Boog's Blog

Thursday 13 October

A good night's sleep on the boat, conducive to sleeping when the boat is gently rocking.

I asked the purser about the hot tub. Off, as the boat is rocking to much; too much splashing.

The sad news is that QB has a cold. Yesterday we were hoping it was just a few sniffles but does not appear so.

The boat is large, cars, vans, trucks and lots of people. The seventh floor is all restaurants. Bars everywhere except in the rooms.

While we were sleeping some sort of medical emergency occurred which required docking. We arrive two hours late to Plymouth.

Got lucky with a taxi to the station and a train leaving minutes after we arrived.

Hotel calls itself a townhouse hotel. A short uphill walk from the station. Started right. No free city maps. May we have our sandwiches with mustard, please. They arrived without mustard but with lots of butter. We sent them back for spitting and remake.

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Wednesday 12 October
Cool, rain at days end

Ferry day, from Santander to Plymouth
Premium bus to Santander

Hotel breakfast with very ample servings of smoked salmon and jamon. Bob and KB scorched the earth.

Rain started just as bus pulled out of terminal. Stopped after a short while.

Stores were all open in San sabastian when we left. When we arrived in Santander all the stores were closed. Turns out today is a national holiday, Hispanic day. Clearly not in the Basque area!

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Tuesday 11 October
Continued dry and cool

Breakfast at our now favorite bakery. This time pan con tomate with a side order of soft cheese. Lots of garlic of course, enough for a pharmacy visit by Bobby to get Tums equivalent.

Walking about town visiting shops and then the American Gothic shot at a bakery where torrone de yema was tried but not fully consumed.

A relaxing day with beach strolling and market visiting. Some interesting local tomatoes, pale orange but for salads. Naturally a wide variety of peppers.

Amontillado sherry for QB. Added some into the coffee, excellent. The sherry was a medium sweet one.

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Monday 10 October
Continued cool

Pipparrak guindillas – fried, equal to padron in taste and quality. Just one dish at lunch. Many others of course.

Afternoon walk around the beach. Off to the wind sculpture. No wind or blow holes today, just too calm.

Piel de sapo melon with some cheese and wine for dinner.

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Sunday 9 October
Continued cool

Moving on. After 9 nights in Biarritz, a town we now both like a lot, we move on. Bobby arrives from Bilbao around the same time, he spent Saturday and part of Sunday in Bilbao.

Fresh red peppers from Espelette, chocolate with caramel from Bayonne, fresh Autumn truffles from Perigord put into vacuum pac to keep them fresh, French cheese infused with truffles in very temporary pac.

Afternoon alsa bus. Easy ride to a wonderful hotel, one of our favorites. Many thanks, once again, to Michelle.

Wandered and ate with Bobby in the old town. Some good eats and excellent company.

Some highlights:

Joselito Iberico jamon. Joselito is a good name; they claim they are the best. Certainly up there, less fatty.

-Mendavia peppers, slightly hot according to the menu. A different pepper, quite nice.
Duck breast, perfectly cooked.

-Wine: Basque, called eklipse itsas mendi, Pinot noir grape. The three of us enjoyed and would order again.

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Saturday 8 October
Cool, no rain

Post office, laundry, chores day. Eating fitted in.

Petit pain. There are five boulongeries close by. Each day we check for petit pain. Only once, until today, have we found more than one, yes one. Today I searched early and scored the last five. No idea if they are becoming extinct or just being sold wholesale for sandwiches.

The post office filled with dogs and skate boards was once again extremely helpful and friendly. Even let me joke in French. Liked it when, after giving us a tracking number, I said I would call her if there was a problem. Offered to come to San Francisco.

Coffee. Went back to our favorite rude place. They did not disappoint. Ordered a express and picked up the small cup to drink while leaving the saucer on the counter. No. Insisted I take the saucer as though I would be slobbering all over his counter.

Huitres and other fine seafood for dinner followed by nose poires (aka abate pears) at least that is what we call them, afterwards.

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Friday 7 October
Like yesterday

Basque village tour day. Five small villages, including Espelette where we are in search of fresh peppers for Bobby, via bus.

