Today is 8 May 2019 and on 8 May 1945 General Charles de Gaulle pronounced Victoire 1945 WWII Victory Day in France and Europe. As we crossed over the French border a few times back and forth with our driver/guide Irene we heard bands playing and once the French National Anthem and now we know why - google knows a lot!!!
First stop Saint Jean de Luz, France - on the French Basque coast: When a marriage was arranged between King Louis XIV at age 18 and Maria Theresa of Spain (actually a Hapsburg - very complicated royalty) who was 14 he chose this town to build a huge church and have their wedding. His father King Louis XIII died when he was 6 so he was a young king and apparently had 18 mistresses - wowie kazowie.
And this is then church and it happened to have a mass going on when we dropped in and there is a LOT of gold!
This was the door where they entered the church and after the ceremony it was walled in so noone else would ever enter through that place.
Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, decided she wanted a little weekend retreat so she built a castle on the beach in this town of Biarritz which because a weekend retreat for royalty. The Palace she built is now a hotel and it was closed for renovation for a few weeks and it was a little rainy this day so we walked around the town pretty quickly.
King Louis IV decided at 18 he wanted to get married in this town to 14 year old Maria Theresa of Spain and they were double first cousins!!! Gives new meaning to "keep it in the family"! He built a big church for the wedding and a small palace where he could stay a while before and she had her own about a block away. Wow - lotta money in the royal families!
A monument to Victoire Day 8 May 1945 when WWII was over in France and we happened to be there on this holiday with bands all over on the streets.
Chilly day but the Basque coast beaches are beautiful.
Biarritz famous resort on the French Basque Coast. In 1854 Empress Eugenie the wife of Napoleon III built a Ilbiaritz Castle on the beach for a "summer cabin". It is now called the Hotel du Palais, is currently closed for renovation until late fall but the rooms look like they are well over $500 at the cheapest!!!
Yes, this was the land of pirates who invaded the whalers on their fishing boats and robbed them. I'm not sure if they robbed the money, gear and stuff as how could they steal a whale?
One more beautiful church for sure and even I am entranced by the beauty of each and every one or else Ross has dominated my brain!
Next stop - Espelette, France or "Pepper town" as it is surrounded by farmers who grow the famous peppers (piment d'Espelette in French) and the peppers are displayed on many buildings as artwork and people travel from all over for the peppers.
We did make a little stop at one of the stores as I spotted nougat (candy which I have loved my whole life) and who would think this but they had pepper nougat and other kinds plus pepper jam, pepper wine and all things pepper. I did buy quite a lot of 2 kinds of nougat after the tastings they provided.
Yes indeed this is a hotel decorated with peppers. We have had the best couple doing tours for us and today was Irene, Zach's wife, and she explains so well and we can stop and gaze at whatever we like and she likes the free samples too!
Next stop on the Basque country coast was the town of Hondarribia in Spain and if you looked across the water we could see France.
We stopped for a little pinxto bar snack (pronounced peenchoh) and we treated Irene and for 3 of us with beverages (Coke, Beer, Coffee) plus the snacks it was 12 Euros which is about $13 or so.
I love the colors of the buildings in this town. The Spanish towns have different colors than the French towns and several years ago we stayed in Bordeaux just north of here but we did not make it down to Basque country. So now I can check something else off my bucket list!
This fortress has walls about 10 feet thick and was built as a defence with cannons, spears and a lot of protection as it was right on the coast and an easy target. It was originally built in the 10th century (about the year 980) by the King of Navarre region of Spain. It is now a Parador which is unique to Spain and funded by the government and in historical or cultural spaces. Irene says a lot of things are free but paid for by the local taxes and I agreed with her that tourists should be paying at least something to visit many sites to help the locals.
We had a little rain today but mostly while we were in the car so we have been darn lucky!
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