Jean de Luz
The thing about traveling is that even if you’re crazy about a place, you’re traveling – sooner or later you have to move on. So alas, it’s our last day in St. Jean de Luz. I’m feeling the need to go back to Place Louise XIV and have a nice lunch, Basque-style. Continue reading “Last Day in St. Jean de Luz”
Bare-Handed Pelota. Argggh!
If you ask the average person on the street to name something Basque, one of the few things they might come up with is jai-alai. They’d be right, for sure. But they probably wouldn’t know that Basques still play the game that gave birth to jai-alai — bare-handed pelota. Continue reading “Bare-Handed Pelota. Argggh!”
St. Jean de Luz and Operation Comet
St. Jean de Luz is a quiet seaside town in southwestern France. It’s a favorite destination for Parisians who want to take a break and get away from it all. During WWII, this quiet little town, even though occupied by Nazis, was a critical node in Operation Comet – a network for smuggling downed Allied airmen out of Europe. Continue reading “St. Jean de Luz and Operation Comet”
Being Basque During World War II
There’s a plaque in St. Jean de Luz honoring Basques who fought in the Resistance during World War II. We came across the plaque while on a post-lunch walk near the marina. There was a lot going on in this little town during the war. Continue reading “Being Basque During World War II”
St. Jean de Luz and the Sun King
Place Louis XIV is the largest and nicest square in St. Jean de Luz. Cities all over France have squares named in honor of a king. This square in St. Jean de Luz is named after the Sun King because he put St. Jean de Luz on the map – by getting married here. Continue reading “St. Jean de Luz and the Sun King”
Let’s Explore St. Jean de Luz
“Basqueland” straddles the border between Spain and France on the Atlantic side, where they meet at the Bay of Biscay. We’re staying on the French side, but so far on this trip, we’ve spent most of our time in Spain. We’ve been on the move. Now it’s time to relax, kick back, and explore St. Jean de Luz. Continue reading “Let’s Explore St. Jean de Luz”
Le Marais – Revisited
Today we’re going on a foodie tour. We’ll meet up with a guide and a handful of other “foodiphiles,” then walk to wherever our guide takes us, tasting what Paris has to offer along the way. Guides on these tours usually know their stuff, so we’ll probably learn a lot, too. We opted for a tour that takes place in one of our favorite Parisian neighborhoods: Le Marais. Continue reading “Le Marais – Revisited”
Le Foodie Tour – Revisited
It’s 10:00 AM in Paris. We’re in a coffee shop in the Marais district called Café de la Poste. This is the meeting point for “Le Foodie Tour”. We’ve arrived early, so we have time to have coffees before starting the tour. Continue reading “Le Foodie Tour – Revisited”
The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Revisited
We’re in Paris, gazing up at “la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.” It’s been a month since the fire. If you’re a fan of Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” you can’t walk by the great church in its current state without thinking of poor old Quasimodo, the hunchback himself. In the story, it’s he who starts the church on fire. OK, that was a bad thing to do, but he had his reasons… Continue reading “The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Revisited”
