 |
|
|
Friday 3 May 11-11.30am |
|
|
|
Route for Programme 4 - Basque
BASQUE
This week Tony Hawks went to visit the French Basque country - which lies in the ‘armpit’ where Spain and France meet on the Atlantic Coast.
The Basques have a long connection with the sea. Legend has it that the early Basque economy grew on fishing and boat-craft. They taught the world to whale and travelled across the Atlantic long before any other Europeans, bringing back cod from the North Atlantic and peppers from the South.
TRAVEL LOCATIONS
In the programme, Tony visited Biaritiz to play pelote, Sare to go horse riding - the small Spanish village of Zugarramurrdi to have a look at the differences between Basque villages on either side of the Border, St Jean Pied de Port to visit an art exhibition and finally the tiny village of Ostobat to see where artist Josetta Dacosta Bray does her painting of Basque houses.
SARE
Otherwise known as the Basque Republic of Sare, Sare is a beautiful and very typical Basque town -with two pelote courts and plenty of opportunities for eating the wonderful Basque food.
There are lots of places to stay in the immediate area - although they do get very booked up in the Summer. For a full list contact the tourist board mentioned below but we stayed at
Olhabidea, a beautiful 16th century half-timbered house with wooden balconies, a mile outside the town, run by Anne-Marie Fagoaga, whose son, Emmanuel runs the riding school, tel: 00 33 (0) 5 59 54 21 85, fax: 0033 (0) 5 59 54 21 85.
Arraya, is the main hotel/restaurant right in the middle of the village, a little more expensive but very ancient and atmospheric. It is a former Compostelle coaching inn, decorated in the style of a 16th century Basque home, Place du Village, 64310, Sare, Pays Basque, tel: 00 33 (0) 5 59 54 29 46,
Hotel Arraya Website
Traditional Basque fare can also be found in a restaurant opposite the square called
Lastiry, Sare.
tel: 00 33 (0) 5 59 54 20 07
ST JOHN PIED DE PORT
Artist Josetta Da Costa Bray paints picture of Basque houses. Josetta is based at 22 rue de la Citadelle, 64220 Saint Jean Pied de Port,
tel: 00 33 (0) 6 71 0057 23
Josetta's website
St Jean Pied de Port is a beautiful old walled city - and a place of meeting for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela - the pilgrimage route also runs through Ostobat - the little village where Josetta lives and paints.
THINGS TO DO
Biarritz pelote Club.Every village has a fronton(pelote court) as its principal monument. Pelote was developed in the region and is the fastest ball game in the world, it is similar to playing real tennis. Most of the big championships are held in July and August, often in Biarritz or St-Jean-de-Luz.
Summer training courses can be arranged, contact the Federation de Pelote Basque, Trinquet Moderne, 60 Av Dubrocq, 64100 Bayonne
tel: 00 33 (0) 5 59 59 05 22
ffpb@wanadoo.fr
Tony visited the Aquilera Fronton Parc des Sport (close to the airport) to meet Serge Camy, the ex-world class player in Miami for 10 years.
To see top grade pelote players in action contact the tourist board in Biarritz 00 33 (0) 5 59 22 37 00 or visit the Biarritz tourism office for more information. The office is located next to the town hall in Square d’Ixelles.
Horse Riding
Emmanuel Fagoaga runs the riding school in the Basque country, the school is based in Sare, for further information tel: 05 59 54 28 94 or ceohaldea@wanadoo.fro
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PART OF FRANCE
French Tourist Board, 178 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9AL, tel: 09068 244123.
French Tourist Board Website
Pays Basque Tourist Board, Caserne de L’Nive, 4 Allees des Platans, 64100, Bayonne, tel: 00 33 5 59 46 52 52
Getting there
Ryanair fly to Biarritz - 08701 569 569
Buzz (internet bookings only) fly to Bordeaux and La Rochelle.
Go fly to Bilbao - 0845 6054321
British Airways fly to Bordeaux, tel: 0845 7733377
Travel Guides
Bilbao & the Basque Lands by Dana Facaros & Michael Pauls, published by Cadagon Guides - ISBN 1 86011 835 6
The Green Guide, Atlantic Coast, published by Michelin Travel Publications - ISBN 2 06 000090 4
Charming Small Hotel Guides to France by Paul Wade & Kathy Arnold, published by Duncan Peterson Ltd - ISBN 9 781903 301142
France, published by Lonely Planet - ISBN 0 86442 612 7.
Alastair Sawday’s Special Places to stay B&B edition.
Alistair Sawday's Special Places to Stay website
Further reading
Mark Kurlansky The Basque History of The World, published by Jonathan Cape is a great general read on history of Basque’s and their achievements up to modern times -SBN 0 224 06055 4)
The Circle of Mountains: A Basque Shepherding Community by Sandra Ott and published by Clarenden Press, Oxford, 1981 - an academic study of a sheep herding community.
Music
The Basque Music used in this programme was from:
The album Songs from the Basque Country, (track 1, Jeiki Jeiki) published by Arion, ARN 64223; and the instrumental music you heard was from the album Basque Country, (track 4, "Goizian giozik" and track 5, "Menditik behera suite"), Ocora, C 559045.
Theme music for the series is Vas-Y-Mimile by Marc Perrone, track 8 from the album, Rough Guide to Cafe Paris, published by Rough Guides , RGNET 1084 CD.
Read Arthur Smith's Diary of his visit
Find out the route used in programme 6
Find out the route used in programme 5
Find out the route used in programme 3
Find out the route used in programme 2
Find out the route used in programme 1
|
|
|
|
RELATED LINKS |
|
|
BBC French Steps - French online for beginners
BBC Language Courses on the web
|
|
|
|
|
|
