Bonaguil, impressive medieval military architecture

The Bonaguil Fortress from the 13th century is a perfect example of medieval defense systems. Most of the defense techniques were put in place during the 15th century by Bérenger de Roquefeuil. The constructions lasted for forty years. The funny thing is that it afterwards it was never attacked... a new era was starting and the Bonaguil Fortress became obsolete.

I went there with the children on our way to Penne d'Agenais last year in May. When I told them we were going to see a castle, they started moaning. No, not another castle! I just kept on driving on a beautiful road along a valley, turning and turning, waiting for the castle to appear.

Suddenly it did appear, as you see on the photo. Massive, impressive, beautiful.

The children went silent. Is that the castle we are going to? Wow!!!
No more complaining...

We didn't do the guided tour, as I thought 1,5H was too long for my little one, but I would reallly like to come back and do that to get a thorough understanding of how the defensive system was supposed to work. Seemed very interesting!

The official web site for the Bonaguil Castle
Interesting article about the history and defense system

Sssch... Messanges is my little secret

Some things are best kept secret. Those special spots... with special memories attached. You promise not to tell anyone?

Messanges is a tiny village and sea resort on the Silver Coast in Landes. There you find a small restaurant up on top of the sand dunes, with the most astounding view over the beach and the ocean.  A view like that is extremely rare here, because most parts of the coast are protected, so there are no buildings close to the water. This place is actually the only one I know of with this kind of view between Mimizan and Vieux Boucau.

I go there to walk on the beach, take a coffee and enjoy the view in the morning or to have lunch. Sometimes we take the kids and have dinner there, all soaked in salt and sand. The sunsets are incredible... and last for an eternity as the sun slowly falls down toward the sea horizon.

 

The restaurant is called Bar snack de la Plage and they serve a short menu of fresh really nice salads, a piece of meat or cod. Their sangria is top and the waiters are very friendly. Come just before noon, when they start serving food, if you want to have a seat, because when the weather is nice, it fills up quickly. Another good place in Messanges is La Hitillère, a bar restaurant with fresh food and great music.

The Telegraph elected Messanges one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world... pfff...my secret is not so secret any more I guess!

Big blue sky....

A romantic getaway in Saint Emilion

Saint-Emilion might look like the standard example of a tourist trap. It is very touristic - but still. This little medieval city has an incredible amount of charm. UNESCO has put both the city and the surrounding vineyards on the world cultural heritage list. Steep stone laid streets, real old stone houses with thick walls and wine shops in every corner. At several places you have an astounding view over the tiled roofs and the vineyards.

I went there with my husband on a romantic getaway.... perfect! We stayed at the Logis de la Cadène, one of these real old places with stone walls and furniture with a history. From our room we saw out over the restaurant below and its terrace covered in vines. We had lunch there, with the sun light filtering through the leaves...

In the evening the city became quiet as the tourist buses disappeared. We enjoyed watching the beautiful houses, even more beautiful in the late sun. The stones glowed. Dinner was had at Le Tertre, a small restaurant that had lined up three little tables along the wall outside. We lingered over dinner and a bottle of wine for hours, enjoying the coolness of the evening after a very hot day.

During the day we had also made a short visit to Pomerol, one of my favourite wine districts and one of the smallest in France. We went to the Beauregard castle where a guide took care of the two of us, taking us for a stroll in the vines, down in the cellar for a tasting of the year's wine, still not tapped, and finally let us taste some of their bottled wine. Excellent...

Photo Wikipedia

We also checked out the Maison du vin de Saint-Emilion, where all the different producers are represented at the same prices as you get directly from the owners. They also give advice about what to buy, how to to store them, what kind of wine that fits with what kind of food, etc.

At another occasion we had a look at the underground of Saint Emilion. Underneath the city, a Swiss cheese, with 200 kilometres of winding tunnels!  They were created as workers extracted limestone to build houses from the ninth to the 19th century. Mustn't have an earthquake here, the whole city would simply collapse....

Saint Emilion tourist office

San Sebastian leaves me speechless

Café in the Gros district of San Sebastian

Just to make things clear: San Sebastian is not in Aquitaine. It is very close though, go on for fifteen minutes once you cross the border and here you are, saying Hola and Gracias (most of my Spanish vocabulary right there) and experiencing a completely different culture. You are in the north of Spain, in the Spanish Pays Basque.

Why do some places get it all? To define what San Sebastian is all about, imagine first that you take the most beautiful and spectacular place by the sea, two bays surrounded by hills and with the hazy mountains further away. The main beach La Concha is simply spectacular. That place in the sun leaves me speechless....

