Blogs from Bayonne, Aquitaine, France, Europe
July 16th 2011
Still having a great time in San Sebastian, we decided to join the USAC group day trip to Bayonne and Biarritz in the French Basque Country. We arrived in Bayonne, France at roughly 10am to be met by a great tour guide, who told that Bayonne is not just where the Bayonette was developed but was an ancient city dating back all the way to the Romans and middle ages. He spoke of the marrying of kings of England and wives that were always French, we visited a church that was classified as Roman Gothic and went to the center where major pathways to various cities and countries all intersected. We also learned that Bayonne was where chocolate became a major staple. We walked through a small Basque museum and then met back up with the ... read more
September 1st 2010
I was attempting to contain any urge to self praise until I'd at least gone up one mountain, however having just cycled 120 miles in 35 degree heat I'm going to give myself a little pat on the back. I'm also inclined to give myself a big slap, as setting off at 10:30 on a day like today was just plain stupid. I don't know how much water I drank, but towards the end I was filling up both bottles every 15 miles. Am now quite sunburnt and not really able to cool down to sleep. Shorter day tomorrow thankfully... read more
March 22nd 2008
Well, it’s now easy for me to choose what my least favorite place in France is: Bayonne. I’m quite surprised, too. Although my history teacher is from Bayonne, he’s rarely wrong about anything. I mean, it’s even in Basque country. However, that’s about all it has going for it. The voyage there even foreshadowed the day ahead. Shannon and I took a bus there, but it broke down a few miles outside of Pau. The door stopped working. The only way it would shut is if someone tripped the switch from the outside, and well, no one wanted to be the one that got left behind. So we drove a few more miles out into the country with the door open. For the first twenty minutes, the driver toyed around with the door before he even ... read more
September 7th 2007
This is to be a blog choc-a-hoot full of guest contributers. With such a multi-talented group of would-be journos scribing their 2 cents worth, I’ll leave my contribution centred on 2 topics: The RUGBY kicked off for us in Lyon which was abuzz with the fever of “the thinking man’s game”. The tournament came out of the blocks with an upset, “Le Cauchmar” (nightmare) read the headlines. Lyon was a sea of gold in the streets as the Wobblies faithful pranced around town, but the Japanese also had their ration of “hopeful” support. The game itself was very tight with only the bounce of the ball ensuring a Wobblies win. Luckily the ball bounced 91 times in our favour. (nb. Don’t you love how we speak in first person when the Oz boys are winning and ... read more
July 7th 2006
I had heard the travel stories and seen the photos, but I was still amazed and looked in awe at the huge structure ahead of us. The Eiffel Tower was on the top of our list and considering we only had a few hours in Paris, it was the only item on the list. At first glance it was just a spire off into the distance, hiding in between trees, buildings and the city itself, but as we got closer the true size became apparent. Getting there on foot took us ages and we must have walked kilometres in its general direction until its view became clearer and we could see exactly how to get there. If you haven't seen it for yourself, and you must, the Eiffel Tower stands proudly next to The Parc du ... read more
Del río y "ría" en Bayona y de la lluvia en Donostia.
Published: March 28th 2006Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bayonne
March 27th 2006
Hay algo curioso en viajar a lugares donde no hablas el idioma principal. Sientes una especie de adrenalina, porque sabes que con la mayoría de la gente eres incomunicable. Si a eso se añade el extraño sentimiento de aventura que uno tiene al estar en un lugar completamente nuevo... Pues vaya que es una experiencia. Pero vayamos en orden cronologico. El lunes 27 si que me desperté a tiempo para tomar el autobus de las 7 a.m. Estaba oscuro, gracias al nuevo horario, lo cual produjo un fenomeno curioso: vi el amanecer y el atardecer en un autobus, sobre los montes que dividen Navarra y Guipuzcoa, entre las 7-8 am y 8-9 pm, respectivamente. Como sea, una vez en Donostia tomé un autobus directo hacia Bayona. No tomé fotos dentro del autobus para mostrarles, porque el ... read more
Homeward Bound and It All Goes Wrong
Published: October 27th 2010Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bayonne
August 21st 1990
Unfortunately I didn’t make it was far as Bordeaux. I woke up in the morning to discover that my backpack had been searched and my camera, Walkman and sleeping bag had gone walkabout. For the second time I wanted to sort out the seedy looking characters in the corridor. I had a faint memory of being woken up by someone coming into the room and he had left straight away when he realised I was awake. He had obviously come back again later. Bastard! I decided to get off at the next station and report what had happened. As I was packing the bag I relalised that the films containing all my Nice, Monte Carlo and Venice photographs had been in the camera case and had gone as well. I think that I was more gutted ... read more
