Fête des Jardins

On Sunday we were exploring the 1st arrondissement and stumbled upon a marché aux puces (flea market!) in le Jardin des Halles, which I think was part of the Fête des Jardins last weekend. People had set up little tables or spread their odds and ends out on blankets completely lining the paths of the garden. Literally there was everything you can imagine, from leather bags, to odd jewelry, to old cameras, books, shoes, dollhouse furniture, you name it. In France you're not allowed to have yard sales, so a community will organize these vide grenier (literally empty attic) so that people can get rid of their junk (or treasures?). (Dad, you would love this).

Paris - le commencement

Paris! After our two-week orientation in Biarritz we hopped back on Air France and headed to La Ville. The weather has been gorgeous (sunny and 70 almost every day), perfect for eating ice cream and exploring on foot. I took this picture looking west towards la Tour Eiffel from le Louvre as we were walking home from a boat ride on the Seine.

le Pays Basque

On Thursday we took a trip south, farther into le Pays Basque to visit an artisan gâteau basque baker, a chocolaterie, and a fromagerie. The little towns in the Pyrenees are adorable and extremely picturesque, and each place gave out free samples :)

Spanish Mountains at Dusk

After le spectacle, my roommate Rebecca, my host mom Isabelle and I stopped at the beach La Plage de Côte Basques to watch the sunset. We missed the actual sunset, but the afterglow over the Pyrenees was amazing.

Biarritz: le Grand Spectacle

On Wednesday night we had a reception for our host families. Its a HCJYF tradition that the students put on a "spectacle" for the host families, so we all sang, danced, juggled and performed skits. Unfortunately, the champagne was served after our performance. But then again, there was champagne . . . as well as delicious little sandwiches and these adorable pâtisseries. Waaayy better than back-to-school night.

Vineyards

On Sunday morning we left the city and headed for the vineyards. We stopped at Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, un château thats been run by the same family for eight generations. After a tour of the vineyards and an explanation of the fermentation processes, we had une dégustation! It probably would have been a little more fun if it weren't at 10 in the morning, but when in France...

Bordeaux

J'adore Bordeaux! Much bigger than Biarritz, Bordeaux is a beautiful old city full of stone buildings, cast iron balconies, fountains, and cobble stone streets. We all went to the Musée des Beaux Arts to see an exhibit on Matisse, then out to dinner (mmm chevre chaud et crème brûlée!), which can be kind of overwhelming for everyone around us (25 filles, 4 garçons...) but was still really fun.

Château de La Brède

On our way to Bordeau for the weekend we stopped at Montesquieu's château. A couple of hours from Biarritz, Château de La Brède is surrounded by fields with cows and horses, and it has a moat!

Le Phare de Biarritz

Wednesday, after going to the lighthouse, we walked down to a beach just north of La Grande Plage that was almost empty, save a few complètement nus. After swimming a bit we fell asleep on one of the big rocks, then moved down onto the sand and fell asleep again. Tough life, studying abroad :)

Les Jardins Francais

The French do gardens very, very well. Today we ate lunch in Bayonne's public garden, complete with pristine grass, a multitude of well-kept flowers, a fountain, various sculptures, and decorative trashcans.

64

The store 64 is all around Biarritz and Bayonne. Today our guide told us that France is divided up into Departments, and the Departments are numbered in alphabetical order, so 64 is the number for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Above the 64 you can also see la Croix Basque on the red and green flags that zig-zagged across the streets.

Bayonne

Today we visited Bayonne, a town just to the north of Biarritz. Bayonne, an ancient walled city, is known for Cathédrale Sainte-Marie and its tradition of chocolate-making. Needless to say we indulged in both.

Voitures au Phare de Biarritz

Yesterday after class we walked up the coast to the lighthouse. In the parking lot were all of these antique cars, and a couple of minutes later 30 people wearing red barets and scarves all got in and drove away . . . the French are toujours un mystère.

Côte des Basques

Another view of Côte des Basques. The mountains farthest to the right are in Spain!

Sunset Surf

This is the beach (Côte des Basques) thirty seconds (and over 100 stairs) from my host family's (Isabelle et Fredo) house. Even though at low tide there isn't much sand, its still plein de surfers at every time of day. This was our first night in Biarritz; Fredo et Isabelle took us for a little walk to see the area after dinner. Just to the left of this picture you can see the Pyrenees in Spain!

Bonsoir et Bienvenue

Bonsoir! Its been about a week since I left JFK for my semester abroad à Paris. Right now we' have our orientation in Biarritz, a surfing town on the Atlantic Coast that is a stone's throw from Spain. My host family and roommate are great, and we go to one (or two, or three) of the beautiful beaches every day after class! Tonight we're going to the movies to see "Un Prophète," and tomorrow we're taking a day-trip to Bayonne, a region to the north of Biarritz. Luckily class is pretty low key, so we have plenty of time to relax, walk around the town, go to the beach, and go out at night.