Bike ride up the coast of Les Landes

A second day of no surf. This isn't a bad thing given how sore and waterlogged we are. So we biked up the coast through the pine and fern forests of Les Landes. Stretching from Capbreton up to Bordeaux, Les Landes is a distinct geographic area with its own culture, within the broader region of Aquitaine. We had a blast:

The weather was perfect. We had a separated bike path the whole way. So civilized. We could ride side by side and have great conversation thanks to the wide bike path and very limited traffic:

Ferns and pine forest all around us:

No, these aren't Tom's Shoes. These are called "espadrilles" and they are hand made in Les Landes. It is a cultural export of the area. Apparently the dude from Tom's got his idea here. From the left we have Jesse, Angela, and Cam each sporting new espadrilles. They cost 10 euros:

We biked up to the sleepy beach resort town of Vieux Boucau. We found a quiet spot by the lake, pulled out our wine, cheese, baguette, and fruit and had a great picnic:

On our way home, we took another bike path. This one is dirt covered with a soft blanket of pine needles weaving through the forest. Not bad:

When we got home, we cooked a big meal for Jon's birthday using the fresh ingredients from the Biarritz market:

We'll leave it up to you to guess whether we went to the local discotheque after dinner for some partying. Yes, it really is called L'Escargot, and yes, it really does look like a bomb shelter:

Bayonne: heart of the French Basque country

Our well travelled readers will appreciate what happened to us in Bayonne. Sometimes (most times?) the best travel experiences are the result of a series of accidents. We didn't mean to walk around Bayonne and fall in love with the place. We just thought it was the place with the bus and train transfer station. But with a 45 minute layover between buses, Jon wanted to snap a photo from the bridge, because it looked nice from the bus. From that bridge, we could see a keyhole street leading into the center of town. That street was a pedestrian-only street and it looked promising so we entered the city. What we found was an old, narrow street city center that was pulsing with energy and packed with cool shops. People were spilling out of bars and singing out loud. Turns out that we were walking around Bayonne 2 hours before a huge rugby game vs Biarritz. Check the scene out:

Everyone was sporting the baby blue team colors:

The Basque architecture was beautiful:

Bayonne is the unofficial capital of the French Basque Country. Incredibly charming town:

Lots of Basque pride here. Almost all of the businesses referred to it in some way:

This is the riverfront that originally caught Jon's attention:

The technicolor window sills are very Basque:

We cancelled our bus home (and left

2 hours after our initial planned departure time) in order to tour the whole city without feeling rushed. We also had time to drink a perfect Guinness:

Everywhere you look, you see ham. Jambon de Bayonne is the city specialty and is known all over France:

After walking all over the city, we found the bar with the most energy and character:

So we enter inside and had a few drinks:

Note how much style this place had:

Here's Jesse pointing to the pitcher and asking the bartender what was inside. It was the "house punch" made with rum and who knows what else. So we had one, just to get the full experience:

Bayonne was a really cool town. We

recommend it, next time you are in the south west!

Cultural commentary: in case of emergency

In the US, when you have a problem, you simply dial 911. In Europe, it is less straightforward. If you are in Biarritz, all you have to remember is the intuitive number sequence in the sign below:

Market day in Biarritz

Saturday the surf went flat so we decided to take a bus down to Biarritz for some shopping. The Basque-French city is beautifully perched on cliffs overlooking clear turquoise water:

It takes about an hour and a half on the bus to get there. Jesse found the most efficient route using his trusty bus schedule:

There are big rock formations on the beach and out into the bay. We walked over this beautiful bridge over the beach out to a nice panoramic point:

Here you can see the classic French architecture butting right up to the beach:

Biarritz is great for shopping. The streets are beautiful, the shops are full of stylish clothes, and there were lots of things on sale for 50% off:

Our favorite part was the food market. Housed in a large warehouse-like building, it was full of local shoppers picking up fresh, artisanal foods:

Jesse had his eye on one of the local specialties- jambon de Bayonne. Like a Parma ham, but French, so it must be better:

Our noses led us to the truffle shop. We had truffle-infused saucisson and a truffle omelet paired with a Bordeaux red (all for about 6 euros):

This is a jambon de Bayonne, propped up and ready for the shopkeeper to shave some slices off. It melts in your mouth:

The French take their butter very seriously. It is one of the main reasons the food tastes so much better over here. 

So you don't buy prepackaged butter in the grocery store. You buy fresh butter by the kilo at the cheese shop:

One of the highlights of the day was when this group of Basque men walked into the market and spontaneously broke into song. They were doing incredible harmonies, with tons of emotion. All of their songs were in the Basque tongue:

After the beautiful surprise concert, we made our way over to the fish market. We found the place with the biggest crowd, and took a spot at the counter. This is an example of how you can get a really great meal for a very reasonable price. 6 fresh oysters and a glass of really good wine for just under $7 euros or about 9 bucks:

When the oysters came, we could tell right away they were super fresh and of the highest quality. They smelled delicious. And the French do not serve them with lots of sauce our other condiments. All you do is squeeze a little lemon and down the hatch they go:

Shucked 20 seconds ago, this one was still moving:

Step 1, take an oyster and free it from its shell:

Step 2, put the oyster in your mouth:

Step 3, chew a little and savor the flavor. Ours were great. Essence of the sea:

Step 3, swallow:

Step 4, convince your stomach that everything is going to be OK:

The nice folks behind the counter took a liking to us. So they wanted us to explore more of their local seafood. We've been eating mussels everyday up in Seignosse/Hossegor, and we just had oysters, so the only logical next step would be sea snails. We were shocked to find them so delicious:

Here's Angela doing some major French food exploration with the snails. They actually tasted like bacon:

The oyster place sold some sort of Basque hot sauce. It looks like "Hipster"

Not full enough after the oysters and snails, Jesse went on the hunt for a place that serves foie gras. Here he is in front of  the place that met his requirements. Le Comptoir du Fois Gras:

Turned out to be an excellent little tapas bar. Here we are, sampling the foie gras, some dry aged ham, and some champagne:

 

Fun with panoramic photos

On on the westernmost point of Biarritz, Jesse had a great idea. Let's take a panoramic shot on the iPhone, but keep repositioning the subjects as the camera progresses through its arc.

This is out best one of the day. It is a single shot, but Jon and Angela show up three times and Cambria shows up twice. And you get a nice view of Biarritz:

This is the best one of Jesse and Angela. In Bayonne, by the riverside:

In Biarritz:

This one with Cam and Jon would have been great, but Jon must have been moving his right arm at the end:

This is the "Jesse and Angela Proposal Sequence" but Jesse was moving his arm too much as the end as well:

I'm sure someone else has figured this out, but Jesse seemed to come up with the idea independently and we were really having fun with it. Try it!!!