rex

Part 1 - - the plan.

Prologue: as the "first" paragraph (below} states, there are numerous links to webpages on www.geocities.com/rexbickers - - but as of this initial posting, they are not there yet. I'll post an update when they are.

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Beginning: A longer and more detailed version of this trip report can be found at www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MayJune2005trip.htm with pictures and additional links. Much of this report was written - - with pen and paper - - (in first draft, at least), on the flight home, from Paris to Detroit.

I am grateful to many contributors at Travel Talk for advice and discussion. For fear of forgetting someone, I’ll give credit and thanks on the aforementioned geocities page, since I can always edit that (for any omissions).

The spark of an idea for this trip began with an announcement of a too-good-to-be-true deal: round-trip to Paris (<b>in May/June!</b for <u>$99</u> each way (plus roughly $103 in taxes)... from Rockford, Illinois - - see http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34613479 for details.

And it set a “theme” for the trip - - what kind of “budget” trip, all the while entirely enjoyable, could I plan for “fifty (euros) a day” in <i>Western</i> Europe?

I was torn over planning an itinerary, because I have had in my head - - for some time now - - a trip plan for 12-18 days, to the southwest of France and the northwest of Spain. We <u>had</u> to fly into and return from Paris, because of the airfare deal. And my wife and I have had an agreement “on the table” for a year or so - - our next trip (or several) ought to be an attempt at a short(er) trip - - to see how we like a “getaway”, with a reduced impact on our everyday lives. I proposed five nights (<u>in</u> Europe); she agreed without hesitation.

With the help of - - and in a substantial way - - <i>in spite of</i> a bit of useful discussion, advice and itinerary critique, a plan was set.

Day 1 - arrive in Paris; travel by rented car; overnight in the Loire valley.

Day 2 - drive to Perigord; night 2 near the Dordogne river.

Day 3 - most of the day in the Dordogne; drive onward to the Basque country of Spain (night in San Sebastian).

Day 4 - most of the day in San Sebastian; relocate for the night “nearer” Bilbao.

Day 5 - most of the day in Bilbao; drive back in the evening for an overnight train from Biarritz to Paris.

Day 6 - an abbreviated morning “taste of Paris” before heading back to the airport for our 2 pm flight back home.

A day-by-day description follows as parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

rex

Part 2 - - from Indiana to the Loire valley, and day one in France.

The flight from Rockford made the travel from home to Europe a little more complicated; even so, it really went without a single hitch. I didn’t quite follow my “usual plan” for reducing &quot;arrival day fatigue-and-time-zone adjustment&quot; (aka &quot;jet lag&quot - - but I did make good use of some techniques, both new and old (for me)... see a sidebar at www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part2.htm - - and on arrival, I felt like I had gotten a decent night’s sleep (well, kind of), even in coach class.

Good thing. We had three hours to drive - - <i>and</i>... getting the rental car (from www.autoeurope.com - - a Renault Megane <i>Scenic</i> at Europcar) seemed a little slow - - not to mention the traffic to traverse Paris.

Still, it was a good drive. In later parts of the trip report, I’ll be honest... not <u>every</u> drive was a “good” drive.

To set a pattern for this trip report, I’ll try to identify, for each day, a “best thing of the day” - - and in the end, rank them.

Our first stop, Chenonceaux, was clearly the best thing of the day. We were not too tired to enjoy it; the skies were a perfect, cloud-dotted, crystal blue with perfect sunshine at 72 degrees. I’ll post a link, for those who want to read more about Chenonceaux, as well as our pictures at www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part2a.htm

Bottom line - - I <u>like</u> Chenonceaux. A lot. Clearly excellent... and... based on a short U-trip spin through the town that bears the same name, this would probably a very good place for an overnight stay.

We still had a considerable drive for our overnight stay at Le Relais du Chateau - - www.logisdefrance.com - - in the town of Oiron (about 15-20 km from Loudun). Not technically <u>in</u> the Loire valley, just enough south of Saumur to be in Poitou-Charentes, it was excellent in every way except (I guess I have to confess) - - location.

It’s a bit too far south, and west, and I cannot recommend it as a base for the Loire valley. I had chosen this place for two reasons: it put us further “down the road” for our next day, Dordogne-bound, and in keeping with the “50-a-day” motif, it looked quite attractive yet still an excellent bargain. More detailed description is at www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part2b.htm

Bottom line: delightful place, excellent (half-board) meal and especially warm/personal service. Superb value at 69 euros (dinner and breakfast included). Spartan room. Location less than ideal, given our plans, and most likely yours, if you are exploring the Loire valley or even in transit to destinations further south.

rex

Part 3 - - Too much driving. From Oiron to Limeuil at the confluence of the Vezere and Dordogne rivers.

I won’t try to sugar coat it. I blatantly defied my own customary advice: “See where you are more. Move around less.” Others advised against an itinerary this strenuous. This day came close to proving them right.

