Biarritz

After 5 wonderful days in San Sebastián, I took a couple trains back across the border to another beautiful surf town in Basque country for a couple days... Biarritz, France. Once a popular holiday destination for Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, and Russian Aristocrats, Biarritz is now known for its beaches and surfing.

I arrived in town late afternoon, just in time to shower, relax for a bit, then head out for the evening. I lucked out once again with Airbnb, staying at a lovely little home called Maison Pia. My host, Marion was incredibly welcoming and drove me around the town the first night, showed me the must-sees and took me to a great little tapas bar overlooking the coast. She even pointed out a scenic running route and a place to swim in the nude if I so pleased, ha! So French! We capped the night chatting over local wine/cheeses/fruit in her garden... The perfect start to my trip.

Good food and view at Kostaldea

The next morning, I skipped the skinny dipping, but took Marion's advice on the running route and set out for a sunrise run along the coast, with my camera in hand! I looked a little silly, but it was worth it for the pics and I was able to get some of my sightseeing done too (i.e. La Grande Plage, Villa Belza, Rocher de la Vierge/Rock of the Virgin).

La Grande Plage - town's largest beach

Villa Belza

After my run, I walked over to Les Halles, the local market, bought a fresh chocolate croissant (when in France, right?), had an espresso, and meandered through the isles, taking in the sights and scents of fresh baguettes, cheeses, fish/meats, flowers, and produce. I could spend hours in a good European market! 

Next, I set out to explore the city more. I checked out the other sites to see: Plage Miramar, Eugenie Palace (now Hôtel du Palais), Phare de Biarritz (lighthouse), Ass Cultuelle Orthodoxe Russe (Russian Orthodox church - below on the right). Biarritz is small, so I was able to tackle the sites in half a day and laze on the beach in the afternoon.

View of Plage Miramar from Pointe Saint-Martin

Hôtel du Palais

Phare de Biarritz

After washing away the sand, I spent the final evening of my solo trip at Port Vieux, the casual harbor area of town. Here I enjoyed a local dish of grilled squid at Casa Juan Pedro and chatted with fellow travelers from South Africa.

My final day, I spent my dwindling hours of sunshine on the beach before returning to a rainy Dublin. As I'm writing this now and looking out my window at snow flurries (in March in Ireland!), I'm reliving my experience and realize even more how incredible it was. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm proud of myself for pulling the trigger on a solo trip. Who knows if or when I'll be able to do it again, but it's one I'll never forget :) Cheers, SS & Biarritz!

Ridin' Solo

One of the things I mentioned I'd do differently with 9 months off again was travel more. I know what you're thinking. More? We've traveled so much already! However, if I had the time again, I'd take more solo trips, because... why not? Once I traveled by myself one time, I realised (just realized I typed the alternate spelling!) that I could do it. And not only that -- I really enjoyed it. It was liberating!

After 4 months of Irish weather, I got tired of waiting around in the rain for my permit and decided it was time to take a break from Dublin and the non-existent summer. So, I booked a spur of the moment trip to San Sebastián, Spain & Biarritz, France, a couple beach towns in Basque country, to recharge with some much needed sunshine.

Playa de la Concha - San Sebastián

I had never traveled alone before. Sure, I've taken flights around the U.S. on my own, but that's peanuts compared to a week-long solo trip in foreign countries where I don't speak the language. Needless to say, I was nervous about it (and chose not to mention it to my parents until I arrived, because I knew they would worry and make me more nervous!). What is great about traveling solo is that it forces you to get over these nerves and out of your comfort zone. You have only yourself to rely on for directions, what to do, etc.

My first day was an excellent ice breaker for the rest of the trip. I flew to Biarritz, France, then figured out the bus to take from the airport to the train station, booked a ticket to Hendaye (a little French town on the border of Spain), transferred to a separate train station, booked a ticket to San Sebastián, then walked about a mile with my little suitcase (pretty sure this is where it broke) to the Airbnb apartment I reserved, to stay with a woman who didn't speak a word of English. I definitely had trouble reading train and bus schedules (not to mention that trains in France are often not on time!), and stumbled through communication, awkwardly blurting out 2-word sentences like, "Train... Hendaye?" 

 Once you get over the hiccups and feeling uncomfortable, the rest is amazing. I had intermittent lonely moments where I missed my husband, felt silly taking even a few pics of myself, or wanted to share my experience with someone (at least the beauty of modern technology means being able to share pictures, FB updates, Skype, etc. to make you feel more connected). Otherwise, it's great being on your own schedule -- you do what you want, where you want, when you want. You have total control over your vacation.

View of San Sebastián from Monte Urgull

I brought a few great books and spent my days running on the beach at sunrise, exploring the towns, people watching at cafes, chatting with my hosts and interesting fellow travelers, practicing Spanish, strolling the boardwalks and lounging in the sunshine. Just writing all that makes me want to do it all over again!

Cidra & White Asparagus - Basque cuisine

Sitting in Spain, looking across the harbor at France (right)

Best book to bring with you on a solo trip!

Evening routine - watching sunset at Playa de la Concha

I would absolutely recommend to anyone to challenge yourself to "ride solo" on a trip if the opportunity presents itself. It's an unforgettable experience and you'll be proud of yourself for it. I'll write a separate post with tips for women traveling solo (being a young woman, I know I certainly did a little research before taking off on my own). Next up though: I'll post about the San Sebastián and Biarritz trips themselves... stay tuned!!

