St. Jean de Luz

Like most cities, Saint-Jean-de-Luz had a central market.  It was called Les Halles, just like that of Paris' old central market.  We headed there first thing in the morning.  It had an old town feel, and everyone manning the stalls was very friendly.  We had many samples:  cheese, macaroons, comte sausage, etc.

We picked up some potatoes and paella at the market to take with us for a picnic on the beach.

We tried to go jet skiing, but the jet skis weren't out yet (due to the bad weather we had just missed), we tried to go for spa treatments but weren't too impressed by the facilities (nothing tops Burke Williams), and finally, we found a coiffure so we both got much needed haircuts.

Back to the beach...  We spent a lot of time relaxing on the beach:  swimming, reading, taking in the beauty of the coastline.

The only thing that could make our day more perfect was a pina colada.  Lucky for us, we were able to find a beachside cafe serving pina coladas.  We snacked on fries, played pusoy dos, and did a little bit of wedding brainstorming before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

The hotel recommended a traditional Basque restaurant for our dinner and made reservations for us at Petit Grill Basque - Chez Maya.  Basque country is a mixture of Spanish and French being right on the border of both countries.  It seemed that everyone spoke at least three languages:  French, Spanish, and English.

After dinner, we watched a parade where there were dancers, musicians, and people jumping over pots of fire.  The town festival was still going on, and everyone was dressed in red and black as well as traditional attire.

We went back to the carnival to get another dose of the Crazy Dance ride.  Aaaah!

We took a romantic stroll along the beach as we walked through the town and back to the hotel.  The keys for the hotel rooms are stored in a cupboard next to the front desk.  It just showed how safe the town was.  Each time you leave the hotel, you are supposed to leave your keys in the cupboard and retrieve them one you return.  At first, I wondered how safe that could be considering anyone could take any key and they would have access to your room.  After just a couple nights in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, you could see how this was a town where everyone leaves their doors unlocks and safety isn't an issue - the complete opposite of Spain!