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| Paris In Sites Newsletter Direct From France Edited by Linda Thalman Travel & Leisure Articles |
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French & Spanish Basque Region, Andalusia, Northern Morocco- July 2004
In late July 2004 we took a 5,000 kilometers driving trip from Paris to Rabat, Morocco and back home,
greatly enjoying the French and Spanish Basque region, Andalusia and northern Morocco.
The French Basque region has oh so many quaint villages and gorgeous scenery - very worth the visit.
You will want to visit Espelette, Sare, Aïnhoa and St-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
I have had the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao - in the Spanish Basque region - on my 'must visit'
list for several years and it was one of our travel goals this summer.
But, the long and the short of it is: if you like contemporary art
and architecture, the museum is a must.
If modern art is not your cup of tea, give the museum a miss.
The Bilbao Guggenheim was slightly disappointing in not having all that
much on display. We looked at everything - carefully - in less than 2 hours.
The old town, while a bit quiet in August, was indeed great fun for its
tapas.
It is not to be missed if your travels take you to Bilbao in Spain.
In France this region is also called the Pyrénée-Atlantiques made up of
le Labourd, la basse Navarre and la Soule.
In Spain, Euskadi includes three provinces: Guipúzcoa, Biscaye and Bilbao and Alava,
with Vitoria as the capital of the autonomous basque region.
From large cities to quaint villages, superb countryside, mountains and rivers to - of course,
fabulous food and wine, the Basque Country is more than worth the detour!
We found the people ever so friendly and welcoming.
Espellette has to be my favorite village, but not to be missed also include Sare,
Ainhoa and St-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
On the return trip had a quick look round of Vitoria and a simple lunch with the
fastest and friendliest waitress of our trip.
Below some details in French on Sare and Aïnhoa for your reading pleasure.
De sa situation, elle doit son surnom de "Gauazko-Lana" (travail de la nuit en langue basque).
En effet, dans cette
commune frontalière, la contrebande était à la fois un sport, une tradition et une nécessité économique.
Avec l’avènement de l’Europe, l’activité a cessé.
Le village possède des maisons du XVIIème et XVIIIème
siècles de style basque, remarquablement décorées. Sur la place, le fronton, théâtre de nombreuses
parties de pelote, est un des hauts lieux historiques de ce sport.
Cette bastide fondée au XIIIème siècle par les
Prémontés, servait d’étape aux pèlerins en direction de St Jacques de Compostelle.
La rue principale, bordée
de maisons typiquement basques, débouche sur une place où est édifiée une église remarquable par son choeur
en boiseries dorées, son retable et ses galeries.
Les murs des maisons sont passés à la chaux chaque année.
Les colombages et volets sont peints en vert ou rouge "sang de boeuf".
Autrefois, ils étaient vraiment passés au sang de boeuf. Cette pratique permettait de protéger le bois des intempéries.
For regional products and the kindest, most helpful, friendliest shopkeeper I've met in ages,
take time to talk with Francisco - who speaks excellent English.
He not only advised us on wine, olive oil and hams, but had bottles of wine open
for tasting and bottles of olive oil for sniffing.
He delighted in sharing his wares for the pure pleasure and we left
with so many bags we had to take a taxi back to our hotel.
La Oliva trésors gastronomiques is not to be missed.
La Oliva - La tienda de los sibaritas / A shop for Epicures
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Ongi Etorri - and welcome to the Basque Country. What a wonderful region of France this is!
While we only scratched the surface on our trip by car to Morocco and back, the French and
Spanish basque country is marvelous.
Sare est située dans une enclave française qui s’enfonce dans la Navarre Espagnole.
Aïnhoa se compte parmi l’un des plus beaux villages de France.
If there's one shop to visit in Granada Spain it has to be La Oliva.
General Information
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Linda Thalman
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Email – Linda@wfi.fr
Web Address – http://www.parisinsites.com/
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