In fact, because of the driving, day 2 almost didn’t have a “best thing of the day” at all. Lunch at Brantome comes closest - - or perhaps at a tie - - dinner at our hotel on a hillside overlooking Limeuil. There are, in fact (just barely) only two other things to describe at all.

We slept fairly late, and decided that a little detour to the town of Richelieu would be worthwhile. It <u>is</u> worthwhile. I could readily recommend a day, or even better, an overnight stay here. It’s a world heritage site - - the entire town - - enclosed in its centuries-old walls and it features a pleasant-enough looking place to stay... on the website www.bienvenue-au-chateau.com (in fact, this is one of the very few lodging choices that is <u>in</u> a town on that website).

The tourist office gave us a lot of useful stuff, and it held up to what I had always envisioned of the town - - a very good enclave, particularly for someone who wants plenty to see and do <u>on foot</u> in the Loire valley.

Still... I base this... on all of about 25 minutes there. We had miles and miles to go that day.

For what it’s worth. I would never actually recommend “tackling” the Loire valley without a car or a tour bus (if that’s your kind of thing)...

...but... if you <i>must</i>...

I’m guessing that it was about 2 and 1/2 hours to Brantome. Around Poitiers. Around Angouleme. Probably interesting places to see. I don’t know; we had to keep the hammer down. We chose Brantome somewhat on the fly, based on the two page description, in our Dordogne guidebook (from Hachette Vacances). Chances are, I would like it for a half day or more. It sits on the river Dronne with a half dozen (nearly impassable) streets converging at the abbey and its monumental square tower, sitting on an enormous granite monolith. It was a fairly lively place on a sunny Saturday afternoon. We could afford to give it an hour, and it was easy enough, both to park and to find a centrally located place for lunch at a leisurely pace (this included a glass of Pineau de Charentes - - thanks, elaine - - but there <i>are</i> other sweet wines I like better, actually).

There was still a hefty drive on into the Perigord “proper” before us - - just to reach Perigueux, in the northwest of the Perigord.

And you can <u>not</u> just “buzz in” to a city the size of Perigueux, like you can Brantome. Or at least not with the expectation of getting anything meaningful out of it. In our “original” (mental) plan for the day, I suppose we would have gotten to Perigueux by noon. At 4:30 in the afternoon, it was simply a bad allocation of time.

Onward towards Limeuil. The route comes naturally to Les Eyzies first (the “world capital of prehistoric man”), and so naturally, we had to get out and take a look. If we had not careened around through the streets of Perigueux, we might have been able to actually see something. The <i>Musee du Prehistoire</i> had closed just minutes earlier, and we noted the Sunday hours, thinking we would like to come back the next day. We didn’t, and I would still like to do so, some day.

Even so, the stop was not entirely a loss. Right in “the center of town”, there are (at least) two <i>caves de vin</i>, and after all, wine-shopping <u>was</u> on our agenda for this trip. At the first shop, the proprietor was indifferent to our presence (too close to closing on a Saturday evening, perhaps) - - whereas, at the second, our hostess was as effusive and happy to see us as the first had been reserved. She wasted no time offering us tastes of two local choices she already had open (in the cooler) - - a Monbazillac, the sweet white, (<i>moelleux</i>, almost sirop-y) local specialty, and an aperitif de <i>chataigne</i> (chestnut), caramel-y, good, still very sweet and - - bottom line - - not what I had come seeking.

This is lengthy already; I’ll summarize my successful tasting(s) and purchase(s) at www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part3a.htm

The drive to Limeuil wrapped up, in short order our way-too-many miles day two. I’ll give an account of Les Terrasses de Beauregard (also a Logis de France) at www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part3b.htm

Short summary: a beautiful, panoramic terrace vista, overlooking the Dordogne from up on high; dinner “pretty good” (demi-pension again), room above average, location satisfactory for exploring the Dordogne.

rex

Part 4 - - A phenomenal Dordogne day, crammed into 8 hours, followed by an exhausting drive to Spain.

I’ll describe this day in chronologic order, but what the heck, I’ll skip to the very best part first - - www.air-chateaux.com - - the highlight of the day, and indeed, the “way-out-in-front” number one choice for the best in the “best-thing-of-the-day” sweepstakes. You <u>must</u> do this.

We made a choice of the 20 minute <i>circuit</i> at 130 euro (for two people, also available at 147 euro for three people) - - and yes, that’s expensive (and this is supposed to be a budget trip!) - - but I insist, if you cannot afford it, then scrimp on something else. You will not regret it (for what it’s worth, two people might easily spend that at La Plume d’Oie or La Belle Etoile for dinner; both are recommended unflinchingly on Fodors - - for my money, I am happy with our decision to take to the air over Castelnaud, Beynac, Sarlat, and a whole lot more). Truly <i>exceptional</i>.

