THE ADVENTURE
Oct 5-12
The plan had been to come to the South France, find a nice apartment
in a small town or easy walking distance to a town, and stay for a
month. I have found that if you live like a local, you meet a lot of
locals and it is a better experience. For various reasons, that plan
did not work just like the next part failed.
We had no firm plans after France but had intended to island hop Corsica to Sardina and then somewhere in southern Italy. Well....those damn babyboomer!! All our flights were booked full out of Italy in advance through November. So, I needed a new plan. After much agonizing and study we decided to go to Madrid, rent a car and drive to Portugal and return the car to Madrid and fly home out of Madrid as there were lots of seats on those flights. Lisbon would have been the logical place to fly home out of but service of seasonal flights ended the end of September.
We had no firm plans after France but had intended to island hop Corsica to Sardina and then somewhere in southern Italy. Well....those damn babyboomer!! All our flights were booked full out of Italy in advance through November. So, I needed a new plan. After much agonizing and study we decided to go to Madrid, rent a car and drive to Portugal and return the car to Madrid and fly home out of Madrid as there were lots of seats on those flights. Lisbon would have been the logical place to fly home out of but service of seasonal flights ended the end of September.
Next challenge was how to get there. First choice was train, but the
more I looked the more that did not work from a money and convenience
point. So, I started on airplanes. I could get a pass on a airline
out of Marseille which is cheap but then they tag for bags.....a lot.
Often as high as $100 a piece. I could buy a ticket on a “low cost”
carrier for about $20 to $150 depending the day and then they started
their ad-ons. I could still do it relatively cheap, but I hate, I
hate, going to a airport. I was doing some map reading and saw that
the San Sebastian, Spain airport was just a few miles from the
Hendaye, France train station. And, I had a brilliant idea. Just
drive to San Sebaestion, rent a car and drive back to Hendaye and
turn in the other car. What a relief!
So, with the transportation problem cured we were off.
It had rained hard overnight and dawn brought a gray wintery sky.
But, by the time the landlords mother showed up at 10:30 to refund
our deposit, the sun had come out and looked like it was going to be
another great sunny day in the south of France. “George” was
already loaded and we pointed him west to the Atlantic. We traveled
the beautiful coastal highway for the last time this trip, made our
way through the maze of St. Raphael and Frejus and were soon out in
the country passing the vineyards that are starting to change colors.
AIX EN PROVENCE
First stop was Aix en Provence. Never warmed to this town and still
haven't. We went to the tourist office to look for a hotel. We have
always had luck with this but not this time. The first one we went to
was full and the next one was to far from the center of the town. We
turned around and walked back into to town. As we were walking down
the main drag we spied the Bastitde Hotel. A quick inquiry and a
little negotiating in my fine non-existent French and we were offered
a 320euro suite for 120. But, it had no window so I settled on the
240 suite for 130. Much more than I wanted to pay but some times you
just have to do it. This is real France from the old days. Entry to
the hotel is through sidewalk cafe that is bustling with Saturday
business and up worn stone steps to a extremely large room for
France. It is the Paul Cezanne suite you know. Of course later we
found cheaper hotels except they were all full.
you score good stuff in a suite
It had not been a long day, but it had stress in it. So, we sat in
the sidewalk cafe with a beer to recoup and then went for a walk
through old town which we were in. After meandering for a long while
through throngs of local shoppers, not tourist, we started looking
for dinner. Keeping in my negative mood about this place I commented
on there were not even any restaurants. As usual, we turned the
corner and on the narrow street there were all the restaurants;
Vietnamese, Italian, French, Indian, Lebanese. There was a very nice
looking restaurant, the Fountain, that served pizza, as most do, and
other dishes and we chose it. The pizza was average, the pasta was
better than excellent, and the staff were just a joy to be with.
Sitting in these places alone is entertainment. A garbage truck comes
down the alley and makes a turn that you would put money on he could
not make. The lady at the table next to us had on a coat and looked
quite busty. In fact was not bust at all but her chihuahua that stuck
his head out. The French are very liberal about their dogs and this
was not all out of the ordinary.
there is a dog in that coat
Aix en Provence has two things going for it. One, it has Provence in
it's name so the tourist flock for Provence. The second thing, is
Paul Cezanne was born, lived and died here. So, the tourist queen
said we were off to see Cezanne. The tourist office had a walking
guide so we picked it up and off we went. I can not (yawn) tell you
how exciting this was. See photo's. I did get to go to the Granet
Museum for a great exhibit. By the way, I really enjoy Cezanne's work.
paul was born here
paul went to a art exhibit here. he did not like it.
paul's good friend lived here
something about paul here too
paul's dog peed here
paul put his trash here
paul's art is here
not sure what paul was doing here
this guy is looking for is Cezanne painting to show
I feel your pain buddy, so I will skip the other 29 exciting places in the Paul Cezanne walking tour.
