Not the Ritz, but Biarritz
Aug 24th, 2013 by willmarks
The next leg of the journey was short, about an hour, but to Biarritz (still in the Basque country), and without more than a wave and a nod in terms of Spain/France border patrol. This time I had a reservation, and I picked a good hotel, not because of the locale (very central) or the rooms (just o.k., very small), or the concierge (none). Evelyn left a running shoe at the hotel during our short one-night stay. After discovering this a few hundred kilometers away after departure, she telephoned, and the manager (now we can call her “concierge”) was happy to mail the shoe to us in Barcelona at no charge, in exchange for a positive Trip Advisor rating; not a bad deal for us, and the hotel, as I am learning the power of Trip Advisor on this continent (and globally I guess). Hotel Le Saint James is now ranked 33 of 68 on Trip Advisor, a drop of a few points since before our stay.
Biarritz has an attractive main beach, a nice easy walk from one end to the other, and flanked by the prominent Hotel du Palais (saved for retirement). The setting reminded me a bit of Zihuatanejo, my favorite beach in Mexico and that of Andy Dufresne (Shawshank Redemption), not really for any particular reason other than manageable size and simple beauty, not to mention interesting local culture. French beauty and culture are certainly different from Mexican beauty and culture and both have their pros and cons, really. The beauty of this French beach may be the architecture—magnificent buildings, while the beauty of the Zihuatanejo beach may also be the architecture—simple and even rundown buildings, but this is why the unspoiled beaches of Mexico remain beautiful.
The town of Biarritz was lovely, with fabulous views from its hills, although our initial meal—lunch of croquet-monsieurs—was ruined by incoming smoke; we sat inside where smoking is forbidden yet it still poured in from the outside. Still, we enjoyed a tasty dinner at Il Giardino (why not go to France for Italian food?….actually, an excellent meal). As for our day on the beach, the extra wind wasn’t our friend, and made our attempt at surfing difficult…it would have been a challenge without the wind.