The day had actually begun with multiple gold stars in the weekly market (Sunday morning - - seems unusual to me) at St. Cyprien - - about halfway between Limeuil and the better known towns of Beynac and La Roque Gageac. We liked it a lot, and made several purchases. More description at www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part4a.htm

From earlier posts on Fodors, before we left on this trip, (some of) you may know that we <i><b>had</b></i> planned to see this stretch of the Dordogne from the level of the river - - in a canoe - - available at several locations along the river's “best” 10-15 miles of towering chateaux.

But we had agonized over the decision. Four hours - - the minimum time frame to get something out of canoeing - - in that length of time, we could include (at least minimally) an excursion to Rocamadour, for example.

We knew (from other posts on Fodors, and from our guidebooks) that various offerings, to ride the river, on a <i>gabare</i> might be a satisfactory substitute. And then we saw the sign for Air-Chateaux. They have a “catch-your-attention” location just outside of La Roque Gageac - - and they have <u>some</u> aircraft there. Ultralights? One person? Two? And something kind of in-between those and “regular” planes? It didn’t matter; they might have just as well been “rent-a-MIG”s - - NOT something we could easily try.

But a teenager was manning a booth there with a <i>liste des tarifs</i> and within minutes, he went to find <i>William</i>, the <i>aviateur</i>, and he was readily assuring - - could he take the two of us? <i>Bien sur</i>. In a Cessna. 172. Here are the prices. Be at the airstrip of Sarlat-Domme at 1400 <i>heures</i>, this afternoon. The deal was set.

We were excited, apprehensive, and a little bit dumbstruck - - it sounded too good to be true.

It did leave us enough time to try the gabare at La Roque Gageac. We filled out a boat of about a dozen (English) sightseers, and our guide - - a local who had tried ex-patriate life in England for 20 years, and was now back home - - did a nice job within the confines of the 55 minutes up-and-back trip.

Getting to the airstrip required a drive smack through the center of Domme. Of the places I have mentioned so far in the Dordogne - - if you can only visit one, (<i>sur terre</i - - then make it this one. The vistas are (I think) as close as you can get to seeing it from an airplane (to be fair, we did not get up into chateau de Beynac, nor chateau Castelnaud, for comparison sake). There are shops, artists, inns and restaurants galore, within the walls of this ancient <i>bastide</i>. A full 24 hours there would not be too much. If you didn’t come by car, I suppose a taxi could bring you. Again, I don’t really see why you would travel to the Dordogne without a car.

Our trip into the skies with William deserves its own trip report - - indeed, best told in pictures - - so I will direct you there on www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part4b.htm

This is serious advice: do this. Let me repeat: do this.

Regrettably, we knew that we had left ourselves a four hour drive, beginning at 4 pm, to get to San Sebastian. But what the heck, that’s just barely beginning to be dinner time in Spain, right?

<u>Ugg</u>. Circumnavigating Bordeaux (even just one-fourth its periphery) on Sunday at 6 pm was a disaster. Like Los Angeles. I am not kidding you. And it’s terribly bad highway planning - - coming in from Bergerac leaves no choice but to cram in on the clogged three lanes required for <u>any</u> car headed (back?) to Paris, or to Toulouse, or to Biarritz and Spain. <i>Merde</i>.

So... it was more like 9 pm when we got to San Sebastian. Now, let me tell you... my wife is a <u>very</u> capable navigator, and we had a good map. But as darkness fell, in an unending (light) rain, and too many streets one way or torn up for construction, we felt defeated.

Finally, we resorted to the time-tested “flag down a cab” and asked if we could follow him there. Six euros well spent - - but still frustrating. Once we were settled in at www.hostalbahia.com and had parked the car (the hostal is contracted with a secure 0700-2400 garage only a block away), we just wanted simplicity for dinner.

Better hurry! - - the desk clerk told us - - San Sebastian may have bars open late, but not so much its restaurants. So, in the interest of time-saving, we had him call us a taxi, and we were dropped off at the edge of the <i>parte vieja</i>; we settled for the first decent thing we saw. Cerveceria Gambrinus (a bar <i>con</i> restaurant) had a small crowd of patrons watching two different <i>futbol</i> games (time-delayed? the sun was shining wherever/whenever these games were playing) - - and at least they served us a decent meal at a fair price.

Having gone there by taxi, we figured could “walk off” our late night supper. A good mile, I would say. In rain that continued unrelentingly (even if it was just a light drizzle). It was an acceptable ending (just barely) to what had been an extraordinary day in the Dordogne. We readily collapsed.

rex

Part 5 - - San Sebastian and its nearby coast.

(And for those of you are curious) - - this was my first real writing break - - about two continuous hours of handwriting so far, on the plane (there’s going to be a longer version of this? really?)

