The Basque Region

At the end of August, I spent a week in Biarritz, France, which is on the Atlantic coast just above Spain.  I was there for a conference, so I didn't get to see too much of the city.  The conference center overlooked the beach nicely.

I had wanted to go to Biarritz for some time.  My college French professor always talked about how she spent summers there with her family.  She made Biarritz sound beautiful.  It is.

I had never been to the Basque region before, but I know now that I need to go back.  The buildings are beautiful.  The food is delicious (French with a Spanish influence).

I took a boat trip departing from the small town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz.  I could see Spain from the boat.  More specifically, I could see the Pyrenees, but in reality, I saw the French side of the Pyrenees and Spain was on the other side.

Because I knew hardly anyone at the conference, and the few people that I did know weren't on that particular excursion, I wandered around the town alone.  I got to eat large amounts of gelato and stand with my feet in the ocean.  I climbed a hill in order to get a good view of the city, only to find that the past inhabitants of Saint-Jean-de-Luz decided to give their dead the best view of the city.

The days of the conference were long.  I met a lot of good people, hopefully good connections for my future.  The talk that I gave seemed to be well-received, so who knows what will happen.

Since I hardly got to know the town, I will have to go back.  Especially since my souvenirs got stolen, but we'll get to that in a few posts.