We were headed back to the Fountain for dinner, but after a great
clear day, the thunder and lighting rolled in. It was ugly and
noisy, but no heavy rain yet, but without umbrellas, they were in
“George” who was off somewhere in a valet corral, we decided to
eat in the hotel's restaurant. We just chose a table at random and
wound up setting next to two wonderful ladies form D.C., Linda and
Marjorie, who shared our love of France. We talked about lots of
subjects and really enjoyed their company. I admire them and thank
them for one of their projects. Every Monday they are part of a on
going protest against our stupid gun laws and in remembrance of all
those that have been killed because of them at the White House.
We went for a short walk and got back to our room about 10:30. We had
had to change rooms today as Paul's room was booked. During the day
the hotel had moved our bags into the Maurice Granet room. It was a very
lovely room and perfectly acceptable, but it was not a suite. So I
went downstairs to re-negotiate the rate. I must be a famous person
or something and they wanted me here. I am not that good of a
negotiator and my French sucks. But, out of this came another real
suite and a price of 99 euro. Beats me, but I took it.
Another great day. We got “George Clooney” out of the corral where
he had been all weekend and once again pointed him west to the
Atlantic. In the past I would never get on an Autoroute unless forced. In my almost old age I have mellowed and use them more often. Today
was one of those days. We took the A8 to the A54 to the A61 passing
the towns of Arle, a much better choice than Aix, Nimes and
Montpellier, where my friends Jill and Cliff are moving after Jill
does servitude in London for 6 months for a visa.We got off on the
other side of Narbonne and started the zig zaging through the
Pyrenees foothills.To give you an idea of the terrain we are passing,
if we take the Autoroute, it is 6.5 hours. If we go off the Autoroute it is 12.5 hours.
Lunch was at one of the best restaurants in Europe, Chez Vicki. These
picnics are usually part of our regular routine, but has been sadly missing on
this one.
grape harvest in provence was finishing up but here it is just starting
FOIX
By some strange consequence our day ended in the same town it did the
last time we came through here, Foix. It is a small little town
nestled in a tight valley next to the river, guarded by a old castle
on the hill. Back at the same hotel, the only one in town, we
unloaded and set out on the walking tour. Thirty minutes later we had
done it all.
So, now where to eat. They are all very small. Maybe
10 to 15 feet wide. We made the tour of the few restaurants on the
small street and were headed for the Chinese place just to have a
bowl of soup. Sitting in front of the Guarana was a gentleman in
white clothing. Vicki was looking at the menu and the gentleman
explained how the eggplant parmesan was made. She started to move on
and I said “we have to eat here, since we now know the chef”. It was
a wise decision. The eggplant parmesan was excellent and I had pork
with a mushroom sauce, also excellent. We conversed with the owner, Spanish/Moroccan and his lovely
Italian/Brazilian wife, and the only other couple in the place. He
gave Vicki the secret of how to prepare the eggplant since she
claimed it was the best she ever tasted. The restaurant had only been
open a few months. They had owned restaurants in Italy, Spain and
Brazil but came here for the small town atmosphere to raise their
children. Another gem of a moment in our travels.
For some reason no pictures were taken on the trip though the
Pyrenees the second day. Just use your imagination and think of all
those deep green meadows and green pastures up the side of the
mountain with fat lazy cows and dark blue sunny skies and you've got
it. Down near the coast just imagine driving through rolling hills partly
wooded, partly pasture and partly corn fields. All still very
green even being cool and in October.
almost thought we would leave france without a strike
Years ago we a overnighted in Biarritz, a great little town on the
coast. I expected the same of Hendaye but I was wrong. It was 100%
new tourist resort with nothing quaint or attractive about it. Pass
it by.
SPAIN
SPAIN
We said goodbye to “George” and Sean Connery delivered us our
“James Bond” car disguised as a nice Citroen. “George” was
nice but since this is a James Bond car it has more bells and
whistles and a lot of spunk. Also I was able to figure out the cruise
control in just a few minutes as opposed to “Georges” cruise
control that took three weeks to figure out. We jumped on the auto
route and the “Bond” car was flying. We were right there with the
Aston Martin DB9 in front of us until I remembered this is a low
profile trip and I backed down to 120. Km's that is.
george clooney reachs the atlantic
European cars have interesting functions. The "George Clooney" would shutoff when you put the care in neutral and let the clutch out, say at a stop light. Push the clutch back in and it would start back up. "James Bond" does not do that as we have to be ready at all times to get the hell out of here, but it does have a interesting windshield wiper function. Put it in internment mode and the wipers will increase speed in relation to the amount of rain hitting the windshield. All cool features.
