13 - Chalalalalala Oh Bayonnais

Saturday December 2, 2023 - Bayonne

While eating my sandwich in the breakroom on Thursday, I was chatting with a coworker. I had explained what I'd done my previous weekends and when I said I hadn't yet planned something for this weekend, he was quick to suggest checking out a town to see the Christmas markets (le marché Noel). Specifically, he suggested visiting Bayonne and forwarded me the city's agenda of festivities (animations). As the city on the northern border of le pays-Basque, I knew I'd have to make a visit to Bayonne at some point this trip so why not go this weekend!

The drive from Dax to Bayonne is a pretty short one, only 30 - 40 minutes. A little research online pointed me to a parking lot situated about a 10 minute walk from the centreville; this lot was busy but I lucked out in finding a spot (it was busy because the lot had a reduced parking fee - my ~8 hour stay was only €2)! Walking along the bank of La Nive towards the centreville, I could already see that the town had a distinctive architectural look!

La Nive is a smaller river that ties into the Adour, which I'm beginning to realize is a very significant river for this region - connecting many towns and originating from the Pyrenées.

Once I crossed into the centreville, immediately there were stalls along the river bank (le quai) with merchants selling their goods. It took an embarrassingly long time to realize that what I thought was the Christmas market was just the weekly marché fermier. "Man, for a Christmas market, there sure seems to be just a lot of produce...Get your Christmas leeks, today!" But I was able to profit by getting a few gold kiwis from a merchant who seemed to know exactly how soft a kiwi should be if I planned to eat it right away. There was also a stall for fish and des fruits de mer, I was tempted by the idea of having an oyster but it looked like they were selling to take home, not eat on the spot.

Fortunately, my walk along the marché lead me directly to les halles de Bayonne. Like those of Dax and Biarritz, this was an indoor market with lots of local products. Stand out stall for me this time were a stand selling horse and donkey meat and a seafood stall with a bar for dégustations. I didn't get any equidae meat but did opt for 6 oysters and a glass of rosé. The lady right behind me laughed a little because it was literally what she was about to order 😆. While eating, I was able to learn that she was visiting from San Sebastian to see some friends (who did not care for oysters) and that I should buy some chocolate in Bayonne as the city is known for having good chocolate.

On the subject of oysters, I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing. This isn't my first time eating them raw but I keep expecting something to be different. It's not that they're bad, it's just all I get is a shot of seawater with maybe a hint of lemon if I add it. Is one supposed to make like a blender in their mouth to find the real experience? Either way, I'm open to have to having them in the future and I'm glad I had them today, but I don't think I need to necessarily seek them out.

After my small lunch, I worked my way into the Centreville. The pedestrian streets were nice to walk and I poked my head into several stores, including one chocolate shop. A purchase of a €10 chocolate Santa (as a secret Santa gift for the office) merited me a chocolate sample with walnut, it was a sweet surprise.

Somebody was chirping, no idea who

I wonder what it's like to live in a turret like that

Somebody letting their combinaison dry out

I wonder how long it took to grow this

Intersection of La Nive et L'Adour river. On the opposite side is a military base

Bayonne: Chocolate capital of France! I guess traders from the Americas brought a lot of cocoa here? There was chocolate tasting here outside the city hall as an event for the Christmas market schedule.

The pedestrian streets were a pleasure to walk around

An interesting motif for the city buildings

Alcohol doesn't solve problems, but neither do water or milk!

A view from the cloister onto the Notre Dame cathedral of Bayonne

I worked my way over to the Basque Museum in the afternoon. The lady that sold me my ticket was really nice and complimented my French but also handed me a pamphlet that included museum explanations in English (the exhibits had French, Basque, and Spanish text). I ended up speedrunning the museum as I was beginning to run out of time till my prime reason for coming to Bayonne, but I still found the museum very interesting. I snapped pictures of the pamphlet to read later (still haven't gone back through it yet 😅) but I feel like I have a much better appreciation and understanding of the Basque culture thanks to my quick visit.

4 Basque regions in Spain, 3 in France. Per Basque math, 4 + 3 = 1 people

Hey! A descriptor of old pigeon (palombe) hunts!

Cider and wine squeezing were essential parts of the agrarian life here.

Apparently the neighbors played a huge role in handling funeral arrangements in Basque culture. I suppose if I had to clean the body and handle all the ceremony stuff, I'd be more inclined to periodically check in on my neighbors too... "Hey, Bill, you should really think about exercising more; I'm concerned about your health. Apparently the big thing right now is for people to dig 6 foot deep holes in the yard? I dunno, maybe give it a try, could be fun"

A Basque (Euskal) carving whose modern equivalent would be a doormat saying "Welcome all"

Hmm, that exterior motif looks familiar...

The zuzulu, a staple piece of furniture in the Basque house.

I kinda like the idea of the plate cabinet being out in the air.

Looking quite dapper!

They also had wooden shoes for a bit

The Basque men all had their own personal walking stick (le makila), it stayed on their person at almost all times

I got a little confused about which framed object had which title, but I choose to believe that the painting of a boy wearing a hat labeled "ass" was what the artist titled "Self portrait".

A model of how Bayonne used to look: facing south across the Adour

Facing north across the Adour. Hey, that military base is still there!

One of the last rooms was dedicated to traditions and festivities. Looks like a decent time!

These guys take their sports seriously; this beret was worn by a champion and that alone makes it worthy for curation.

The classic pelote uniform; pretty chic.

Txisterra (chistora) gloves for playing pelote.

I'm remembering an early episode of Archer that involved a character who played pelote in Miami. From what I'm told and read, there was actually a decent scene for pelote in Miami but it dropped off in popularity.

Ooh, fun shaped instruments!

The reason I had to rush out of the Basque museum was because I had purchased a ticket to watch a rugby game at the Bayonne stadium at 5 PM. Multiple people at work had told me that ruby is the favorite sport in the SW of France and that I should absolutely go watch a game. This particular game was between Bayonne and Montpelier; teams that are in the TOP 14 league in France (I guess its kinda like NFL teams but only 14 of them). I had no idea what was going on in the game but I had fun having a front row seat to the action in a packed stadium! I'm not sure if any Montpelier fans came out to the game because all I could see and hear were people waving Bayonne or Basque flags and screaming "Allez" when Bayonne had the ball.

Bayonne won by a huge margin and everybody (aside from the Montpelier team) seemed pretty content with that outcome. The chant of "Cha-la-la-la-la-la-la O' Bayonnaaaaiiiiissss" reverberated throughout the stadium. I give them 4/10 for their chant creativity (see me after class) but 11/10 for their energy and team pride.

Since I was slow getting out of the stadium, I took a walk back through town before driving home. Overall, a great day in Bayonne; a charming city with a proud people.