Bidart Day Three: Sun and Surf

 Whoo! The sun was out this morning, and, after being covered by the clouds and rain till about noon, came out increasingly for a long afternoon of blue skies and (fluffier) clouds. This morning we had a nice breakfast by the double-doors to enjoy the view of the little houses dotting the hills and far-off mountains. All the houses (and commercial buildings) are painted one of four colors. They are all about the same range of white or cream for the base and the shutters and trim are either maroon, brown, forest green or a marine blue (with some variations). It can alternate between charming and annoying. There are also lots of large courts for a sport called pelota and cesta, which I had mistaken for racquetball the first night. (I know, I know, the provincialism is astounding...) More info on Buber and on Wiki. More photos from the day... 

We mobilized with the pup to one of the beaches where Teddy ran and ran and ran and we walked around, finding a large stream that runs from the town into the ocean. Neat! Then we drove to Guerthary and I snacked on a pasteurized Goat's milk cheese, a baguette and an apple for a picnic as we watched a handful of surfers wait for a good wave. Yum! Then we walked down to another beach where the rocks were amazing and we saw more surfers. Tonight we're having dinner over at our friend's house in St. Jean de Luz.

Bidart: Day Two: Lounging and groceries

 Today was a lazy day. We woke up around 9am and after walking down to the little fake Casino (grocery chain), we came back home and I cooked up a big breakfast of eggs and toast with orange juice. It was a "fake" Casino because the store was called Casino, everything inside was a Casino brand but they wouldn't let us use our Casino fidelity card. "We're not associated with them." Huh. After breakfast Emmanuel played around with Wii fitness and I worked online. Around 4pm we got into the car and headed to St. Jean de Luz. We drove around the town a bit and on our way back stopped at Casa and Carrfour for household items and groceries. Carrfour is like a Kmart with groceries. When we came home I cooked a dinner of lamb steaks, rice and peas, and, after a little bath went to sleep by 11. Super exciting, non?

Bidart - First Night

 Our trip to Bidart started off in the typical French way. 

Because of Hurricanes the week before, roads and rails were closed. That was a week ago and there's been time to clear the way (see below). Our train to Bidart was confirmed on the web the night before and this morning. However, when we showed up at the train station, trains to Bidart were only going to Bordeaux, about 2 hours away. All the rental cars at the Bordeaux train station were already reserved. Our train was direct so we couldn't get out one stop before Bordeaux to get a car there. We canceled our train tickets and rented a car from Paris and drove 8.5 hours to get here. The house we're staying in felt a little creepy--the door was blown open and a light was on. But fortunately no one had entered since our friends (who are renting it) left it a week ago. We took a little drive around town, basically one big city block and had dinner at the only open restaurant--Elissaldia--a hotel in town that looks like it serves as the main gathering point for everyone. There is a large square in front and a large racquetball court in back. Men come in to play and then take a beer at the bar afterwards. I enjoyed a delicious Hake (merlu en francais) and salad. Emmanuel enjoyed fresh fois and duck. For dessert-- a traditional Basque cake and an apple tart. After all that, I was in bed by 9:30 and ready for a long night's sleep.