Day Trip to Bayonne

Last week we took a day trip to a city we have never visited before: Bayonne, France. Bayonne is considered the capital of the French Basque Country, and one of the things we did was visit the city's well-regarded Basque Museum. 

Bayonne sits at the confluence of two rivers: the Ardour and the Nive. We crossed both to get from the train station to the museum. The museum itself is in an old building on the edge of the Nive River. We watched a movie that showed the growth (and decline) of various governments in what is now Spain and France from pre-Roman times through the present day. It was a very interesting way to see the numerous politcal forces that have impacted the Basque people over the last 2500 years. Much of the rest of the museum was about the lives of the Basque people, most of which we knew. There was also a small exhibit about the Jews of Bayonne, where some settled after being driven out of Spain and Portugal in the late-15th century (and brought the art of chocolate-making to the city). The museum's displays were in French, Basque, and Spanish -- English was not an option.

After the museum we walked around a bit before heading to lunch. We stepped into Saint Andrew's Church, a neo-Gothic style church built in the 19th century along the way:

We also saw this fantastic whale mural, referencing the history of whaling in the area, which we learned later (thanks, Google) was done by a couple of Barcelona-based artists. 

Our lunch was really fantastic, and very sophisticated. Of course, we drank French wine, and enjoyed two fish dishes, both of which were delicious. We had a lively debate about whether French food might be better than Italian. 

After lunch, we did a bit more walking around the city, including a visit to Bayonne's cathedral, Sainte-Marie, which is visible from most points in the city:

The inside of the cathedral was actually quite impressive, but even better was the adjacent cloister:

In our wandering through Bayonne, we also came accross the city's war memorial:

Note that the huge number of names in the center of the memorial are  those lost in WWI, while the smaller number of names on the two sides are  those lost in WWII, which is something we tend to see in France, given its relatively-limited participation in the battles of WWII. Also, note the representation of the Basque person on the left with his buey (ox), a traditional method of transportation in the Basque region.

We had a very nice day in Bayonne, but don't think we like it as much as San Jean de Luz or Biarritz, the other cities we have visited in the French Basque region.

More soon.

Jeff and Shana