San Sebastián - Biarritz - Toulouse

Monday 9 June - a public holiday in France

San Sebastián - Biarritz - Toulouse

We had a bit of a hot night, but apart from the odd mattress spring sticking into my back, it was ok. It was another gorgeous day, not a cloud in the sky and just enough breeze to keep it a comfortable temperature. 

We had to leave by midday so after breakfast we cleaned up and packed and then headed down to the beach with the kids. It was about 10 ish and apart from the obsessive sunbathers, we had the beach to ourselves for a short while, I even went for a paddle and the water was just lovely. 

David and I left them to it and did some exploring around the town, there are some lovely houses and apartments with pretty gardens, not far from the centre. 

A nice place to live, or retire to.  We saw many older people being pushed along in their wheelchairs, or taking it slowly with walking sticks, and there was a little park in the centre of town which may be a sort of meeting place for the elderly and many of them in wheelchairs. 

We all arrived back at the apartment and carried our stuff to the car and decided to go back to the wharf where James and Rachel had spotted some nice restaurants to have lunch. 

They weren't busy yet, so we were a little bit early by Spanish standards and there were waiters outside encouraging us to sit and eat!  We chose a lovely fish restaurant and enjoyed the freshest fish ever, the fish must have been caught in the morning. I had a hake steak washed down with a lovely glass or two of white wine.  

The owners were very chatty, she was Polynesian and he had been born and bred in San Sebastián, both of them had travelled extensively, of course they loved New Zealand. Then all too soon we were on our way to have a look at Biarritz.  

It only took about 40 mins to get there, we found a park and wandered down to the beach.  It was picture perfect, a lovely sandy bay and blue sea, and a nice bit of surf to add interest. 

Wikipedia: "Biarritz has long made its fortune from the sea: as a whaling settlement from the twelfth century onwards, in the 18th century doctors recommended that the ocean at Biarritz had therapeutic properties, inspiring patients to make pilgrimages to the beach for alleged cures for their ailments.

Biarritz became more renowned in 1854 when Empress Eugenie (the wife of Napoleon III) built a palace on the beach (now the Hôtel du Palais). European royalty, including British monarchs Queen Victoria and King Edward VII (who caused a minor scandal when he called H. H. Asquith to kiss hands at Biarritz in 1908 rather than return to London for the purpose), and the Spanish king Alfonso XIII, were frequent visitors."

We sat in a cafe under the shade and had ice creams, watching the mix of people go by, I think you would have to be pretty wealthy to live, or holiday here. 

James took the kids for a swim on the beach and David, Rachel and I took a quick look at the shops. 

It was time to head back to Tournefeuille, so we piled back into the car and headed home.  We had a quick tea break after a couple of hours and we saw this interesting sculpture - must be a lot of biking in the Pyrenees!