Jean Vrolicq Game: The
French Basque Country Travel Game Created by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
Introduction
I
named this French Basque Country Travel Game after Jean Vrolicq, a French
Basque whaler who was born in St. Jean-de-Luz.
The
Basque Coast of France used to be a whaling industry town before transforming
itself into a tourism venue for water sports, dining, and hiking.
The
French Basque Country is located along the Atlantic Coast of Southwestern
France. It is famous for offering
invigorating beach holidays; historical places to visit; restorative and
nutritious meals; and mountain hiking.
French Basque Towns to
Visit
There
are 6 towns to visit in this travel game with suggested foods to eat and buy as
souvenirs:
-Bayonne
-Biarritz
-St.
Jean-de-Luz
-St.
Jean-Pied-de-Port
-Roncevalles
-Hendaye
-Bayonne
Many
people choose to stay in Bayonne and drive down the Atlantic Coast as well as
inland to the pilgrimage site of St. Jean-Pied-de-Port.
The
main tourist sites in town are the Gothic Cathedral, the medieval Old Town with
its narrow streets, and Basque Museum with its permanent exhibit of Basque
oppression under Francoism in Spain.
Bayonne
is also famous for its Bayonne Ham, which resembles Italian San Daniele Ham
from the former Sud Tyrol (Austria) region in northeastern Italy.
-Biarritz
Biarritz
is a seaside town on the Atlantic Ocean.
It is famous for the Hôtel du Palais where royalty of all nations stay
when they visit town.
The
town was originally a whaling port that has transformed itself into an
exclusive resort with a surfing school for competitive surfers, designer
clothing shops, and an aquarium with Blue Whales and Emperor Penguins.
-St.
Jean-de-Luz
St.
Jean-de-Luz is famous for being the spot where Louis XIV married Marie-Thérèse,
the infanta of Spain, in 1660. She made
chocolate popular in France, because she ate it all the time.
There
is a Maison Louis XIV there with 17th century furniture to visit.
-St.
Jean-Pied-de-Port
If
you go to the foot of the Pyrénées Mountains from Bayonne, you will arrive at
St. Jean-Pied-de-Port. All of the French
Camino de Santiago trails converge in this town, which serves as an entryway to
Spain and Santiago de Compostella in Galicia, Spain.
This
town is quaint and has many great spots for photos.
-Roncevalles
Going
further into the Pyrénées Mountains, you arrive at the Roncevalles Pass where
the French King Charlemagne was defeated.
The famous French knight Roland was killed here and is the subject of
the French folktale The Song of Roland.
There
is a 13th century monastery here where you can eat called the Colegiata
de Santa Maria. Call ahead to make a
reservation as it is the only place to eat in town.
-Hendaye
Hendaye
is really a water sports town. There are
tons of surfboards with sails out in the water along with ocean scooters, water
skiers, and condo-sized yachts. Everyone
is tanned, thin, and beautiful.
I
was looking for Paris Match photographers in this modern-day L’Aventurra film
town. (L’Aventurra was a ritzy, Italian
holiday film by Michelangelo Antonioni.)
These
are the places I would suggest visiting on a first visit of the French Basque
Country.
French Basque Beverages
Some
of the French Basque beverages you might want to try on your vacation and send
home as souvenirs include:
-Izarra
–
French
Basque country liqueur made in Bayonne that comes in yellow and green versions.
-Irouléguy
AOC Wines –
This
French Basque wine comes in both red and white versions.
French Basque Foods
Some
of the French Basque foods you might want to try on your vacation and send home
as gift souvenirs include canned or boxed items such as:
-Jambon
de Bayonne
Air-dried
ham similar to Italy’s San Daniele from the former San Daniele region.
-Esplette
Peppers
Esplette
peppers are used for making pipérade sauce with tomatoes and onions for omelets
and for making cheddar-cheese bread with “pimentos” or esplette peppers.
-Poulet
Basquaise
This
is chicken roasted with a variety of different-colored, mild peppers, tomatoes,
and onions. Irouléguy red goes well with
this dish as it is light-bodied.
-Marmitako
–
French
Basque soup made with tuna and potatoes.
-Gâteau
Basque –
This
French Basque cake is basically a white, round cake (a Genoise) filled with
either black cherry jam or pastry cream.
Suggested Basque
Cookbook
The
cookbook by San Francisco restaurateur Gerald Hirigoyen entitled The Basque
Table: Tempting Food from the Pyrénées by Gerald Hirigoyen provides recipes for
tasty and nutritious food.
Personal Note
My
husband Laurent and I took this trip as one of our vacations when I lived in
Paris (France) for seven years. I was
glad to have an air-conditioned car, because the French Basque country shares a
border with very hot Spain.
There
are many Basques in the American West, so it is fun to see where the ancestors
of this ethnic group came from in France.
By
Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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