Basking in Basque: Part 1 - Pays Basque (France)
It was about that time again, time for a real vacation. Forget the jam packed few days of discovering something tacked onto a work trip. I needed a real break. T he beauty of Europe is there are so many destinations close to home. And I wanted something simple. I wanted to take the train and see the countryside. I didn’t want a city packed with sights. I wanted the seaside, sunshine (it was a long winter), a slow pace and time to catch my breath and decompress from the hustle and bustle of city life. So I decided to head southwest, to see a part of France I'd never seen before, Basque Country . Why? I can't really explain it. It was something about the way people talk about this unique piece of Europe that sparked my curiosity to discover it. The coast is peppered with beaches and walking trails, people enjoying sand and surf. The interior is filled with beautiful little villages. The language ( Euskara in the Basque language) is neither French, nor Spanish a