Bayonne and Biarritz.

Yesterday the USAC group visited Bayonne and Biarritz, which are two old, historical and beautiful cities in the south of France and the Basque county. I thought Pau was apart of the Basque county, but I was informed yesterday from our tour guide that Pau is apart of the Bearn region. Origin is a touchy subject, and people get offended if you confuse the two.

First was Bayonne, and we had a guided tour for a few hours to hear about the history. I was only kind of half listening because the woman spoke very fast french, but she was very nice and patient with our group. We ate lunch in Bayonne with a traditional basque menu: basque chicken (whole chicken with bone and spiced chunks of tomatoes, bell peppers), a salad with beets (YUM), and my absolute favorite, gateau basque!! It sorta tasted like a dutch letter because the cake is made with almond paste.

Chocolate is popular in Bayonne because it was the first city in France to make chocolate. I tried a hot chocolate, and it was deliciously rich and creamy. You get to pick out which kind of chocolate you want in it, and a huge chunk of chocolate is placed in warm milk so it can melt. So, so good. I also bought a chocolate with coconut on the top and ganache in the middle. SO GOOD. Needless to say, I had aproximately 4 desserts that day, and may have gained 5 pounds. When in France... Eat chocolate and as many pastries as possible!

Next we went to Biarritz to play in the ocean on the beach. The scenery looks like a view from a postcard. This part of the ocean water is so clean! I could see my feet even when the water was up to my waste. The undertow was really strong in this area, and there were huge waves. People tried to surf, which was fun amusing to watch.

More on the alarm.. Set it off three times on Friday. Whoops. The company only called and checked once. I understood the man on the phone a lot better this time, which means my french is better! My host mom was a little frustrated with the whole situation, but it wasn't completely my fault.

p.s. There are lots of pictures on facebook of Bayonne and Biarritz. Check em out! :)