Free range goats.

Lounging goats.

In the spirit of killing time and getting lost, we decided to take the scenic route from St. Jean Pied de Port to St. Jean de Luz (both in France) via Spain.   We’d been sampling a lot of goat cheese along the way, trying to figure out why it’s so tasty.  We’re guessing it’s the daily workout high in the Pyrenees.

Goat cheese in all its pretty packages.

Prunelle (wild plum) trees.

Jean-Marie.

What trip would be complete without tasting the local brews?  We met Jean-Marie at the daily market, a vendor who introduced us to Patxaran (also spelled Basaran).  As Jean-Marie tells it, Patxaran is an “ancient traditional” Basque liqueur of prunelle and anise.  Prunelle is a native species of “wild” plum.  (I say “wild” because he actually cultivates the trees on his farm in order to produce the liqueur.)  We  dropped by his farm one evening for aperatif and a tour of the prunelle orchard.  Over glasses of his home concoctions, he regaled us with tales of his three months travelling Israel and some key points about Basque political history.  The night ended with a plea for the upcoming U.S. presidential race.  Jean-Marie says, “Please.  Please give Obama more time.  We finally feel like we have a real partner.”  He didn’t quite understand the expression “preaching to the choir” but we promised to do our part.

Jean-Marie’s farm outside Bayonne.

It took a few days, but we found a great apartment in the 18th arrondissement (district) in Paris. Its great because it is nice and big without breaking our budget: 75 square meters one bedroom apartment, which is huge – most places we looked at were in the 40ish sq m. We are close to the metro on two good lines (though most places in Paris are). The area is very diverse with a lot of ethnic food and markets as well as more upscale stores. We rented it from a couple who are traveling to China for three months – exactly the time we needed.  The building is an old one with tall ceilings and a beautiful staircase and hallway. We are on a main street, but have double glazed windows.

There are 6 (if not more) bakeries (we have only tried 3 so far) within 1 block of us. Click here if you want to stroll out neighborhood with Google Street View.

With Pascal. New Year’s 2010.

Thanks to our dear brother Pascal (merci notre frere!), we scored an ocean side studio while we waited to get into our Paris apartment.  Pascal connected us to Michel and Helene, who graciously let us use their vacation studio as a base while we explored the Pyrenees.  Mil eshker, Helene and Michel!!

Breakfast. Well, actually it’s brunch at 5:00.

A “new traditional” Basque home with back yard.

It takes a day or two, but the first thing one notices about the scenery all around Pays Basque is the absence of visual clutter – no neon, no billboards, no heaps of clunker cars or abandoned machinery.  It’s just not there.  Every blink is a postcard.

We loved the distinctive flavor of Basque country.  The architecture, the cheese, the wine and the people all take a hard turn from typical French culture.  Even with all of France’s distinctive regions, Pays Basque feels like a world of its own.

Traditional Basque architecture.

Paris is best after the the summer droves of tourists have gone home.  On our first stroll along the Seine, not a single tourist bus to be seen.

First day in Paris – Along the Seine

We are here !!!  Finally got around to setting up the website, two weeks into our trip. Lots of stuff to report on, but we need some time to collect our thoughts and photographs. Bear with us while we organize the site.

The short story is that we spent the first week in Paris at hotel in St Germain while we looked for an apartment for rent. Once we found one, we took the train down to the southwest of France and spent a week in Pays Basque and the Pyrenees. We are now back in Paris and getting settled in. We’ll post more details of our living situation and our trip in the upcoming week.