Quite a bit later - - not possible to finish on the flight, as we were to land in 37 minutes, but here goes... (turbulence and all)!

I don’t know if I speak for my wife as much as for myself... or not... but after breakfast on Monday, I thought to myself “Okay, I’ll venture out into San Sebastian, but it may take me a while to warm up to this city.” Why does everyone like it so much? Maybe I just don’t like cities all that much, at least initially...

It was just 3 or 4 blocks to el Catedral del Buen Pastor, one of the chief landmarks in downtown San Sebastian (other than La Concha beach, and the two small mountains that guard its inlet). I found the cathedral underwhelming. Normally, I like churches and cathedrals quite a bit, for their architecture. I though I would find something specifically Spanish or Basque to admire. Unless that something is <i>austerity</i> (in the interior, especially), well... I’m just not getting it.

Towards the beach (La Kontxa, or La Concha). It’s overcast (but no rain, at least) - - even so, I’m starting to get the picture of what’s attractive here. Where else does a substantial city have geography like this - - an awesome beach, when the sun is out, no doubt - - right in the heart of “downtown”? Unique at a minimum.

We walked around through the Parte Vieja a bit more. Not feeling very enthusiastic about writing this, so it’s probably not going to be interesting to read either. I’ll fast forward. One practical note before leaving the city - - the tourist information office seems quite austere (also) and not very helpful, in the event you like to check out these kinds of things, on arriving into a city. Our Hostal Bahia had as much and/or better info than this.

But redemption was just 10 km away in Hernani, on the outskirts of San Sebastian. We had struck out on several museums that might have potentially interested us (Museo Balenciaga in Getaria, for example - - not open today) and thus, with only so-so conviction, we decided to head for Museo Eduardo Chillida.

Chillida is the favorite son, and the most prolific sculptor (to excess, perhaps?) in the Basque country, and maybe in all of Spain. I had seen some photographs of his better known works - - large scale geometric/abstract forms of iron or stone on rocky beachscapes. Am I that cynical? Thinking... “so what?”... again?

I decide I’ll keep an open mind as we approached the grassy fields of the “museum” and began walking up its gentle slopes. One here I like, and maybe there one - - and then we arrive at the &quot;farmhouse&quot; - - and a grip seemed to just take me in. Maybe it was the farmhouse itself - - it really is spectacular with its ceilings open way up, 30 feet at least, and I love post-and-beam (timber frame) construction. But it was much more than that. I took at least 20 or 30 pictures from lots of angles, and different distances (these are very big sculptures, in some cases). And though it was only 2 pm, I knew then that this was today’s “best thing of the day”. More (especially the pictures) on www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part5a.htm

Not that we planned a whole lot more for the day. The <i>casa rural</i> which we had chosen from www.nekatur.net - - Garro - - was not that far away. We tried driving a little bit of the coast. The sun came out and rewarded us richly on the corniche from Zarautz to Getaria - - we actually drove it there and back and there again, trying to settle on a restaurant (less than 10 km each way), and finally found a little (unnamed?) place at the fishing harbor of Getaria. A first experience with grilled sardines (about four times the size of anything I have ever seen canned in America). More at www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part5b.htm

So, then onward to casa <i>Garro</i> in the little upland town of Munitibar. Oh... and these are serious <u>up</u>lands. Very reminiscent of driving in the Sierra foothills from Sacramento towards Placerville, or from Auburn towards Reno (if you know that part of California).

Choosing a B&amp;B like this inevitably means a test of asking, and getting directions, with no expectation of English spoken or understood. More than most, Garro required this of us, and yet, the town is small enough, that fortunately, I guess everyone knows the place, and we were directed successfully back the little unmarked road to their house.

The pictures on www.nekatur.net were accurate, and I really love this place. An excellent combination of stone and hundred(s)-years old exposed beams - - with just the right modernization (i.e., plumbing, electricity, good hot water!) - - and yet amazingly, right in the center of the bathroom is a great structural support beam of at least 10 x 10 inches!

Of course, a place like this is all about the personality of the homeowner(s). Evidently Sra Etxebarria Bilbao lives there with her husband and son (we learned a little more at breakfast the next day, from a Spanish guest who spoke excellent English) - - in any event, Sra seemed to run the “guest operations” entirely.

She wanted to know when we wanted breakfast when we arrived - - and I have to laugh now, thinking back at how this was not really a question. I asked, tentatively - - “temprano?” (early?) 8:30? - - and what I got was that two other guests wanted their breakfast at <u>nine</u>-thirty... “Nine?” I asked - - and her facial expression said it all. “Nueve y media”, I agreed - - and it was clearly what she wanted to hear.

