The countdown has begun! T minus 12 days until we leave for a twice-Covid-canceled trip to Europe. The original itinerary (France and Italy) has been changed to France and Spain. The plans for this trip have been in the works almost since we canceled last year. Julian managed to get us almost-reasonable plane fares and two killer apartments to rent.
The first stop is Paris for ten days. Our rental apartment is on Île-Saint-Louis, less than a 5-minute walk to Notre Dame. Granted, the cathedral is still closed after the 2019 fire, but we can observe the construction on our walks. We’ll visit some of the usual haunts and a few new ones. A visit to Librairie Gourmande is definitely on the itinerary. Julian has also expressed an interest in seeing the Musée d’Orsay, which has a large collection of Impressionist art.
The next part of the trip involves taking a train to Bordeaux, renting a car, and driving to San Sebastian in Spain. I’ve always wanted to visit the Basque region of Spain and France. The Basque language bears no resemblance to French, Spanish, or any other Indo-European tongue. The region has mountains and the ocean to make us both happy. And it should be no surprise to regular readers of this blog that we’re also going for the cuisine. Our friends Bruce and Laurie may join us on this leg of the trip. I anticipate a crawl or two for cider/wine and pintxos (the Basque equivalent of appetizers or tapas).
The final leg of the journey is a return to the Dordogne region in France. We were in this beautiful area seven years ago (see this post). We’re staying in the same hotel as we did on our previous trip. The last day we’ll drive back to Bordeaux and spend the night in a hotel near the airport so we can catch our flight home.
Watch this space for progress reports.
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