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| Saint-Émilion |
Toulouse
After a full 20 hours of assuring ourselves the van was fixed and it was safe to leave the area, we could finally begin our remaining, much shortened, available travel time. We landed in a camp outside Toulouse. Our camp host explained there were safe bike paths along a canal, mostly flat and it would only take about 40 minutes to make it into town. There was also a free and safe bike parking garage in the city center. Sold! Our experience differed greatly. It took us about 1 3/4 hours because we followed google maps (not always right) and our mini-bike wheels aren’t well-suited speed nor to the very rough and rocky parts. We also stopped for pedestrians and to relieve saddle-sore backsides.
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| Ensemble Conventual des Jacobins |
Click here for our photos, (i) for information.
Toulouse is nicknamed “La ville rose” (the pink city) because of its brick paved streets, rosy roofs, and red brick mansions. The “Capitol/Hotel de Ville” was closed for a wedding. We lingered at the medieval architectural wonder of the Ensemble Conventual des Jacobins. Its many arches formed a beautiful “palm” and interesting frescoes still grace its walls.
Cathedral St-Étienne was built in stages from the 13th to the 17th centuries - apparently by people who had no appreciation for symmetry or balance. I’ve never seen the like. The fountain in front was the oldest in Toulouse.
The Basque Region
There are certain stereotypes of the French, but reality of France and its people is much more varied, richer, and deeper with distinct cultures fiercely held. The Basque language, or Euskara, is an isolate. It didn’t come from a more ancient language as did all other European languages. It’s Europe’s only currently spoken Paleo-language. Very few languages spoken today anywhere in the world can claim such. Imagine what combination of geography, culture and determination combined to enable a people to withstand the forces of assimilation to which most ancient languages have succumb. It’s fascinating to me. Directional and informational signs were provided in both languages which often left no room for English providing more of a challenge for us. There are many interesting aspects of basque culture and we only scratched the surface. The next four places are all in the Basque region.
Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Our campground was far outside the town on a bluff above the beach. Though some sunbathed there, it was too cold for us. We thoroughly enjoyed our sea view and the sound of waves crashing into the rocky shoreline below from our campsite. The surrounding hedges offered just enough of a windbreak and privacy to stretch out our yoga mats on the grass and enjoy some yoga one sunny afternoon as we waited for our laundry to dry on the line. Several restaurants were within walking distance and also provided ocean views. A surprise find was a black pudding served with an apple compote that Dermot really liked.
The pretty fishing village of Saint-Jean-de-Luz became famous as the place French King Louis XIV married the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain in 1660 to ensure peace between the two nations. It’s close to the border and about midway between Paris and Madrid. The Église St-Jean-Baptist where the wedding took place has a ceiling like a boat hull and raised galleries along the sides and back for the men. These galleries were in churches in other Basque villages as well.
We lucked into a Sunday fête complete with children and adults performing dances in regional costumes. Rather than staged for tourists, it felt like a true local event where parents and grandparents proudly clapped and congratulated the performers and later joined in the adult dances. Quite a few men sported berets which we hadn’t seen many of throughout the rest of France. In this region we even saw farmers working the fields in them as well.
We tried the recommended macarons made from the same recipe as those the King enjoyed centuries ago and they were delicious! Crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Of the regional foods on offer, we chose the “most basque” pâté and enjoyed it for its absolutely perfect amount of pepper and spice IMHO.
Beyond the port lies a wide, long beach and we took a relaxing stroll along the boardwalk following Rick Steves’ walk. I have to admit we perused the photos of ocean view properties in Sotheby’s.
The small Basque villages of Sare, Ainhou and Espelette were quick stops in the mountainous area briefly visited as we travelled to our next stop so I’ll lean on the photos to paint the picture. The circular gravestones here are basque. Each town has its own pelota court (a game very much like Jai Alai) with what looked like more than enough seating for the size of the village. At Sare we bought two “gâteaux basque” small cakes that are filled with either cherry filling or pastry cream - both were delicious.
St. Emilion
We skipped the city of Bordeaux in favor of this town set among miles of grapevines and enclosed with ramparts from its medieval past. Our campsite was like a resort surrounded by trees beside a lake and had multiple pools. One evening we paddled a kayak around the lake in the extended light hours searching for wildlife and recording bird calls.
The campground was remote enough that buses did not run here, so the camp provided a shuttle service to and from the town. The town has an interesting history and grew over the years from low levels to those high above with steep streets linking the two. After exploring the interesting houses and historic abbey, we had lunch in a sun dappled square in the lowest level along with many other tourists. My salad had small slices of duck breast and enough duck gizzards to choke a wolf.
The most unusual sight here was the monolithic cathedral which can only be visited on a guided tour. Inspired by the hermitage of St. Émilion (possibly a myth), limestone was excavated to create a partially subterranean church which is the largest monolithic church in Europe. The church was sold to a private citizen after the French Revolution and has been privately held since so we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside but there were multiple sections including a subterranean crypt.
We’re running behind on posts but we’ll get caught up eventually!
