This morning started quite early for me as there was another group in our hotel that had a wakeup call at 5am. I thought it was my phone ringing, and answered it, it was the room next door. The walls were paper thin, I heard everything while they got ready. We left the hotel at 7:30 to head for the funicular up the Pyrenees. We were supposed to be there at 9:30, but didn’t make it there until later. We then were planning on the 10am train, but got behind people learning to ride a scooter. We arrived and parked at 9:58 and watched the train take off 2 minutes early. Brian our tour guide ran and tried to get them to come back, but they wouldn’t. We waited ½ hour for the 10:30 train, which left 5 minutes late.
The town is very different from the rest of France, it almost looks Germanic, although it is basque.
The funicular trip was quite steep; we saw people walking up the mountainside, very strenuous. There were wild horses and sheep along the tracks amongst a forest of ferns. One of the horses could barely be seen above the ferns.
The top had incredible views, although it was quite hazy, so the photographs are not as spectacular as I would have hoped. Half of the top is in Spain and half in France which is why there's a picture of me straddling a yellow line. We stayed there for a half hour, then came back down.
From there, we drove to Biarritz for lunch. Now, I think I’ve found where I’d like to live. The ocean was the beautiful turquoise blue in the mediterranean, but the buildings were far more impressive and sophisticated than Monte Carlo. There were surfers in the ocean, although the waves were maybe 6 inches. It’s funny to me that they consider this a surf town. It is quite a shopping town and all the stores had sales out on the sidewalk. Expensive clothes, even on sale. On my walkabout, I came across a chocolatier and walked in to buy some chocolate (I really wanted ice cream, but couldn’t find a glacier). The gal asked me what size box I wanted and showed me the prices, a ½ pound box was 74euro. I said I only wanted 3 pieces, she said the minimum was 10 pieces, I said thank you and started out the door, she said I could have only 3 pieces. I’ve had two so far, they were delicious.
It is quite warm today, even up at the top of the mountain. We have had wonderful weather the entire trip, we are very fortunate. I had a salmon sandwich on pita bread while I walked around. Just as I didn’t eat pizza for a year after I came back from Italy, I don’t think I’ll have a sandwich for a year after I return from France.
The drive from Biarritz to Bordeaux was very flat and full of pine trees. Bordeaux appears to be a lovely city, and we saw a little of it from the bus. We got out of the bus to see a fountain that was erected to the victims of the revolution, people that were executed because they weren’t revolutionary enough. Most of us wish we had more time in the places where it would be nice to spend time, instead of spending so much time in the places that aren't all that interesting. Bordeaux is a place I'd like to spend at least a day.
We had a ½ hour before dinner to go explore, so I went to the mall, to the supermarket for necessities. And super it is. It’s two stories with the first floor food products and the second everything from TVs to body lotion. At dinner, I was showing the group how I got a 1.5 liter of water for 17cents (they go for 2euro to 2.5euro for a half liter on the street.) A group wanted to go there too, so I led them after dinner, showing them the shortcut that I found. Olga thinks my mission in life is to organize companies and governments. Ileana and her husband think that I should get the tip for today, and that I should become a tour director. I think that sounds like a perfectly horrible idea. I can’t imagine visiting the same places twice a month and saying the same things over and over.
A couple of you have asked if I'm aware of the politics and financial meltdown, yes. The English TV stations at hotels are either BBC or CNN. We don't talk about it too much on the tour as we are all very polite. I am sorry to hear that Paul Newman died, he was a wonderful actor.
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