Other places in the Pyrénées

Went to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, which has been an important commercial town on the pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela in Spain since the 14th century. Three pilgrim routes converge there and still today, pilgrims do the routes. Much of the accommodation is geared towards them - early nights, early breakfasts and pretty basic accommodation.

Espelette is famous for its sweet red peppers. They're used whole or in powdered form in many local dishes. We had them in our dinner one night and they're pretty hot! They're picked in late summer, threaded onto string and hung to dry, often across the front of houses.

St-Jean-de-Luz is a little fishing village on the Basque Atlantic Coast. One of the most important historical events there was the wedding of the Sun King, Louis XIV, and the Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain in the cathedral in 1660. The cathedral gate, through which Louis led his new bride, was immediately walled up by masons so it could not be used by anyone else. That's style! You can still see where the gate was.

We also went to Biarritz, which began as a whaling port but was transformed into a playground for the European rich and famous (lots of European royalty) in the 19th century. Lots of lovely old hotels and lots of ghastly new ones. There's a huge influx of holiday-makers in summer but the permanent population's mainly elderly (and extremely wealthy) and much leathery old skin was on display on the beach. Disturbingly, many of the leathery old ladies were sunbathing topless.

Bayonne is the capital of the French Basque country. It's at the confluence of two rivers and is really pretty. It's right next door to Biarritz but it's much, much quieter.