Biarritz- I cant believe we're in basque country!

So last weekend was spent in Biarritz- in the southwest of France. Who knew it was such a cute little surfing town?! But I am getting ahead of myself, let me start at the beginning.. the train.

We took the idnight train- or le train qui bouge la nuit! haha it is an overnight train that is basically a party car but is extremely cheap. Just happens that we were the only americans in the middle of a reunion! Theres a group of 11 guys that get together every year during this weekend and it changes each year who plans the events of the weekend- this year it was surfing in biarritz. They were hilarious! So much fun and no ill intentions at all. It was a whole lot of franglais and a little bit of dancing. Oh- another indicator that I was in france- I think our trip probably took about an hour longer than necessary because we stopped for so many smoke breaks! is that not ridiculous? Anywyas, we arrived about a 20 min walk outside the centre of biarritz at 6am, completely exhausted. Luckily the hotel we picked was amazing and let us check in right away for a few hours of much needed rest. We stayed at L'Atalaye Hotel (http://www.hotelatalaye.com/) and I whole heartedly recommend it. It is amazing everything you get for the price- which I guess is more common the farther outside of Paris you find yourself.

Sat was a little chilly so we spent most of the day walking around and checking out the little shops. We also walked up and down the beach. The beaches in France are amazing- much different than the beaches ive been to in the US. Granted, I havent been to many beaches in the US.. but I think it is due to the large rocks and the force of the waves here. The beaches here produce the same kind of awe that the mountains do for me back home. Absolutely awe-inspiring.

We wanted to cross the boarder over into spain for a fun night in st sebastian, but it wasnt as easy as we'd been told so we enjoyed a low key evening in town.

Sunday the entire day was spent on the beach!! I even have a little color to show for it :) It was gorgeous out and we were lucky enough to be there during a surfing competition. Besides those in the competition there were many others trying it out- it was hard not to rent a boogie board and jump in! Unfortuantely I was the only one in my party that felt that way.. so maybe another time. Anybody with me?! Although I cringed watching the surfers as I realized the detested burpies would be necessary if I ever actually wanted to learn.. what is it again? no pain, no gain?

So Biarritz was lovely, and it made me want to travel more. a lot more. So I am dealing with this internal battle of staying in paris and investing my money in events here.. or traveling and investing my money there. What a pickle! But, just like many other things in life, I think the answer is moderation. I might be able to enjoy a little bit of both in moderation.