Ventas in the Basque country: hike, eat and relax in the Pyrénées mountains

When vacationing in the French Basque country, consider having a simple meal in one of the many casual inns located in the Pyrénées mountains on the Spanish border , at the start, middle or end of a hike. Some can be reached by cars. Called VENTAS, they have an interesting history.


In the mid 1800s, a few Spaniards obtained rights to set up shops and inns on the French-Spanish border where they were able to sell goods to French people at the same lower prices as in Spain. To be easy to access, they were located in farms and sheepfolds along popular paths and roads that linked the two countries. Most ventas were set up after the 2nd world war. Since Spain was not actively engaged in WWII, it was easier to source specific products from the ventas than it was in France where quotas and shortages were common. Growing up in the 60s-70s, I remember our trips to the ventas that we would take once in a while with my family to shop for wine and liquors. My brother and I would get salty sunflower seeds to keep us occupied in the shop and on the drive back. I also remember the excitement of driving through French customs with the hope we would not get caught as there was a strict limit of bottles per person that of course most French people never respected. The ventas offered the French people the convenience of lower prices without having to drive further into Spain while still being serviced in French . I remember Spain as an austere country back then, during the Franco years, with fewer smiles on faces, dark clothes, and an omni-present police. The appeal of going into San Sebastian back then for the French was moderate, such a contrast with the exuberance found in the streets of Spanish city streets these days that the French are so fond of.

Today you find two types of ventas on the border. The 1st type looks like a grocery store where French people shop for lower priced Spanish goods, with the most popular ones being alcohol and tobacco, which are heavily taxed in France. With the development of car transportation, they have developed into little shopping plazas located on main roads on border crossing points, with various ventas competing next to each other. French locals and tourists shop there, with Irun, Behobie, Ibardin and Dancharia being the main destinations. There is no more stop nor anxiety at customs, and no Francs or Pesetas to convert, compliments of the European economic union. The second type of ventas, and the one I am personally very fond of are the ones still located along old hiking paths that were used by shepherds and smugglers. The fare served is casual and simple as in many cases supplies cannot be brought up by car. A typical menu would consist of salads, omelets, cured ham, may be a thick beef rib on the barbecue or some roasted lamb with fries, and of course ewe cheese with black cherry jam and rosé or red wine. This food of course tastes like a feast up in the mountain after a hike. Do not be surprised to share your table with other guests. Among my favourites ventas: Loretxoa in Sare by the grottos, Yasola on the Rhune, and the ventas on the way to the Penas d’Ichusi because of the spectacular hikes, all easy half day outings from the coast. Best to book in advance by phone as the owners might not work that day or they might be full. You can buy in the French Basque country a French guidebook dedicated to most ventas, GUIDE des VENTAS, with detailed hike info, contact info, prices and menus. Also bring cash as credit card payments might not be possible. Indeed French urbanites have developed a strong craving for this kind of experience and I fully understand why. Hope you give it a try.

Galette des Rois or the King' cake: one for the North, one for the South

Have a look at the recipe published by the Globe & Mail for la Galette des Rois ( by clicking on the title of this post), a cake behind good moments at the table with family or friends throughout the month of January.  January 6 is the day of the kings, ie the day when  the wise men, following a special star in the sky, would have arrived to visit baby Jesus. In France,  a country with dwindling amount of practicing Catholics,  it is more of an excuse to keep the spirit of the holiday season alive and wish each other new year wishes over a good desert. The lucky charm hidden in the cake, la fève,  makes it a favourite of young  and old gourmets. In fact the tradition goes that whoever gets the lucky charm, aside from becoming the King or Queen of the day and wearing the paper crown,  gets to buy the next cake and a bottle of champagne. This cake sharing ritual can  therefore go on throughout the entire month of Janurary, a pleasant way to transition into a new year after the feasts of the holidays.

