Colin and I just got back from a great trip to France. We spent 12 days in the country, driving from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic coast, then on to Paris.
Our trip started out in Montpellier, about 20km from the Mediterranean sea. The city was pretty hopping with a large youth population due to the presence of a big university. Apparently, we missed the Tour de France's ride through the city by a few hours.
The following day, we took a short bus trip and found a hotel close to the water on the Mediterranean sea. "Playas de Flotas", the small French resort city we stayed in, was interesting. I think the location is more for middle class French folks trying to get away from the city life and less of an international tourist spot. It was pretty but nothing like the French riviera we expected. Apparently, you have to travel further north and closer to Nice and Cannes if you want to see the beaches where the stars frequent.
Two days later we rented a car in Montpellier and headed north. Our drive took us through the fortified city of Carcassonne. The place was packed with tourist and one could hardly walk though the entrance of the city. We continued our drive northwest through abandoned towns and rural villages along the Pyrenees mountains. Unfortunately, we didn't plan any time in the mountains, which create the Spain-France boarder.
About six hours later we arrive in the French Basque region and found our hotel in the small city of Guethery. The main city of the region, Biarritz, is only 12km north of where we stayed. Our hotel was an old building dating from 1809 and is still owned by the original family. The beaches and land around the ocean were beautiful. The water was warm (22C or 71F) with some nice waves. We saw a great swell come in which brought waves about 1.5 times overhead. This area of France is claimed to have the best surfing in Europe, although the best time to see consistent surf is in the winter.
We also drove into Spain one day to check out the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/ingles/home.htm). Inside the museum we saw a cool exhibition of steel sculptures by Richard Serra. Bilbao and the surrounding area are definitely a place we'd like to see again.
After playing in the waves of the Atlantic, we drove northeast to Bordeaux. The city was, like most of France, very old. We just stayed one night but had a nice tour of the historical part of town and a traditional dinner, which included various duck dishes.
The next day we drove six hours north to Paris. Fortunately, we got to stay with a friend of Colin's for four nights. Paris was completely overrun with Americans and other foreigners. However, it was great to walk around and see lots of the sites. Coincidentally, we caught the last day of the Tour de France and saw the finish of the race as Lance Armstrong won for the seventh time! We visited a few of the museums in the city along with some old parks, markets, shops, and Sushi restaurants.
Our journey ended yesterday with a train ride back to Zurich via Lausanne. Today, I am back at work while Colin is preparing for his semester.
It was really wonderful to see rural France along with the beautiful sites of Paris. My favorite spot, however, was the beach on the Atlantic coast in the French Basque region. I guess I'm destined to live near the ocean!