Dinner meant going back into &quot;town&quot; and we weren't all that confident that we had seen anything even vaguely ressembliong a restaurant on our way &quot;in&quot; (towards <i>casa Garro</i. But Sra told us how to get to <i>Herriko Taberna</i> and it was easy to find - - seemingly just a bar with <i>futbol</i> on the TV. I only tried a limited question - - <i>Cena?</i> (dinner?) - - dos personas? and the barkeep sorta shrugged his shoulders with a look on his face like &quot;Now? at this hour?&quot; (it was between 7:30 and 8 pm)...

But he disappeared into a doorway behind the bar and came back saying &quot;Cinco minutos&quot; or something like that and pointed to a (closed) door at the end of the bar. Sure enough, with in a few minutes, we head chairs moving and some other noises from behind the door. Next thing we knew, he motioned us to go in, where there were a half dozen tables and the lady of the house directed us to set at two place settings she had laid out, near the kitchen. She stood with hands folded, and I don't really how communicated as much as we did by way of my pidgin Spanish. I suspect that there is never a printed menu here; as best as I could gather, she was prepared to offer us three choices: <i>merluza</i> (a fish, I recognized that) - - <i>frito</i>, or en salsa, <i>bacallao</i> (salt cod) and &quot;<i>txixarrones</i>&quot; (sp?) in &quot;<i>tinto</i>&quot;. I took a stab that this might be squid in its own ink, and asked &quot;<i>Como pequenos polpos</i>?&quot; (a word I was pretty sure I knew - - octopus), and she nodded in agreement. I had never tried anything like this before - - but what the heck...

To make this (already too) long story short(er), it tasted great; it was indeed as black as shoe polish, and the &quot;sauce&quot; was buttery rich. It was accompanied by a half-full bottle of Rioja red, which was her answer to my request for &quot;by the glass&quot;.

At the end of dinner, mostly because I thought it might be a typical custom, I asked for sherry (<i>Jerez</i>?) - - and once again - - got a bit of a stare. They eventually brought out an unopened dusty bottle of Tio Pepe, trying to determine if this was what I wanted. But rather than open it, our hostess insisted on bringing out a bottle of &quot;home-made&quot; (<i>casera</i which she called &quot;Pacharron&quot;. She could tell that I was curious as to what we were sampling - - raisiny sweet and a very deep amber color - - and so she brought out a bottle with a label on it, indicating that this could be bought in stores, but it was not good like heres. Pouring me a little taste, it was indeed about half the color and half the intensity. Its label showed some blue-purple berries (which may be part of the taste of this spirit) - - I have so far found only one reference on google which indicates that these may be sloe berries. In any case, I made her smile by indicating that the store-bought brand tasted &quot;como con agua&quot;.

With nothing to do after dinner in this town, and still a full hour of daylight left (at 9:15 pm), we decided to make the 18 km drive to Lekeito, on the coast. In general, the geography, was more of the same, except downhill, toward the sea. Yet the notable sights were the little, but very perceptible signs of Basque pride/separatism - - you can see a couple of photographs on www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part5c.htm

rex

Part 6 (in case anyone is wondering, almost all of what is posted above was written on the plane, by hand - - this is the first &quot;new&quot; writing since coming back home)

Our breakfast at Garro was a lively affair. Sra had knocked herself out with fresh fruit, fresh baking, juice and coffee. It was a family style ordeal - - her other two guests, from Belgium, and a &quot;semi-permanent&quot; guest who was staying there as a hired hand while working on a documentary (film) of fading Basque traditions. We traded e-mail addresses; who knows, perhaps we will see his film someday (he said he had a real contract with BBC films America, so I hope he is successful).

Our drive onward to Bilbao took us over/upon the &quot;Balcon de Bizkaia&quot; with spectacular scenic vistas, but all in all the trip was well under an hour. There had been conflicting reports of how difficult the streets of Bilbao would be to navigate, but we found what the majority of others had said - - not a problem at all. It did prove to remind us how spoiled we are when it comes to getting from point A to B by car. We decided to do some last-day shopping and exploring the old town, and were surprised at how a few little inches on a map can take 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there... to walk. Ultimately, we decided we needed to take our chances on moving the car to have a shorter walk to the Guggenheim - - our final &quot;touristic&quot; destination of our too-short time in Spain (less than 48 hours).

That proved easy to do. Maybe on a busy day, the parking lot we found would have readily filled up, but it was barely a couple hundred yards from the front door. As is so often the case, little urban differences are both puzzling and enlightening. The lot had a centralized parking meter machine, and I am glad other visitors were there so that we could put our heads together to understand it. The unanticipated part was that it expected you to enter the license plate number of your vehicle, which... sure enough... printed out on the little ticket, to be placed on the dashboard. More information than necessary (like this paragraph?)

We had checked on the admission times of the museum, and weren't really worried that it was already 3:35 when we arrived. What we had not counted on was that lunch (supposedly very nice) stopped seating at 3:15 - - bummer (we also later found out that reservations are strongly advised). There is nevertheless a coffee bar with sandwiches and snacks, and we were able to make do.

