Birthday Weekend :: Day two - St. Jean de Luz

It's been a crazy few days.

My roommate J called me Tuesday afternoon to inform me that she sprained her ankle. S and I met her at the bus stop and took her to a nearby hospital. After hours of waiting, we found out that she actually fractured her foot and needed surgery. Her operation went well and she is now recuperating at the hospital.

Like I said, it's been a crazy few days. I never even imagined that I would pay a visit to a police station and a hospital in a foreign country. J and I agreed that we are getting a full, living abroad experience. Unfortunately, I had to cancel my weekend trip to Madrid. But, this means that I have all weekend to get caught up on my posts!

Anyway, without further ado, I present the next installment of my birthday weekend.

After a fun, but tiring night in San Sebastián, I was ready for something more low key. St. Jean-de-Luz was exactly what I was looking for.

See the ladies staring at me?

St. Jean-de-Luz is a small coastal town in French Basque country. It is about an hour away from San Sebastián by train + bus.

When we arrived, we were greeted by stormy clouds and sprinkles of rain. But I didn't mind, strangely.

J and I decided to book a hotel this time, and we were really excited to be able to stay in a nice, clean room without having to share a single bathroom with 6 other strangers. We were also thrilled to find out that the hotel was a few steps away from the beach.

By now, y'all should know that J and I are avid eaters. We have a seemingly endless appetite for food and it's imperative that we eat the regional cuisine, and that we eat well. Therefore, it was only fitting that the first thing we did, after checking into our hotel, was to make a dinner reservation at a restaurant. We actually had three restaurants in mind and couldn't choose. We asked a hotel personnel what she would recommend and she decided for us. After securing our reservation, in our very limited French, we set out to find a spot for lunch!

We decided to eat lunch at one of the three restaurants we had wanted to try - La Ruelle

I ordered from the menu of the day:

Starter - moules marinières - a million steamed mussels

Entree - Assiette du Petit Mousse - assorted grilled seafood. I think I´ve been spoiled with such great food because this dish was mediocre (in comparison to the other grilled seafood I've tried). It was a little overcooked in my opinion.

Dessert - Mousse au chocolat - I was in France, so of course I chose the chocolate mousse! It was so airy and a perfect ending to my meal.

With full bellies, we set out to finally explore the town. I discovered that St. Jean-de-Luz is too cute for words.

We walked a long the coast and hiked up a small hill for some gorgeous views.

We were definitely not very hungry by the time dinner rolled around. But we couldn't refuse a chance for more good food.

Petit Grill Basque - Chez Maya

excited about the vino list

Ttoro - a seafood stew. It tasted like a mild version of cioppino, with a thicker broth and more soup than seafood. Very good.

Squid in squid ink sauce. The squid was perfectly cooked; tender and not too chewy. The sauce was mild and savory. A perfect combination with a side of rice.

Since we were so close to Bourdeaux, we decided to splurge on a bottle of Bourdeaux wine.

We were too full for dessert (for once).

We walked around the empty streets for a bit, and spent some time by the beach.

The next morning, we had a petit-déjeuner LE COMPLET, which comes with a baguette, croissant, orange juice, coffee, butter and jam!

photo courtesy of J

All in all, a perfect start to my 26th year!