The North of France serves la galette parisienne, a cake with some almond paste in a puff pastry that is proposed in the Globe and Mail. It is not very different from a  traditional cake found year round in France called frangipane but  includes a lucky charm and gets sold with the paper crown.  You can easily find la galette parisienne in North American French pastry shops. I like to get ours at Ma Maison in the West end of Toronto.  In the South of France, la galette des rois is totally different: shaped like a large donut with crystals of iced sugar and fruit confits on top, no filling, just a light raised dough with similarities to a brioche, with of course the lucky charm hidden inside. You have to try both. The one from the South, only available at this time of the year, brings back good childhood memories so I am a bit biased. I have never seen it sold in North America yet. In my region, pastry shops can develop quite a reputation for whoever has the best one. We used to say Etchebaster in St Jean de Luz, and Mauriac in Bayonne when I was a kid. I am not completely up to speed on French Southwest galette des rois rankings any longer but the ones I had this year in various homes did hit the spot! Yes we had an early start, we started eating it right after Christmas as pastry shops have jumped on the marketing bandwagon. The wise men must be travelling by TGVs this day and get to destinations faster....

Christmas in the Southwest of France: Evelyne's snapshots

For many of us the family dimension takes over at this time of the year. The same applies in les Landes, about 30 minutes north of Biarritz where I grew up, this means that you submit your entire body and soul to a marathon at the table. Yes, amazing food, and great and not that great conversations get shared for hours with families over Christmas and then with friends as the 31st approaches. I will not write more about foie gras, shell fish trays, chestnut stuffed birds, bûche de Noel, duck confit and magret, galette des rois, Sauternes, Jurançon, Médoc etc… I prefer to eat and drink them in good company than write about them. Let me focus instead on what else I enjoyed.

The weather was full of contrasts, we had both Winter and Spring in this 2 week period. A thin layer of snow and cold temperatures covered the valleys, plains and mountains of the Basque country and Landes region ( traffic in Paris was paralyzed for a few days!) but soon after Christmas we enjoyed peaks of 19 degrees Celsius with opportunities to walk and bike in t-shirts. Our extended family was able to catch the cold front and some fresh snow, and ski La Mongie-Barèges, the largest ski domain of the Pyrénées, a 2 hour drive from the Basque coast. The Tourmalet pass, a demanding and well known stage in the Tour de France, separates La Mongie from Barèges ski resorts. In the winter, the road is of course closed to traffic with an altitude above 2000 meters. It is right on top of the pass though that we took off our skis and recharged with a mulled wine and crêpes au sucre. The inn, most likely a busy place in the Summer, appears very quaint in the Winter with supplies brought by people on ski or snowmobiles. There is an old fashioned feel to it with old black & white pictures of Tour de France cyclists, pioneer skiers and alpinists from the 50s. La Mongie-Barèges offer low key skiing, not the glamour of the Alps, but it is a mountain where you feel more like a shepherd at times skiing its narrow bowls. The mountain village of Barèges with its old grey slate roofs and thick walls does it for me for a couple of nights. The village has offered spa treatments and various water based therapies for years leveraging the rich properties of its hot springs. Lately a swimming pool fed by hot springs has been opened to welcome everyone for after ski relaxation, a nice plus since hotels only offer basic services.

Back on the coast in Biarritz, the city shines over that 2 week holiday period with evening light shows on buildings and ocean waves. The 2km coastal walk from la Plage des Basques to the lighthouse is quite enjoyable with the waves crashing loudly on shore. One of the operas of the New York Met was broadcast live over the holiday and lots of choral singing fed the musical soul. In Bayonne, our family indulged the century old recipe of foamy hot chocolate in which you drop spoonfuls of chantilly that deliciously melt in your mouth. Yes the streets and old walls of Bayonne are full of local life at this time of the year. We wrapped up our evening by attending a professional rugby game with the local team facing Paris Racing. Bayonne people have supported their Aviron Bayonnais team for years for the best and the worst. In the Southwest of France, soccer is only a TV experience for people but a rugby game is like a religious experience of some sort: you have to attend it! Fragile ears and shy singers should avoid it but I had fun re-immersing myself in this rugby culture.