The Victoria Eugenia theatre

Then add the most beautiful 18th century architecture, blending ashlar fronts with ornated balconies and stonelaid pedestrian paths. Then you mix with a happy outgoing people that talk too loud and love being out in the bars and you get a glimpse of what San Sebastian is like. If that wasn't enough, let me also add that San Sebastian is the city with the highest Michelin star ratio per person in the world. You can't walk into a bar without admiring a long line of plates with little pintxos (like tapas but here they are called pintxos).

I found an article in The Guardian (Is San Sebastian the best place to eat in Europe?) that perfecly reflects my feelings about San Sebastian and its cuisine - part of the basque culture. Fresh, natural ingredients prepared with an high degree of perfectionism, yet simple and direct. And like he says in the article, you get good food wherever you go...

Pintxos

When you come into a bar, the cold pintxos are displayed on the counter. Order something to drink, then take a plate and serve yourself a few of them. When you leave, the waiter will ask you about how many you took - and the worst thing to do ever is to lie. Don't forget that most bars also serve hot pintxos, that they make to order. The old part of San Sebastian, Parte Viejo, overflows with bars....

My photos are taken during different times of the day, from full sunlight to the last rays of sun and also with an overcast sky... I didn't get at chance to take any good daytime photos from the main beach La Concha.... so I guess I have to go back!?  Poor me. It takes a whole hour to go there.

Beach Zurriola, the surfers place, at daytime.

Zurriola at the end of the day. See that surfer with his board?

Café by the Zurriola beach in the last rays of sun. Behind you see the congress building Kursaal.

The Kursaal seen from the other side. The green and white columns are lamps on the Zurriola bridge across the river Urumea. At night, they and the Kursaal are lit up with a soft light. People walk and bike along the river and the sea.

The five star Maria Cristina hotel by the river Urumea. Created by the Spanish queen in 1912.

Details from a statue at the Maria Cristina bridge

The old part of San Sebastian, Parte Viejo, where you find small shops, restaurants and, more than in any other place that I know of, lots and lots of bars.

Plaza de Constitucion  in the Parte Viejo

A small harbour at the foot of Mount Urgull.

Detail from the Ayuntamiento building

Approaching the Concha bay with gardens and palm trees

Very last rays of sun by the Concha bay at low tide

Further to the right of the Concha bay

Diputacion Foral and the sumptuous garden of the Plaza de Gipuzkoa

The Concha bay seen from the Mount Igeldo. Please click on the picture! Photo Wikipedia.

Overview of San Sebastian. The smaller bay shows the Zurriola beach, the bigger bay the Concha beach. The green hill in between them is Mount Urgull. At the south end of the Concha beach you see the Mount Igeldo, a view point you can reach with a little train. The old part is next to Mount Urgull. You can also see the river Urumea and several bridges.  Photo Wikipedia.

Note: The full correct name of this city is Donostia-San Sebastian, where Donostia is the Basque name.

Gérard de Palmas - Elle habite ici

Hmm, he has something that makes my heart beat faster... maybe that true romantic aura... or maybe it is just because he makes really good songs. Elle habite ici - she lives here - is a love long for his wife. I know about this girl, really beautiful, always happy, the kind of girl you want stay with you for always and she lives with me, sleeps in my bed....

The other song Au bord de l'eau, By the water, is also really beautiful. The video is made in a spectacular landscape - I only think the water is missing...

Au bord de l'eau


Elle habite Ici - Gérald De Palmas
envoyé par slr-depalmas. - Regardez d'autres vidéos de musique.

Biarritz rugby team wins important game

Basque supporters who came from Paris to support their team

I have already told you that rugby is important in the Southwest of France. Now I finally have some good pictures to show you, because I finally made it to my first rugby game! Biarritz against Ospreys in the quarter final of the European Cup in San Sebastian.  Important match. Many supporters. Big sun on a big blue sky. The kind of day when you don't even have to like rugby to enjoy the match!

Hm, what were the coulours for the Biarritz team again?

This is not the best way to actually see the match. You see it better on your TV at home. But here you get 100 percent of the festive mood, the drums that roll, the tension in the audience and the outcry when a brave runner manages to pass the defence.... here you will understand that rugby is something different than football on a cultural level. You don't come here to fight and cause trouble. You come here to celebrate! And when the game is over, the supporters from the different teams have no problem in drinking together in the same bars.

By the way, Biarritz won by one tiny point, 29 to 28....

Asado, giant barbecue

Maybe this isn't typical for Aquitaine... but I the result was so good, I had to share a recipe with you! Take one lamb, about 14 kilos in this case, an hang it over hot coals for about six hours. Turn regularly and dab it with oil every now and then.

The result is a meat so tender, so good.... if you then add some friends, some drinks and a big sun, that makes the reicipe for a perfect Sunday afternoon....