Shared Illusions

Even without my back issue we had decided not to climb the Pyrenees. It was rainy and cold and if we were going to walk it, we wanted a view. An apartment had been booked in Biarritz in the Côte de Basque neighborhood. Last minute cancelation meant we had to pay the first night there. Charlie had to ask the hotel concierge if we could keep our room. She accommodated. One extra night there stretched into three. By then, the weather had turned clear and sunny and climbing the Pyrenees was tempting, but we feared stressing my back.

For some reason we then booked in Bayonne,  with plans for day trips to Biarritz and other locales.

Our first impressions of Bayonne were less than wonderful. Hot. Humid. Noisy. We couldn’t check into our apartment until 5pm and spent time at a laundry café – great concept actually.

The entry door and location to the apartment were dis-spiriting. There then followed hours of failed attempts to get the access code. The link to provide a credit card pre-approval wasn’t working. The management company didn’t answer the phone, trying to resolve the issue with a chat-bot.

I called Booking. Was told that Booking would call the company and if they didn’t respond in 30 minutes we would get a refund. Booking would call me back. Did they? F no. I called again, and after clarifying the situation, vehemently,  we finally got that booking canceled and a total refund. It was now close to 8pm.

While I was managing that situation, Charlie was looking for a hotel for the night. Thank God it had a dining room for dinner. I was spent.

Revived by dinner, I commenced a search for a place in Biarritz. Bayonne was out out out! But as we had time, checking out old town Bayonne was doable. Left our bags in the hotel the next morning and went to explore.

Matthew: Man/Angel – because he focused his gospel on the incarnation
Mark: Lion – his gospel equates John the Baptist as a roar in the wilderness
Luke: Ox – focus on sacrifice
John: Eagle – his narrative soars above earthly events. The opening lines are, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”

That’s all I got on Bayonne. So glad that apartment didn’t work out!!! Worth the hassle. Especially when we got to Biarritz. It’s beautiful! All flowery and gorgeous architecture and sea breezy. A coastline that’s on the Atlantic with awesome waves and seastacks and cliffs. I could live here.

It’s more affordable than you’d think here. I imagined Biarritz would be too ritzy. It’s not. Although you can find ritzy accommodations,  like the Grand Palais…

We had a wonderful dinner, seaside in the old port, for a mere 66.60€, which included an appetizer, two meals (tuna – a very generous and delicious piece and dorado), wine and one dessert. That price includes taxes and service.

Who wants to go in on an apartment? A little pied-a-terre in this seaside town, a short train ride to Bordeaux hence to the rest of France – or Europe!

Tonight, Saturday the 29th,  we attended a concert at St. Martin’s church.

The French are certainly an appreciative audience. Applause commenced as the chorus began walking in and continued until the last musician had arrived. Then at the end of the approximately hour long recital, applause continued until they played one of the themes again. More sustained applause. Oh, come on! Charlie says they just want to make sure they’re getting their money’s worth. No second encore.

We leave today, Sunday the 30th for…drumroll….Budapest! Ryanair gets us to Prague, where we spend 2 nights, then a 6 hour train to Budapest. We felt like we didn’t spend enough time there in 2022.

We’ll be eating beans and corn bread after this trip.

À plus tard…