July 8, 2006 We made another trip to Cancun prior to this summer trip. So we stacked up international trips fairly close this year. It was a business trip that took us to Cancun, and we had a great time at Moon Palace. It’s a huge place but it’s first class and we would probably stay there again if the opportunity ever presented itself. We took a side trip on that visit to Isla Mujeres. There’s a little bit to see there but not too much. It’s always a nice little getaway from Cancun though. Now we are in Bort-Les-Orgues France and with family. We are four days away from heading back to the US so I need to go back and recap the first eight days here and catch up!
On July 1 and second, our departure took us from Norfolk to Dallas to Paris. That is a long way to do the journey! I think I have learned to travel these distances well mentally. My back, however, has issues and some of these airline seats! We were on time with our arrival into Paris with reasonable weather. Terminal 2B at Charles de Gaulle was under siege from construction, so finding Karine‘s silver Peugeot 206 diesel among the many silver Peugeot 206s was not easy. After loading up at the arrivals ramp, we took a different way out of Paris to get down into the center of France. We still hit traffic once we circumnavigated the south east of Paris and hit the toll auto routes. We probably had an hour and a half of traffic delays. I know that sounds like a lot but that’s actually pretty mild when leaving Paris. It’s just ridiculous traffic leaving there. The seven hours did include a nice picnic at a rest area along the way.
On July 3 and fourth we just hung out and ate good food at home. We hiked up to the organ pipes (Les Orgues) and took a longer way back jogging on the fourth. Strange not to hear any fireworks on July 4! On the fifth we actually drove down to Michelle’s place in Saint Paul de Loubressac for the drive on into Bayonne the next day. We swam in their swimming pool and ate in the country setting. Very nice.
July 5 and 6 were spent in the Pays Basque region. The first stop was Bayonne. The town is bisected by the rivers Nive and Adour. It’s encompassed by ramparts of many centuries past. Exiled Jews have brought chocolate, while the Basque people have their cured hams and sheep’s milk cheeses to mingle with seafood from the coast. It is a nice little town, and it is a bit like a coastal version of Arles for me. The gardens are lovely and the winds are calm here, which means I may have liked it better. Remembering back to the first time I’ve visited Arles, the Mistral winds were unbelievable.
Biarritz was our next stop down the coast, and it was pretty nice. The town was covered with hydrangea of all different colors blooms. A rock formation called Rocher de la Vierge to the south and the lighthouse to the north frame the town nicely. All the tourist traps in the city are a quick stroll away! We stayed back in the Bayonne are... north of town by about 10 roundabouts in a country home called a Chambre d’Hote. It cost €65 for the three of us and included a very nice breakfast of homemade bread’s and jams and coffee.
The next day we drove to St. Jean de Luz and things became very Basque. Lots of Xs and As in the words. I liked the town, but there were more chic and snobby people there in my view. Most of them older and with an unfortunate air of entitlement. The fishing industry is the only real work that is left there outside of tourism. We visited a couple of sites that were nice... Maison de L’Infante and the Eglise. We then drove a little south to Hendaye and took the ferry across the harbor to the Spanish side and the Basque town of Hondarribia. Both of these towns were quiet and clean little yachting communities.
So today, July 8, the weather is superb. The girls are peeling rhubarb for a tart while Elise organizes her medications. Daniel is working odd jobs all over the place around the house, as is his custom. I have only seen him wear a shirt at dinner time for this entire trip! I spend most of my idol time journaling and reading novels.
On July 10 and 11th we headed back into Paris. Paris is a true dichotomy! Yesterday we did a bike tour in the city during the day and saw quite a few sites from the Louvre westward. Champs du Mars/Tour Eiffel & Monument Deportacion among them. We also went to the Notre Dame. This is my first summer visit here and the crush of people is amazing compared to the offseason. Today is the 11th as I write this entry, and here is the dichotomy. I am in a metro train one minute face-to-face with all kinds of people from around the globe... a cultural melting pot. I exit the Metro train to a string octet strumming Bach in the subway tunnel that sounds so beautiful people crowd around to listen. The music drifts for hundreds of meters as you exit the tunnel. As I continue to hear the music I walked by a beggar sobbing on the hot black, painted, concrete floor. Now I'm about to exit the tunnel at street level at the Arc de Triomphe, a true work of art. All of this happened in just a few hundred steps. Earlier I walked into a beautiful garden near Saint Michele. While just a moment ago I walked into a shit hole melange of ethnic eateries in a neighborhood called Belleville. It was filthy. Paris has a way of inspiring you just before it bludgeons you senseless.
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