Arcangues, Espelette, Ainhoa, Dantcharia, Sugarramundi.

Arcangues. Suburb of Biarritz. Small village with an old church. Family cemetery from 1150, Elinor of Aquitaine time.

Espelette. Good sized village full of tourist places to purchase their products. Good to see the fresh peppers growing. We were just a few weeks early as end October is the festival there. Old houses are charming as is the town.

Ainhoa. Camino town on the Muga route. Did not pass this way. Another cute Basque town with views of the Pyrenees and old houses. QB got a gingerbread shaped pain d'epice. Again lots of pictures for Flickr.

Impressive how well kept these French Basque villages look and are kept. Red roofs, landscaping, clean streets, all houses painted white with red, blue or green shutters and doors.

Dantcharia, border town in Spain. Crossed over without seeing a frontier. Nothing but low cost shops for cigarettes, alcohol, outlet stores, supermarkets, several big ones. Heard no Spanish here. Longest stay of the trip, 40 minutes. Time would have been better spent in Espelette.

Sugarramundi in Spain, a mountain Basque village. Just drove through. Hilly of course as it is the foothills of the Pyrenees, which we remember in excruciating detail.

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Thursday 6 October
Cool, but hot in the sun

Stroll around the beaches after a visit to the tourist office to clear up travel details.

Rome 2 Rio and Google maps had conflicting advice on how to get to San Sebastian on a Sunday. Pesa seemed not to run. The tourist office said "there is only one ONE way!" We got tickets on alsa.

Walked to Bidart. On the way back I looked for the bus station. Asked a local who could not understand my repeated bus questions. Finally: ah, buuus, led to clear instructions.

Ramen dinner, good, with crosne vegetable pronounced crone. A Chinese veggie of long standing. Pic on Flickr.

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5 October Wednesday
Cooler.

Short story that did not make yesterday's blog. At dinner I tried to order fries.
The amazing part is that the restaurant did not sell frites. She said she could go next door and get them for us. Real service.

"You cahn't get theah from heah."

That is, St. Jean de Luz via bus. Short ride, almost walkable, but took two buses. However, we never got there.

First, after endless traffic, we arrived at the train station. After a few wrong attempts we found the correct bus. Waited 25 minutes and the bus pulled up. Door opened and the driver quickly told the pile of us waiting at the bus stop, and I translate: no, bus full, another in 45 minutes.

We left and went back to town for lunch. Basque soup de poisson is the same as any other soup de poisson in France. Good but not different.

Dinner: Parmentier de canard, Belle boeuf et frites. First a ceviche with mango.

Anyone tried Parmentier de canard?

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4 October, Tuesday.
A little cooler, no rain yet.

Bayonne day. Also meeting a professional actress, surfer and rugby player- three interesting encounters.

First an American style breakfast where we met an interesting couple and learned about the bureaucracy of French schools.

She an actor, just below script approval level. He a former professional surfer who could have been a contender but a child, travel and her acting career led to a different life style. He and she are rounding celebs for a heathy eating platform. Today waiting around to pick up their child from school.

Drop off 08:30, pick up at 12:30, drop off again after lunch and repeat pickup. Many papers to be filled out for child physical even though they brought papers from Australia.

A short bus ride away to a larger city, Bayonne, one on a river splitting the city into two parts. The cathedral, of course, is on the grander part.

Bayonne: cathedral started in the 13th and completed in the 19th or 17th depending on your view of the "new" towers. The city is much more Basque than Biarritz. Lots and lots of bridges and remnants of several layers of military walls from the moyen ages, old houses, many painted in Basque colors line the river and city center shopping area.

Pinxos are available though they have a French influence and are different than the Spanish version. Food not laid out to view so no photo.

Several restaurants had piperade with the plat du jour. Also soup de poisson. The bistros are much more French.

The pink ten are free! All hail the pink ten. QB found open toe sandals freeing the somewhat injured and crushed pink ten.

Dinner of raciones, pictured, next to a fun couple. He an ex rugby player and someone who enjoys life large. Both with about as much English as we have French. Wide ranging and challenging conversation for all but a great practice evening with a fun couple. Fortunately it started off well with us explaining that we would be Quebecois if trump won.

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