Slept in (what??!!) and had croissants and very strong French coffee for breakfast. Needed that extra caffeine for our exploration of St. Jean. The castle you'll see below is atop the hill here and was built in the 12th century as a place for armies to gather before crossing the Pyrenees into Spain. Jeff made up several battle stories as we toured the castle grounds. I’m sure he will share them all with you on your next visit… Be sure to ask about the gun ports--his favorite castle elements. We spent much of the morning wandering the castle grounds and enjoying the amazing views of St. Jean and the mountains surrounding. It's a bit drizzly today. Kinda like Oregon!
Typical side street in St. Jean. Very narrow and the cars come quickly! Keeps the population agile. Most of the cars are small and many have a number of dents. Seems that defensive driving is not a priority...did I mention yesterday's taxi ride? This street boasts a chocolate shop, a bakery, several Basque tourist shops, a hikers sport shop, an antique book/map story, linen shop, the church you'll see below, a few restaurants and a small grocery.
Many in France and Spain live in apartments like these or in apartments above their businesses.
Cobblestone pathway leading up the the main castle buildings. Lots of cobblestones here. They can be a bit slick in the drizzle.
Gun ports.
A handsome pilgrim along the lush pathway beside the castle grounds.
The royal sheep just hanging out beside the castle. We are in Basque conutry and learned today that after WW1 several Basque families came to the US to be sheep farmers and cowboys. Due to the expense of living in the US many of their decendents have moved back home to France.
Today's most interesting story... This is Alexandre. He's a Gendarmerie-a member of the military police in France. They patrol across the entire country. His partner and he are watching protesters (about 10 of them) across the street who want this area of the Basque abutting Spain to become its own separate country. According to Alexandre, “this will never happen, but we are required to monitor their activity today.” Alexandre is a BIG fan of American vehicles. He tells us he has two Harley Davidson motorcycles and he saved long and hard to buy a PT Cruiser. His dream car, for which he is now saving is a ’66, ‘or ’67 Ford Mustang. His dream is to come to New York and drive that car across Route 66. Evidently Route 66 is very popular here. We’ve seen clothing and cell phone cases advertising the historic drive. We invited him to stop and see us when he hits in Flagstaff.
Jeff lights a few candles for us before we tackle the Pyrenees tomorrow...
