Provence Itinerary

	Sample Pays Basque Itinerary Home

SUNDAY
Dennis and Jamie will personally meet your party at the pre-arranged arrival point, and drive you to Maison Tamarin in our comfortable minibuses. A Champagne welcome with freshly baked appetizers awaits you on the terrace overlooking the Atlantic Bay of Biscay, and the foothills of the Pyrenees. There will be time for an orientation stroll before sitting down to the first of Ellie's sumptuous feasts.

MONDAY
Monday morning is fairly slow in France--many shops do not open--so we propose what we call our 'Surf and Turf' morning: we'll have a look at a typical Basque hill village (Ainhoa) followed by a typical Basque coastal town (Bidart). This gives us a chance to introduce the Basque people and their curious culture. Lunch is back at the house with one of Ellie's famous buffet lunches. We suggest heading into Biarritz in the late afternoon for a preliminary look round, cocktails and dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in the old port.

TUESDAY
This morning we visit Bayonne, a walled medieval river port, full of half-timbered houses, and with a fine Gothic cathedral. Lunch is on your own, but we have found that most groups take our suggestion and head for a small seafood restaurant right on the Atlantic, where we can watch the surfers and the breakers crash on some of Europe's finest surfing beaches. After lunch is perfect for a first look at the pretty fishing village of St. Jean de Luz, or perhaps a lazy afternoon at the house with one of Dennis' cured ham and sherry tastings. Dinner at home with Ellie.

WEDNESDAY
And so to Spain. San Sebastian is an energetic and elegant resort town a mere 40 minutes drive from the house. It's a perfect place to shop and stroll, and to observe what a difference a border makes. And, as this is the place for it, we propose a 'tapas' ('pinchos' in Basque) pub crawl through the Old Town, nibbling our way from bar to bar and washing it down with a spritzy, refreshing Txakoli wine or the local cider, both entertainingly poured from an impressive height. We return home for dinner at the house.

THURSDAY
We visit Hondaribia, our undiscovered jewel just over the Spanish border. Very Basque, but with an architecture all its own, Hondaribia is a hilltop port town. And unlike any border town we've ever seen, you get the sense that you are the only tourists around. If time permits, we can drive up Monte Jaizabel for a spectacular vista of the coastline. Back to Maison Tamarin for Ellie's buffet. We like to leave an afternoon free for other activities: some play golf on some of Europe's oldest and finest courses; some take advantage of the fine sea-water spas; others prefer to head off to Biarritz or Bayonne for a spot of serious shopping! Home then for a wine tasting with Dennis. The region offers many wine 'themes' from the local hill wines, into Spain (Rioja and Ribera del Duero) or north to Bordeaux. Dinner is out in St. Jean de Luz.

FRIDAY
Off to the St. Jean de Luz market with Ellie. The seafood hall is superb. There will be time for a good look around the pedestrian shopping street, the charming fishing port, St. Jean's fantastic protected beach, and the Basque-style cathedral where Louis XIV was married. Lunch is on you own, but, again, most have stuck with us and gone up into the hills for a Basque farmhouse lunch and a fantastic view. Farewell dinner back home with Ellie.

SATURDAY
The end of the week and your party will be driven to their pre-arranged departure point after a good breakfast.

The above is meant as a guide only. We have the flexibility of 2 minibuses allowing your party to split if requested There are many other excursion options in this area.

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