Paris Itinerary

Itinerary #3: Here are some tips and must-sees for a few days in Paris...

Where to Stay:

Paris is a pretty compact city, so wherever you stay, you should have no problem getting around. Paris is split by the River Seine and divided into the left bank (south of the Seine) and right bank (north). The left bank is usually associated with Bohemia and creativity, and some of the main streets include Boulevard Saint-Germain, the Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Rue de Rennes. We stayed in Saint-Germain and loved it! The right bank is more known for elegance and sophistication, with the main street being the Champs-Élysées. 

Getting Around:

DO NOT rent a car in Paris. Like most European cities, it is easier to walk and driving in Paris would be very difficult. You can walk most places, and the Metro (train) is everywhere and easy to use.

What to see:

In no particular order...

Notre Dame de Paris: Free to go inside, but there is a charge to go into the bell towers - €8.50 / adult, but well worth it for views (just be prepared for ~400 steps!)

Champs-Élysées & Arc de Triomphe: Stroll down the famous shopping street in Paris, lined with designer stores and restaurants, ending in the Arc de Triomphe. If you're like us, it may take a moment to figure out how to get to the Arch. You have to take a small underground tunnel to get there.

Eiffel Tower: Pretty straight-forward. Go see it! During the day AND at night when it is all lit up. You can go up in the tower for a fee too, but the lines are typically very long, so depends if you feel like waiting! There are riverboat tours that take off right around the Eiffel Tower as well, which we didn't do b/c we had poor weather, but I've heard they're very nice.

Louvre: MUST see. As I mentioned before, you could spend days here, but at least set aside a half day and pick out the exhibits you want to see most. Costs about 10 euros, and is free on the first Sunday of every month. I've also heard that Friday nights are a good time to go, because it's less crowded and admission is free for anyone under 25 years of age.

Montmartre & Sacré-Cœur: Take the train, or taxi, to Montmartre - cool neighborhood to walk around and see the Moulin Rouge. I'd recommend taking a bottle of wine up on the stairs to Basilica de Sacre Couer (take a look inside the church too) and watch the sunset and lights come on in the city. It's beautiful! 

Cuisine:

Have plenty of delicious french wines, cheeses, breads... so fantastic there! We didn't find any places we loved, so I don't have many good recommendations for restaurants. If anyone has some great suggestions... let me know too!

Paris!

We spent our first holiday weekend in Barcelona, and the next in Paris. I've always wanted to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe... there are so many amazing things to see!

In Barcelona, I could get by on my college Minor level of Spanish, but France marked our first country where neither of us spoke the language. I know the travel basics, the song "Les Poissons" from Little Mermaid (hee hee hee haw haw haw!) and the words to a nonsensical French Rap video my brothers put together 5 years ago... meaning, I don't know French. However, as with every major city in Europe, most people also speak English and you can get by -- I just think it's polite to attempt the native language, even if I butcher it and it's blatantly obvious that I'm American. At least I'm not being assumptive and I'm trying, right?

The trip itself was fantastic! We stayed in Saint-Germain, an artsy, upscale neighborhood on the left bank of The Seine -- great location for sightseeing. We spent the first of three days walking around the entire city and exploring as much as possible. The morning was spent walking through the neighborhood and the Jardin du Luxembourg, the expansive gardens surrounding Luxembourg Palace. Our walk worked up our appetite and we had a delicious breakfast of fresh crêpes and espresso. Maybe my favorite meal of our whole trip! 

Next, we made our way over to the river Seine and to Notre Dame. We didn't go in because of the charge and line, but we should've and will do it next time! The exterior architecture alone is beautiful though...

 After Notre Dame, we walked along the river and through Jardin du Tuileries to Champs-Élysées, the enormous shopping street filled with cafes and luxury stores. The Avenue dead ends in the Arc de Triomphe, another famous monument that honors the soldiers in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

The Eiffel Tower was next. It started raining (the Dublin weather followed us!), but it didn't matter and actually made the setting more romantic :) That is, until I got soaked and was freezing and we stumbled into a local cafe where the waitress was not a fan of us, ha! That was the only experience where the people were not very friendly; otherwise, we found that most people defied the Parisian stereotype and were very nice and helpful. 

On Day 2, we spent the bulk of our day at The Louvre (it's so massive you could spend days in there!). Even though we got an early start, we arrived to a ridiculously long line. I just figured it was par for the course, so we sucked it up and waited in line for an hour, inventing silly "would you rather?" scenarios, only to find that the line was so long because admission was FREE! This occurs on the first Sunday of every month... works for me! 

The interior decor by itself is incredible and, of course, it has some of the greatest art in the world! Notice the Mona Lisa is blurry b/c it's actually smaller than you would think and you can only get so close, especially amongst the crowds.

 Following the Louvre, we visited the neighborhood of Montmartre, where the infamous Moulin Rouge is located. It's a very cool neighborhood, boasting panoramic views from Sacré-Cœur, a gorgeous basilica at the highest point of the city. We got a bottle of wine and watched the sunset here for our last night in Paris...

 Our final day, we did more of the same, strolled the streets and relaxed at cafes. Can't wait to go back and visit again. Until next time... Au Revoir, Paris!