On in to the museum, and almost immediate disappointment - - good news: the entrance fee is 25% reduced (from 12 euros to 9, still not cheap); bad news: it's because three major galleries are closed for installations, including &quot;Fish&quot;, the long cavernous (biggest) gallery where some really extraordinary exhibits have occurred in the museum's five year history. Audioguides came included with the admission - - and the first 10-15 minutes were the best part, explaining the building itself as a work of art. Honestly, it was mostly downhill from there - - partly because over 50% of the museum (that we could enter that day) was devoted to a special exhibition on Aztec art - - and we just didn't care. More comments on www.geocities.com/rexbickers/MJ05trip-part6.htm

We departed Bilbao way earlier than necessary, and headed back to Biarritz for our 11 pm overnight train departure, headed to Paris. We figured we would have plenty of choices for dinenr there. To be &quot;safe&quot; we decided to head straight for the Gare SNCF first, to make sure we would know where it was and where to return the rental car. Looked straightforward enough - - and while there, we decided to &quot;pick on&quot; a random stranger, hoping for local advice on where we might go to eat.

We couldn't have done better. Our &quot;guide&quot;, whose car advertised that she provided home cleaning services - - offered to lead us to a place she recommended. It was quite a zigzag ride through Biarritz, ending up at the beach - - our restaurant, just barely above a little Mom'n'Pop place was named Le Bounty, and the menu was 100% seafood. It felt like the perfect ending to our culinary adventures of the week (it was aalso the only meal we had in five nights that came close to expensive - - 59 euros, with a fairly modest white wine selection, and no dessert).

There was still time to kill before the train, and sunset was just getting started. Within a hundred yards of the restaurant there was a paved path well above the sand of the beach, and it made for a nice half hour stroll. Biarritz looks very, very pleasant to me - - and no doubt worthy of a return visit or a more extended stay.

rex

Part 7 - - the overnight train ride, and our few hours in Paris before flying home.

Biarritz is a small train station with only two platforms, but luck of the draw - - you might know - - we did have to go under the tracks to get to ours. My wine purchases have given me a rather substantial load by now. Maybe this is why I emphasize to only pack what you can personally handle - - I am a strong guy, but since it is late at night, and not that many people, I did not attempt going back up the steps in a single climb (eventually at Ch. de Gaulle, I learned that I had 55 pounds in my <u>big</u> duffel (I carry it outbound, empty; then my rollaboard becomes a wine case with my clothes wrapped around it, and all &quot;entombed&quot; in my big duffel) - - plus my smaller (&quot;carryon&quot duffel now weighed 25 pounds!

So, it's a minor workout to hoist these onto the train (but that lasts only 30 seconds) and we really didn't have any trouble (sorta) &quot;stowing&quot; them in our compartment of six couchettes. We were both fairly settled in, when two other guys showed up, coming into our compartment - - and one of them had almost as much stuff as the two of us together. This included what (I guessed) might have been a full 88 key (i.e., electric piano) keyboard - - but he informed me it was &quot;boogie boards&quot. The conductor squabbled with him briefly sugesting that he needed to leave some of that in the corridor, but there actually was room for it all (I think a lot was in his couchette with him). I took an Ambien (the full 10 mg this time), and slept soundly for essentially the full trip (I guess I woke up about 20 minutes before arriving in Paris); my wife said that she didn't do quite as well. The two other guys apparently stayed outside the compartment until about 2 o'clock. But all in all, neither of us regretted the couchette ride per se. For what it's worth, no middle couchette passengers ever showed up, even though the conductor insisted that our compartment was full. For that last 20 minutes of the ride, I did fold up the middle couchette, giving 4 or 5 feet of headroom (while seated). I suppose that a claustrophobe might enjoy doing that as soon as you knew they were going to remain unoccupied.

As I have already reported on another thread, our few hours in Paris was more negative than almost any other part of the trip. Gare Austerlitz is nice enough, and does offer the shower service we had read about (6 euros per person, and no doubling up, or at least no avoiding two people both paying the fee); we felt like we didn't need it. As I have already mentioned, I had close to eighty pounds of luggage, and no longer wheeled, so it was quite a trek (across level ground, fortunately - - the bridge over the Seine, and then about four more blocks) to get to Gare de Lyon where we planned to store our bags until time to go to CDG.

Once inside Gare de Lyon, it <i>seemed</i> like it was <i>another</i> mini-marathon to reach the luggage storage. I was chagrined at first to see that the prices were seemingly steep (3.5 euros &quot;small&quot;, 5 - - or maybe it was 6, &quot;medium&quot;, 8 &quot;large&quot. Fortunately, <u>one</u> large was enough even for the big load I/we had.

