Biarritz: Things I loved....

• The voyage: The train ride was beautiful. A river had over flowed its banks, putting whole orchards of sycamores and fruit trees in a blue, silvery mirror of water. Fields were lost beneath the six inches or so, and the whole landscape was beautiful as a result, seeming almost as though the stone walls and fences of the fields rose up not from the earth but instead out of a meters deep lake.

• The city: On the edge of the ocean with dramatic bluffs and overlooks and even more dramatic waves. The town has established even more trails than San Sebastian, and Jonathan and I walked along them and ate our various picnic meals and watched the numerous surfers below.
• The pastries: for breakfast we stopped into a market and ordered two tartlettes - mine was raspberry and Jonathan's was chocolate - and then ate them at another ocean overlook.
• The chocolate: Biarritz is famous for its candies and so on our last day in town Jonathan and I went to one such chocolaterie, Miremont, and splurged on two chocolate domes - mine filled with mousse de café and his filled with dark chocolate mousee. It was the richest eating experience of my life. Additionally, Miremont was a very beautiful shop with its entire back wall given up to a view of the ocean and the entire interior looking as though it had likely not changed in a hundred years, with old mirrors and arm chairs and wall hangings. It was a very elegant experience to say the least.
• The ocean. With waves more fierce and pounding than I have ever seen before.
• Taco Mex: After trying to find an open restaurant for around an hour, Jonathan and I finally stumbled upon this little gem of a place, tucked back in an alley with its neon sign beaming like a beacon of hope. We went inside and were greeted by the nicest French couple I've met so far who spoke to us in a mix of French, Spanish and English. We ordered two fajitas, which arrived, looking desolate, small and all alone on our plates. They cost 9 euros (so roughly 13 dollars) and were so paltry looking it was laughable. Suddenly! Our waitress directed us to a buffet that contained the most appatizing display of Mexican food I have ever seen! Her husband, the chef, preceded to instruct us as to which beans were best with which sauces, what to eat with the the potatoes, which sauce to put on which fajita etc. He even would endearingly say, "Please, for me, put a little more of the green sauce on your corn." Which we did. And it was incredible. The next day it was all we could do to stay away until dinner time, but once 8 o'clock rolled around we found ourselves embarassingly coming back for more. The waitress greeted us with a, "Coming back for more!?" using the cutest French accent I've yet to hear. All together some of the best Mexican food I've ever had. And such a welcome treat.
• Jonathan: One of my favorite traveling companions. On weekends like this, it almost feels like everything is a date - grocery shopping becomes romantic. I am simply crazy about him, and I'm so glad that at every turn in our lives where we could have suddenly found some way in which we're incompatible - like traveling - we instead figure out we're more compatible than we'd previously thought. So many couples have problems traveling with each other or simply have different ideas of what is important to do and see while traveling. Happily, Jonathan and I seem to have exactly the same concept of what traveling should consist of and divide our time between relaxing lethargically and then feverishly taking in the sights and tourist attractions. It's perfect. Each weekend like this has seemed so much longer than a weekend and I'm so glad to have gotten to see so many beautiful places with him!