OK. “Basque Country Adventure” might be a stretch. I mean, we aren’t the most adventuresome travelers. There won’t be any whips, slithering asps, or runaway boulders on this adventure. But the “Basque country” part is accurate. That’s where we’re headed. C’mon!
“Basque country” straddles the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic side. This is where the Pyrenees mountains drop down into the Bay of Biscay. The largest city in the region is Bilbao.
We’re going to stay in St. Jean de Luz, a Basque city on the French side. To get there, we’ll fly directly from Los Angeles to Madrid. We didn’t know that was possible before we learned that Iberia Airlines does it. Sorry, Heathrow. You’ll have to get along without us this time!
Basque Trip Itinerary
We can’t fly directly from Madrid to St. Jean de Luz, but we can fly to nearby San Sebastián. We’ll rent a car in San Sebastian and make the short drive from there to St. Jean de Luz.
There aren’t many flights from Madrid Airport, (Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport), to San Sebastián, so we’ll spend one night in the little town of Barajas. It’s right next to the airport.
After staying a week or so in Basque country we’ll to drive southeast through France’s Languedoc region and then into Provence.
After leaving St. Jean de Luz, we’ll stop for lunch in Pau, spend a night in Carcassonne, then drive the rest of way to Antibes the next day. We’ll stay four nights in Antibes.
From Antibes, we’ll make the short drive to Nice, taking a detour to have lunch in St. Paul de Vence on the way. After two nights in Nice, we’ll return home. That’s the plan.
OK – Let’s Go!
We started the trip by flying directly from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Madrid Airport (MAD). The flight was excellent. We liked everything about it. Well, as much as one can like an 11-hour flight.
At the airport, our bags were the first ones to pop out onto the luggage belt. (A good omen, maybe?) We took a shuttle to a hotel in nearby Barajas. It was around 5:00 in the afternoon when we checked in.
Our internal clock was telling us it was 8:00 AM, but in Barajas it was happy hour. Time to turn off the internal clock!
We ventured from our hotel out into Barajas. It seems to be a low-key, non-touristy working town. It felt good to walk. After walking for a while we came to a square with grass, trees, and a fountain. Nice.
Tapas in Barajas
Tapas bars lined the square. We sat down at an outdoor table at one where some other people were enjoying themselves. We sat there a while, but nothing happened. I went inside to see what was up.
Inside, a man was standing behind a display case full of yummy-looking tapas. My español is no muy bueno, and his english was no muy bueno, but I managed to learn that Step 1. is to select the tapas you want. Nothing happens before Step 1.
Step 2. is to sit at a table and wait for a server to bring you your tapas and drinks. Step 3 is to go back inside and make more selections or pay the bill.
I selected a couple of tapas, ordered a beer and a glass of wine, and we were in business. Everything was smooth sailing from then on.
To be continued…
Pays Basque Photo at the top of this post. Credit: Florence LASAGA/istockphoto
