Sally Mara Art

FRENCH

LEÇON

#1

courbe d'apprentissage

(learning curve)

 PETIT le SMART

conduire

chercher

trouver
(drive, look for, find)

I took a petit refresher course in driving a stick the day before
 finding my rental car at the airport in Biarritz,

because I thought there might only be manuals available
HOWEVER
PETIT was manual and automatic (go figure) and it took me a bit of time to find

the A (pothole #1) that the rental agent told me about (in french, partial pothole #2)

and to figure out how to shift into that gear 

I was about to drive to Spain to find my friend Niki at the airport in Irun, my french pals were heading off to Bordeaux to show one of their films, so I was driving alone, in this half a car,
through the Basque country where the road signs are in the undecipherable Basque language

I had a bit of ANXIETY......

I got explicit instructions and directions....double and triple checking them for this 40 minute drive
DON'T SPEED (les flics are very vigilante)
know which lane to be in for the roundabouts
know their version of EZ-pass lanes
know the exact amount of euros for the tolls
AND
I left an hour early in case of  
DETOURS, TRAFFIC, CONSTRUCTION, WRONG TURNS, 
and all those other POTHOLES you don't think about

Here's how to do it
take the A63 to exit one

(detour #1) 
I was so nervous I missed the main entrance to A63 and ended up in St Jean de Luz YIKES

but found another entrance from there...WHEW! 
it had been driven into my head that I had to FIND and get off at 

EXIT ONE
a tiny sign on the right side of the road 
HENDAYEL/HENDAIA 
 or I was sunk....

more sweat

Exit 1 towards Hendaye/Biriatou

merge onto Route de Kurleku

at roundabout take 1st right to Route Béhobie D811

at roundabout take 2nd exit it Pont International
CROSS the border INTO  
SPAIN 

take a breath.....
continue onto Endarlaza Hiribidea

at roundabout take1st exit and stay on Endarlaza Hiribidea

continue onto Juan Thalamas Landandibar Kalea GI 636

at roundabout take 1st right to GI 636

take roundabout to Irun NOT Iruña N 638 Aireportua Hondarribia

continue onto GI 2134

at roundabout take 1st right onto Medelu Kalea GI 2134

continue onto Armitaide Auzoa GI 638

keep right to continue on Gabarrari Kalea

enter roundabout to  
DONASTIA HONDARRIBIA AIREPORTUA
YIPPEE !

I even had time for a sandwich de jamón and a café con leche before Niki's plane arrived

 then
 road block # 1
paying the parking meter....... ?

We had one actual sunny day in Biarritz before taking off for points east, 
and the promise of medieval villages, Cathar citadels, 
beautiful weather, great food and wine.....

first stop
SAINT-LIZIER

Ariège, Midi-Pyrénées, France 
RAIN 

Saint-Lizier is an ancient village at the foothills of the Pyrénées mountains, stretching back to pre Gallo-Roman times. In 72 BC, Pompey, returning from his triumphs in Spain against Sertorius, stopped here. He gathered together the ancient tribes of the area under the name Consorani.
During the fifth century the citadel became an episcopal see, the oldest in the Ariège area. Its first bishop is thought to have been Saint Valier.
The town is named in honor of its 6th Century bishop Lycerius, canonized as Saint Lizier

then 
Saint-Girons

and finally arriving at the
Hôtel Chateau de Beauregard

in the rain
without mishap

 Hôtel Chateau de Beauregard

Hector

RECETTE  
for the  
rOAD 

 maps
"'' '"  """
' "''rain gear'  "
an ashtray filled to the brim with 
euros for tolls
water 
and 
for all those future unpreventable and unforeseen 
WRONG TURNS

and every potential  
DISASTER
* 
a sense of  
HUMOR
an adventurous spirit
the perfect
 COMPANION
 a flexible plan
a good sense of
> DIRECTION >> 
+ 
bread 
saucisson 
cheese
 radishes 
chocolate
 knife 
corkscrew
+ 

  wine 
next stop Llafranc, España on the Balearic Sea