Jul 10, 2012

Things to do on Sunless Days in Biarritz

Mornings on the Biarritz coast are often overcast with some rain showers. With a bit of luck, the sun comes out during the afternoon. Yes, you should have sun glasses and an umbrella with you at all times.

But there is plenty to do around here even on sunless days.

Children enjoy fishing with a net.

Others are surfing at all times.

Water surfing in Biarritz

Some just enjoy the view. There are plenty of benches everywhere.

Biarritz promenade

Others still go for the beach.

Biarritz, La Grande Plage

Yesterday afternoon was also overcast, so we went to the Musée De La Mer (euro 45 for two adults and two students). Along the way, we enjoyed crêpes and ice-cream, sat on benches, took photos and had all the time in the world.

One of the many specimens we saw at the ocean museum was the seiche (cuttlefish or Bobtail squid). All explanatory signs around the museum are in French. I had to note the French names of the more unusual ones, so I could look them up later.

Bobtail squid

There is plenty to do and see around here, even on bad weather days.

Jul 9, 2012

La Bastide Clairance in Northern Basque Country

As suggested by the Eyewitness guide and other brochures, we visited this quaint village of La Bastide Clairance, northeast of Biarritz.

It is a very clean and quiet village, meant for tourism, photography, and a feel-good ambience. There is a small information center,  cafés and restaurants, some artisan shops, a forge museum, and much more.

around the market square

Based on what we saw, two to three hours are enough for walking around and stopping for a cup of coffee. Found some nice kitchen utensils in one of the shops right at the market square. For some reason, I always buy them in France, while on holiday.

La Bastide Clairance

Yes, there is some up and down walking as in most of the towns in Basque country. This little grandmother is not real, just an eye-catcher.

La Bastide Clairance

The tourism center also lets visitors see what the old Basque style classroom looked like.

Old classroom in La Bastide Clairance

We bought some sweet chili paste and powder. Most souvenirs carry the image, the name, the flavor, or the taste of the local sweet chili plant. The only thing we have not found yet – seeds to take back to grow our own.

Jul 9, 2012

Review for Restaurant Le Crabe Tambour in Biarritz

Yesterday evening, we came upon the Restaurant Le Crabe Tambour by chance. Well, most other restaurants were still closed and this one offered us a place to sit down in the sun, while serving drinks until the cook came in at 19:30.

We had a very efficient and friendly waiter. Not only did he have the time to talk to us and give us some tips, but he proved to be efficient later on as well when the restaurant was really full.

He was very helpful answering our questions about the menu, the wine was good, and the food was served in a timely manner. We had the menu for 25 euro, from which we could choose one each (three selections in each category) for the entrée, main dish, and dessert.

To help ease the wait, we got some tortilla and olives.

tortilla

As we were the first ones to arrive, we had the board menu all to ourselves.

Restaurant Le Crabe Tambour in Biarritz

Then our appetizer came. Our eyes got so big, but the deliciousness of these prawns and sauce made us close our eyes again…

crevettes flambées au whisky

One of the main dishes – white fish and mussels.

For dessert, we sampled all three choices: apple pie with ice cream, Crème Brûlée, and the Coup Colonel. The latter one made us all go Oh, la, la.. after taking a taste of it. It was like a Caipirinha with a bit of sherbet in it. We walked home, by the way.

This was a grand culinary experience in terms of  food quality, service, and ambience. Very recommendable.

Address: 49 Rue d’Espagne in 64 200 Biarritz

Tel: 05 59 23 24 56

Note: The restaurant was named after the famous 1977 film Le Crabe Tambour, where the owner was the cook for the film set.

You can also leave a comment/review about the restaurant here or on Lonely Planet.

Jul 8, 2012

Biarritz and Bayonne

These little tents are quite useful on a hot day at the beach (euro 9,70 for the day rental).

At the beach in Biarritz

There are many good restaurants in Biarritz, among them the Restaurant Des Terrasses, where they serve mussels for appetizer.

Another view overlooking the ocean just before sunset.

Just about 15 km northeast of Biarritz lies the city of Bayonne, which is also the cultural capital of the northern Pays Basque. We spent a couple of hours walking around the historic center, lined with shops, restaurants, bars, and a Subway Restaurant (our children were ecstatic at this point!)

Cathédrale Sainte-Marie, a.k.a. Notre-Dame-de-Bayonne

Half-timbered houses, traditionally with red or green shutters in the Basque style, face each other separated only by a narrow alley.

Bayonne Basque style houses

There are still many other towns to explore around here.

Check out DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Dordogne, Bordeaux & the Southwest Coast from Amazon.de, or DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Dordogne, Bordeaux & the Southwest Coast from Amazon.com

Jul 4, 2012

French Street Advertisements

Another morning stroll through Biarritz showing different ways of advertising, from asking for compassion (cat) to trendy economics (Russian tourists).

This cat got a lot of attention, more than if its owner had been nearby.

Beggar in Biarritz

Bastard Joël is running a kitchen and bathroom business of some sort.

Bastard Joël

I had been surprised to hear quite a bit of Russian spoken at the beach. Now this sign made it official – yes, there are quite a few Russian tourists around here.

Biarritz is rather international with English-speaking tourists. To hear German is rare, but I heard some Spanish earlier today. And much Russian at the beach yesterday.

 

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