Lunch in San Sebastian

Set off for the Coast this morning, with the intention to visit a couple of towns or cities either side of the border and have lunch.  Our momentum carried us first to San Sebastian (just south of the border), where we got tied up in knots by Garmin and worried about missing lunch.  But not to worry!  Parked the car, walked in the rain to an area rich with restaurants and selected "La Muralla."  Turned out to be a great choice-- the 24 Euro menu included an aperitif, appetizer, main and dessert, plus coffee and wine.  Betty was having fish and I ordered steak, so it was white wine for her and red for me.  Next thing you know, here comes the waitress with our wine-- a bottle of white for Betty and a bottle of red for me!  Two further points.  1) neither of us finished our bottles and 2) our day was over, with the only two tasks remaining-- to find the car in the immense underground parking garage with multiple entrances and to drive the 90 minutes home.  The first was pretty tough.  The second came off without a hitch.

Here's a couple of shots of San Sebastian:

But I really like this shot of a small river we crossed on the way home in the fading light:

 

Espagne!

As it turned out, we did hop in the car and set off yesterday afternoon to explore a bit of ski country.  In the process, we actually did make it into Spain, but with the EU, there's no longer any border crossings-- didn't even have a sign.  The road signs did change, however-- from French and Basque to Spanish and Basque!  From home to the top of the pass, the temp dropped from about 65 degrees to one degree above freezing - and windy.  Only a matter of 30 - 35 kilometers, but not a straight one in the bunch.  And the views!

 

 

I'm also going to try to post a video here-- cross your fingers!

 

 



 

 

I'll put some more pics up on Snapfish.  Also, some more of the outside of the house and the cemetary at the local church (taken on our way out of town)-- yesterday was Toussaints! 

The House

We were going to venture out today, after 3 days of concentrated paper grading on Betty's part.  Then discovered that today is a national holiday (All Saints' Day) and it's probable that everything, including most restaurants, are closed.  So, we're going to have a reading day-- a "for fun" reading day!  So what you get is the house.

So, this is what the house looks like in Mendy.  When Alastair and Louise bought it, the roof was caved in and it was in pretty rough shape.  They lived in a trailer for the first 18 months while renovating.  I haven't got any pics of the inside, simply because we managed to clutter it up so quickly.

The house is attached to a large, two-story barn.  The original idea was to convert the barn and make the place into a B&B, but apparently, it's too far off the beaten track to make that pay. 

The first floor of the house is open, kitchen, dining and living room.  Second floor, 3 bedrooms and a large bathroom.  Third floor, master with plans to add a bath.  There is another bathroom in a room on the first floor between the house and the barn, which holds the washing machine, dishwasher, hot water heater, etc.



Another detached barn on the property, strictly storage so far.

And the vegetable garden





 

 

Pyrenees Atlantique

Drove down here on Thursday and spent the night in a lovely B&B in Mauleon, a town just north of Idaux-Mendy, where our house sit is.  The scene above is the view from our bedroom window at the B&B.  One other thing about the B&B-- can anyone tell me where one is supposed to pour the coffee?

Yes--- in the soup bowl!

Alastair, Louise, Charlie and Olivia didn't leave until about 4:30 this afternoon, so we spent the morning driving through the mountains to St. Jean Pied-de-Port.  Beautiful village, just 8 kilos from the Spanish border.  Had a lovely lunch and didn't make it to the border (another day.)

 

 And it was a grey day. But the Pyrenees are beautiful! We stopped along the highway at several pullouts, gasping at the scenery as the valleys and peaks unfolded along the way.

At one point, we heard bells clanging and thought, "Goats? Cows?" So we hiked 50 yards up the road where a pasture (if you can call a nearly vertical field a pasture) opened up and sure enough-- cows. (Supposed to be a video here, but can't get it to upload.  Maybe later.)

 

And, finally, our primary charge for the next two weeks, Izzy.

More photos of the mountains here.
  

The Bastides

The Bastides are a series of fortified towns built generally on the top of hills throughout the countryside.  Georgeous, lots of character.  Had lunch in one.  Here's some pics.

Tomorrow, off to the Pyrenees Atlantique!

Lascaux

 

 

Went to Lascaux today to see the caves.  Unfortunately, because of deterioration caused by visiting hoards, the actual caves have been closed to the public since 1963.  But they have duplicated a good part of the original, including the actual shapes and contours of the rock, as well as the paintings, in an amazing replica.  Sorry, no pics allowed.  But some pretty amazing art from 17,000 years ago!

 

Spent the rest of the day wandering along the rivers Vezere and Dordogne.  Can't share the wine, but here's a couple of pics.

 

 

 



Les Eyzies

This small village, which lies along the River Vezere, hosts the National Museum of PreHistoire.  This area contains many prehistoric artifacts and caves where some of the earliest examples of prehistoric art still exist.  We'll get to the caves in the next couple of days.  Meanwhile, wandered the museum, the upper reaches which are in the picture above.  Lots of bones (pre-human and otherwise), tools, weapons, etc.  Couldn't take any pics in the museum-- sorry.  But here's more of us enjoying the village.

But I wanted to include Betty with what she insists is the biggest bottle of Mouton Cadet she's ever seen:

and a very picturesque roadside pullout-- who sez the French language is rigid?

Beynac & Castelnaud

Today it was castles along the Dordogne River.  Actually, these are fortifications built by the French and the English in the 11th and 12th centuries on either side of the river, then passed back and forth numerous times during the 100 Years War.

Beynac

 

Very cool.  Lots of pics, which include the surrounding village, one of Mom's new friends, etc.  Note that you can see Castelnaud (other side of the river) from the ramparts.



(Long zoom to Castelnaud)

Then lunch

 

Yes, that's a whole bottle of wine.  A beautiful restaurant, Belle Etoile, which had been recommended by our host.  Expensive?  Yes.  Worth it?  Absolutely.  Overlooking the river, great service, excellent meal.  Foie gras apps, then rack of lamb for me and duck breast for Mom, and a gorgeous brie for dessert.  Check this out:

 

 

Amazingly, we were still awake and continued on to

Castelnaud

 

Another amazing castle/fort, built on and into the rock cliffs, surrounded by a picturesque village.  Got caught in the rain at the end and got soaked.  Oh, well...   More pics.



Sarlat

Visited Sarlat, an old fortified city, today (I guess all the cities and villages around here qualify as "old," don't they?)  Wednesday is their market day-- not too impressive, but it's out of season here.  Lots of foie gras, etc.  Had a great lunch (foie gras, cassoulet, creme caramel) and wandered around.  Bought a gluten-free almond cake (yumm!) and a French extension cord, the problem being a severe shortage of outlets in 13th century houses!

Mom got up at 3AM to watch the debate online, so we quit kind of early today.  Hopefully, we'll get some blogging started soon.

Pics of Sarlat.

Southwest France Fall 2012

 

 

Early AM, October 13, 2012.

Enroute

 

 



Our B&B, about halfway between Paris and the Dordogne.  Kathy and Martin were great hosts (she's American, he's British.)  Had a wonderful meal and an overall great evening - sort of like dropping in on old friends.  We'll be stopping here again on the way North.

Meyrals

 

 Our village in the countryside. Pretty, very small.  About 10 miles from the river.

More Pics here



La Ruche



 

 

This is our house.  We think it dates from the 13th century.  You can see the worn steps in the hall.

More Pics here

The Dordogne

 

 

Just a taste.

More Pics here