We stumbled on to Lekeitio some years ago, but I was told that it is
now listed in Rick Steve's guides. But it may be to far off the track
as there are few Americans to make it here. It is tucked into a small
cove with small fishing port and when you think picturesque little
fishing village on a rocky rough coast, this is the place. Most of
the other towns are larger and have god awful ugly highrises. Maybe
just one or two in some towns but ugly. Lekeitio is still true to
it's roots. In the past, before the Basque got autonomy, there were
Che Guevara flags and paintings everywhere and banners of protest
hanging off balcony’s and on walls in the town. I do not judge Che
as good or bad, but I do endorse the imagine he portrays today of
people seeking independence. (The Tea Party might think of using a
banner or two of Che) We checked into the Aisia Hotel same as before,
with a room overlooking the harbor. It is a grand view.
the road in to town hangs on the edge
We walked to the waterfront looking for lunch. That had originally
been our soul purpose coming here but it had taken so long driving
after getting off the autoroute we decided to spend the night. It is
a very narrow road with lots of switch backs. It one “scenic
overlook” we came upon a younger British couple. On the tail gate
of their Ranger Rover they had a single burner stove and a large gas
bottle. They being civilized and having a cup of tea and enjoying the view. We visited them for awhile and then moved on. Anyway,back on
the waterfront, one of the restaurants was full, so we figured this
was the place. We ordered the daily special, which was a plate of
fish for two. Fortunately, Bob and Wanda, who we met at the hotel,
joined us because when the plate came out it was huge. We were all so
in awe we forgot to take a before picture. There were at least six
fish on this plate and even with the four of us we left some. We did
get a after photo.
sun rise
a not so glamourous chez vicki stop
the road to santigo
wendy and mary successful pilgrims from a 33 day walk
all those spots on the ground are pilgrims. they came and went all afternoon
This is the end of the pilgrimage. The clam old St. James is in that box, but if you read the history they ain't got a clue who is in there.
I could easily spend a week in Lekeitio, but Portugal is the
destination so we must move on. It took 1:30 hours to cover the first
40 miles of windy but beautiful roads with off and on rain. Then we
got on the Autoroute and headed west. In Europe the euro has a
1,2,and 5 cent coin. I could never figure out why they had the 1 and
2 as I have never seen anything with a odd cent price. Until Spain.
Their tolls are 2.12 or 4.18. Just round the damn things off and
throw away the 1 and 2 cent coins.
In Europe they have photo speed ticket writers. Unlike America, they do not care who is driving the car, they are giving the car the ticket. Most of the time if you get a ticket it is because you are stupid. All permanent photo spots have this small sign warning you that just ahead is the camera. So really, the tickets are for stupid. Do not think you will get away with just because you are a tourist. The rental car company pays, adds a big fine, and bills your credit card months after you turned the car.
The Autoroute is some times the only road on this rough stretch of
coastline. We stayed on it most of the day, except for the couple
times when we were forced off of it as there was no Autoroute, until
about 3:30. We got off looking for a different view and to begin the
search for a hotel. We ended up in Luarca a nice little fishing
village hidden in one of the coves surrounded by high natural walls.
This is another real Spain location. No tourist today in this town.
Santigo De Compostila
On the road again we headed for Santigo De Compostila, the home of
St. James and the destination for tens of thousands of pilgrims.
Remember the donkeys? All over Spain you see these signs showing the
way for the pilgrims. There is a series hostels, churches and other
places for them to overnight on the trek. You actually have to get a
special passport to qualify to stay there.
whew, we made it
This is the end of the pilgrimage. The clam old St. James is in that box, but if you read the history they ain't got a clue who is in there.
The town is much larger than I expected and had more tourist than we
have seen anywhere. We where not sure if we were going to spend the
night but the town “felt right” so we got a room and stayed. We attended part of a Mass in the huge ornate cathedral.
Things do not happen in Spain until about eight o’clock at night so
I needed the Mass energy to stay up drinking until midnight with the
locals.
yep, that is what i want to do....run away from the "OS"
having a nice conversation at tapas bar