Off to find breakfast. We had done enough walking - - directly across the street - - we could not resist the sight of &quot;L'Europeen&quot; - - perhaps just a shade above &quot;tourist trap&quot;, right <i>en face de</i> GdL, immediately across from where the Air France buses arrive/depart.

Yet, I rate the food very good there, and I would not complain about the cost. It's Paris. I got an &quot;omelette campagnarde&quot; and grapefruit juice; I've paid much higher for much worse fare.

So, now it's 9:35. While we knew that walking was an option, we figured that a taxi would ensure arrival at or before 10:00, to see Sainte Chappelle - - our one singular choice of something to see. Maybe we should have gone back up to the line-up at the Gare de Lyon. Getting a taxi on the street took at least a little time.

But he got us there by 9:59 - - we were a bit astonished at how many police, in paramilitary dress, with SWAT-team-type vans were swarming around (it IS, after all, the Palais de Justice, more or less in the same physical building/complex) - - and we never knew why.

At first, a pleasant surprise - - the posted hours on Ste Chappelle say open at 9:00 in winter, and 9:30 in summer - - we could have gotten here even earlier!

But the same kind of paramilitary police at the entrance said not open until 11:00! &quot;<b>Juste aujourd'hui...</b>&quot;

He indicated that he didn't know why. We could not wait that long to enter at 11 and still make it back to the Air France bus for our ride to the airport.

So we dug out out our Paris (Eyewitness Guide) book from my wife's purse, and looked to see what else close would appeal to us. I proposed L'&eacute;glise St-Louis-en-l'Ile...

Well, I don't know if I'm stupid or just &quot;dyscartographic&quot; - - but we wasted 20 minutes just trying to find the street (I thought we were 2 or 3 minutes away from it)... time to find another cab. Never did see the church itself...

So, two cab rides (totaling 14 euros) and a close call to make our Air France bus on time (repeating that big long schlep of our luggage from the <i>consignes</i> to the bus stop) - - and our three-and-a-half-hours in Paris had amounted to just about nothing (good omelette, notwithstanding)...

rex

Part 8 - - an incomplete epilogue

I will probably continue to add tidbits to the geocities web page, and maybe make http://www.geocities.com/rexbickers/...p-epilogue.htm a place I can throw continuing bits of this'n'that.

As the first few thousand words of this report indicate, I spent much of the flight writing this report - - and then, for reasons I cannot fully explain, I have needed over three weeks to finish it - - and I still have not begun to work on the many geocities links I intend to create (at this writing, none of them exists yet).

There are always loose ends one thinks of, to tell, and in particular, I do want to make a final tally of how well we achieved our budget travel goal. Of course, the whole notion of our traveling budget was a little bit artificial; we spent more on shopping (and on a Cessna plane ride) than all our lodging and meals combined. Our &quot;$299&quot; airfare cost $2400, though an e-mail literally yesterday (21 days post-return home) reassures me that the check is in the mail (for the $1800+ refund). Still, I do intend to tally up tolls, gas receipts and this'n'that. But from the beginning, we did not make an attempt to record every penny we spent.

One small footnote - - even though I have used my wine bottle transport method many times before, I did evidently get a liitle too careless with the wrapping around one bottle of a liqueur from the Dordogne called &quot;chataigne&quot; (chestnut). It smashed - - probably just as we were checking our bags for the flight from Chicago Midway to Louisville. I almost didn't make the flight because the luggage (X-ray) security scanning folks made me get rid of &quot;whatever it is that was leaking&quot;. I am curious (and will never know) if they actually could see broken glass on the x-ray. Once I identified the broken bottle - - removed all the large pieces and satisfied them that nothing was dripping (you could smell it, but it was all soaked into stuff around it), they let me put the bag back through. So, yes, my experience fails me from time to time, no different than anyone else.

I rate this a very good trip, despite the excessive driving. I might have not been able to predict that my wife rated it one of the best ever - - as much as anything, in her words, because &quot;there was nothing going on back home to worry about&quot;. And we were not responsible for anyone else.

Our thirtieth anniversary comes up this January. That we like doing something like this together is as good a gift as I can think of - - to give to each other.

No better way to close comes to mind.

travelphile

Sounds wonderful Rex - but I must admit, that schedule made me tired just reading it!

What's the verdict from you and DW? Will you do a trip of this magnitude again? Settle into a slow-trav-like lifestyle for good?

travelphile

Sorry.. you posted more while I was reading - I didn't have the outcome narrative when I posted!

janemc

Thanks for writing Rex. I've been looking forward to your trip report.
The Air-Chateaux flight sounds wonderful!!

rex

&lt;&lt;Will you do a trip of this magnitude again? Settle into a slow-trav-like lifestyle for good?&gt;&gt;

At the Indianapolis GTG, I think that a common thread that unites the most addicted of us all is/was this: we all have any number of itineraries floating around in our heads, a lot of the time. And taking any given one of them depends on serendipity that falls into our laps, in some cases.

