Today’s temperature was expected to  be cooler, reaching a high of only 89 degrees. H’mm. The breakfast buffet was as tempting and yesterday’s, but we noticed that there were also “American” foods such as cold cereal, pancakes,  and yogurt,  and  also a variety of cold meats, cheeses, and fruit. After breakfast, we decided to go for a walk on the town’s ramparts. Bayonne was a walled city when  the ramparts were constructed centuries ago, and they  offered protection in case of  an  attack. The section of the ramparts that remains forms a walkway around part of the original town.

We walked to a shop that made chocolate on site, but no one inside spoke English. We  continued walking, with the goal of finding an outdoor place for lunch in the shade. Luck was with us at a place called Instant Gourmet. Nick ordered a salad topped with jambon and sheep’s milk cheese, while I thoroughly enjoyed a Croque Monsieur with mozzarella cheese and béchamel sauce, and of course, jambon.

Back in our hotel at 5 PM, we met  our tour guide, Todd, who checked our Covid cards, a requirement for participating in this trip. Todd is an American  who lives in Spain and has been leading tour groups for several years. We also met our fellow tourists. The twenty-six of us  included a group of friends from Ohio who were members of a book group, a group of women from Texas  who worked together, some couples from different parts of the US, and a few solo travelers, both men and women. After we each introduced ourselves, Todd led us on an orientation tour of the town. While walking, Todd shared some of the history of the area. We all know that in 1492, Columbus was sponsored to find a route to the Indies by Ferdinand and Isabella.  Todd asked if anyone knew the name of the daughter of the monarchs. I replied, “Juana La Loca,” which means Crazy Jane. Someone  in the group asked me if I had evert been on Jeopardy! No, this was a memory from my high school Spanish classes that I hadn’t thought about for many decades. Todd stumped  us  by asking for the name of Juana La Loca’s husband. It was Felipe El Guapo, Philip the Handsome.

On our way to the restaurant where we would  have dinner, Todd pointed out his favorite ice cream shops. He recommended a gelateria that we would check out the following day. Dinner started with  sangria and a salad topped with jambon and sheep’s milk cheese, as Nick had for lunch. The main course was  a mild white fish called hake, with mashed potatoes seasoned with lots of garlic. The dessert was Gateau Basque, the pastry we first enjoyed for breakfast, two layers of cake filled with pastry cream. Wine was available throughout the meal. We would later learn that good wine is very inexpensive in the Basque Country, costing about three euros for a glass, and about six euros for a bottle!

When we got back to our hotel, we found that a big pre-wedding celebration was taking place in the courtyard below our window. A huge TV had been set up  for the evening’s entertainment of football, what we call soccer. Even with  the noise from all that celebrating, we had no trouble falling asleep.

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