Just Drove Over the Border

The program I am in, Cide, plans a few excursions for our groups throughout the semester. They are all paid for through our tuition, so this past Friday they took us to the south of France. Charter buses were organized and it was about a 2 and half hour drive to the border, except we had to be there at 8am so it was a very early start! In Europe it is so easy to go from country to country, you just drive over the border. There was a toll that had to be paid but no passport checks or anything like that. We just drove over into France. 

We stopped in an old town, Bayonne. It was a gorgeous, old town with a river running through it. I had dislocated my knee that night before while I was out, but I was determined to not let that slow me down! So I didn't go on the tour with the group instead one of the Cide people walked with me to the center of the town to wait for everyone, that way I had less walking or limping to do. Then we were let free and I walked around with Santiago and Mike who were very kind and put up with my slow goings and necessary breaks. 

The highlights were the Cathedral of Santa Maria, a gothic style church. Construction began in the 13th century and was completed in the 19th century. Part of its decorations were destroyed in August 1793 by the French Revolution. But it was still a gorgeous church!

 

La Catedral de Santa Maria

 
 

 

Inside the Cathedral

 
 

Up by the Altar

 
 

A side room for flowers and prayer candles. 

Another highlight was Les Halles, market plaza of Bayonne where the offer traditional products. But by the time we walked over there most of the people had packed up their stuff already. So we continued to just walk through the streets. Bayonne is known for their chocolate shops and ham. I had to get some chocolate! I got two bars, milk and white, which had praline crunches in the middle. They were so rich and delicious! Fortunately, the lady in the shop spoke English because I realized that I do not know any French whatsoever! These are the 3 words I know, 'Bonjour', 'Merci,' 'Ce va.' When I went to go buy my postcards the man told me how much it was and I had no clue because I don't even know French numbers! I just realized how much Spanish I know because at least in Spain I can get around and do daily things. 

We had about 4 hours in Bayonne where we just wandered around and enjoyed the town. The weather was suppose to be rain all day long but we couldn't see any sign of rain. We got lucky with another beautiful day! Also, that day in the city there was a movie being filmed. We kept seeing men in interesting clothes and then we saw an old car being followed by another car with a camera on the hood. We figured out it was a WWII movie because we saw a Nazi flag hanging on the side of the building and cameras around it. Too bad there was nobody famous in it, that would have been really cool! 

 

Streets of Bayonne

 

Cathedral in the background

 
 

The Nive that runs through center of the old part.

 
 

Nazi flag from the filming of the movie

 
 

See the camera and guy filming?

At about one we all reconvened and drove back to Spain to get some delicious lunch. We stopped at a Cider House in a tiny village for lunch. We were served some delicious pasta with a red meat sauce. The noodles were, well I don't know how to describe them. They were fresh almost, really thick and just delicious. Then we had some sort of meat from a cow, it wasn't like a normal steak. It tasted almost like meatloaf, really rare in the middle, and was covered with a orange pepper sauce. Not my favorite thing but it was good. Then to top it off we had cream puffs drizzled in chocolate and raspberry sauce for dessert. So tasty!

After our 3 course meal, we had about a half hour drive to our next destination, Hondarribia, Spain. It is right along the ocean and you can see France from the town, that is how close you are. The old part is surrounded by a wall to keep out the unwanted. Unfortunately it was really hilly which the knee didn't like but I didn't want to miss out on anything. First we walked to the sea which was gorgeous and the inlet had a number of boats. We were told that this town is actually very popular destination for summer vacations among the Spaniards. I can see why, it is a very quaint and peaceful place

 
 

  

  

Next we headed up to the old part of town. First we hit Plaza de Gipukoa which was constructed recently however its houses have a traditional appearance. Then there was the Castle of Carlos the 5th but in 1968 it was converted into a tourist hotel. It sits on the Plaza de Armas which served as the garrison for the exercise of arms and a place to celebrate many popular festivals, running of bulls, receptions and proclamations. There was a beautiful church but we could not go inside due to renovations. The final major stop was the Puerta de Santa Maria, the door of Santa Maria, it was one of the principal entrances of the city. Today all that remains is the arch. 

 
 

Plaza de Gipuzkoa

 
 

Plaza de Armas

 
 

View from Plaza de Armas

 
 

The Church

 
 

Bell tower of the Church

 
 

View of the rest of Hondarribia

 
 

Puerta de Santa Maria

After traveling to a different country, experiencing new food, and limping around with a very swollen knee, it was time to get back on the bus and head back to Bilbao. We could not have gotten luckier with the weather! The cities were just gorgeous and it was fun to get out of Bilbao for the day! As for the rest of the weekend, it will be filled with lots of homework and resting.