For me, these are trips waiting to be taken:

Sicily
More northwestern Spain
More Bretagne and Loire Atlantique
More Poland, or some possible alternatives, such as Romania, or Russia or Ukraine
Madrid and Andalucia
Maritime Canada
South Africa and/or one or more of its neighbors
Maybe Southeast Asia, perhaps in conjunction with around the world
Maybe Brazil and/or Uruguay
Maybe some of Central America

I bet I won't fit all these in, before 2015 - - and there probably will be some trips that have repeat elements that I will plan/lead... for others... before 2010 - - more Italy? Israel? Greece? other France including more Paris? more England (with Wales? or Channel Islands?)

And then there are trips I see as a &quot;senior citizen&quot; - - heck, let's see if I can even foresee making it to &quot;senior citizen&quot; first!

This trip came together because the airfare was irresistible, and a small window of time seemed to just suggest itself. Someone may ask me tomorrow to help put together a trip to Sicily; our daughters keep &quot;acquiring&quot; father- and mothers-in-law; these may be people I want to travel with. I have numerous siblings or inlaws of siblings who say they want me to plan/lead a trip for/with them &quot;some day&quot;.

I would do machine-gun-speed &quot;scouting trips&quot; again - - but my preference remains for 10-18 days with a minimum 5-7 day villa stay as the centerpiece.

I adapt to opportunities I see coming my way.

OReilly

Rex:

I am breathless with the pace!

Sorry that San Sebastian did not appeal to you, as I was one of those that recommended it. As you know, I adored it. I wonder if your disappointment was due in some way to the weather (it was gloriously sunny when I was there) and your exhaustion. I am no longer a “city” person either, and prefer the countryside. I can see how it might be less than wonderful after a few days in the Dordogne. I stayed on the French side, in a small inn that served great food, in a small town, Ainhoa (recommended my Mimi). Also, I found the tourist office terrific, as with most in Spain, and left with some great literature, and advice from a very attentive agent.

Language in that part of Spain is certainly an issue. When driving through the country in the Spanish Basque region, I only met Basque-speakers and all Spanish road-signs had been spray-painted over. I was just grateful if I met anyone willing to speak ANY Indo-European language. In the Spanish Basque region, the “Lingua Franca” among the young is the Basque language.

Traffic in and out of S. Sabastian is a nightmare, for sure, but I getting lost is always a great adventure, unless you are trying to catch a flight.

I suppose you will let me tease you just a little over breaking your own rules, re driving too much, trying to see too much in a short time and heavy luggage .

I normally just have a 2-4 day break in Europe, so I have found that some compromise is required for me to enjoy the trip. MY compromise is the budget: I would never try to do a short break AND a small budget (not that I would EVER be happy with a small budget). Therefore, I take taxis rather than buses, to and from the airports, so I don’t have to schlep luggage and also have more time to enjoy the sights.

I can’t get onto the site you posted: I get “Page not Found”. Please tell me what I am doing wrong, as I would love to see the photos and the longer version of the report.

I am glad it was a good trip overall.

Regards Ger

Intrepid1

An obviously well-constructed and carefully-planned trip and a report that coincides with it.

Thank you for posting this...it was definitely worth our (often impatient) wait!

rex

&lt;&lt;I can’t get onto the site you posted: I get “Page not Found”. Please tell me what I am doing wrong, as I would love to see the photos and the longer version of the report.&gt;&gt;

Those webpages on geocities.com aren't there yet (mentioned right at the very top). Might take me another week (this was one of the chief reasons I have been unable to get myself to post this much!)

Langcraft

Rex:

I read with interest your finally decided upon itinerary with great interest. After having dropped several beads of sweat and requiring a glass of water to re-hydrate myself from following your narrative, I have to come to the following conclsion... You're nuts!!.. But, that being said. so long as you had a good time..

I'm taking my trip to France in Sept. I'll be sure to keep you posted..

Regards..
L

ira

Hi Rex,

Thanks for the report of a very interesting motor trip.

111op

Hi, I skimmed it very quickly, but I'll probably take a closer look later. I don't know these travel locations very well at all. I also don't drive, but it looks like you've beaten my breakneck pace.

Thanks for sharing.

111op

&quot;I don't know these travel locations very well at all.&quot;

Well, ok, maybe I should just say, &quot;not at all.&quot; I was at Chenonceau castle last year though. It sounds like you liked it more than I did. I do want to see Chambord at one point.

Did you say that you brought back 12 bottles of wine? Or what was the number? How did you deal with customs? A friend wrote me that he wrote back many bottles for a trip to Bordeaux.

I get nervous when I take more than 2 bottles. Do people declare this?

111op

oops -- &quot;for a trip to Bordeaux&quot;

I meant &quot;from a trip from Bordeaux,&quot; of course. He might have taken back 12 bottles.