My Southwest of France in December was also rich in bike rides and walks. The Adour River is surrounded by ancient flood plains, called les Barthes, that provides today a rich habitat for birds ( egrets, storks etc…). Along the shores, hundred of years ago, boats carrying merchandise were pulled by oxen taking full advantage of the tide currents. Today those paths offer easy bike rides or hikes on flat roads surrounded by trees, grass, water and old farms.

Living away from the ocean for most of the year in Toronto, Canada, I need to spend some hours walking along the beach. I particularly enjoy the wild and rough beaches hidden behind sand dunes along the Landes coast. They are part of a 200km stretch of uninterrupted sandy beaches from the North of the Basque country all the way to Arcachon near Bordeaux. You will find trendy resort towns along the way, Hossegor and Capbreton being the big draws close to home, 30 minutes north of Biarritz. That region is often referred to as the California coast of Europe with a dominant surfing culture and wild nature. Hollywood glamour you will not find. Walking the boardwalk in Capbreton , it is a pretty down to earth type of crowd made of locals and big city Frenchmen and Spaniards craving for fresh air and ocean.

Paris in December: Evelyne's snapshots

Picture a constant buzz of people out and about within a background of Xmas lights. Of course the Champs Elysées are a draw for Parisians at this time of the year, with thousands of lights, looking like drops of blue water falling off the trees, the well lit Grande Roue ( the Big Wheel) set on la place de la Concorde and little huts along the avenue recreating a traditional German Xmas market. I spent time in the Virgin Megastore on les Champs, the largest retail store of the kind in France but yet not large enough to handle the huge crowds. I would like to get my hands on statistics that would compare shopping habits of French people versus North Americans when it comes to the consumption of music, books, magazines, DVDs, games. There is a lack of optimism in France generally speaking when it comes to retail but that sector definitely looked super healthy at 6PM and also before midnight when I returned hoping to find smaller line ups at the cash. The French are avid consumers of media & entertainment materials, rich or poor.
Vélibs keep on going in the winter, but dress warmly if you want to use them. I did notice and read about many more dedicated bike paths throughout the city and more Vélib stations have been added ( check out http://www.velib.paris.fr for a map of stations). With more North Americans getting credit cards with built in chips, the freedom offered by this short term bike rental system finally becomes yours too. For those committed shoppers , especially in December or in January during the sales period, I successfully qualified a building made of new 3-star rated apartments with hotel type à-la-carte services right by l’Opera and the big department stores of Galaries Lafayette & Printemps; it has its own Vélib station as you step out of the building, a convenient way to take a break out of the shopping district and see more of Paris. On 4 day long stays or longer, the rental of an apartment offers some cost benefits over a hotel stay with guests enjoying the flexibility and savings to have a few meals in their temporary homes. I did requalify a couple of one bedroom apartments in lively and artsy Le Marais, a 5 minute walk from Hotel de Ville and BHV store, where one feels like a Parisian. I in fact stayed in one of them during this stay as the very central location makes it ideal to get to my various meetings while the neighbourhood remains vibrant all day and all night for a drink with friends. Finally I confirmed an excellent pick for guests who want a Paris with a view and large spaces: a 2 bedroom on the left bank, next to the exclusive Tour d’Argent restaurant, overlooking la Seine and Notre Dame cathedral. Yes I did enjoy overlooking les Bateaux Mouches going by the Seine with Paris by night shining in its Christmas grandeur.
Our 8 and 10yr old children were with me for a couple of days of visits in Paris. We made a compromise: I wanted to visit Musée Cluny dedicated to the Middle Age and they wanted to see a temporary exhibit on Astérix, the famous cartoon character, that was celebrating his 50th birthday, a temporary exhibit set within the walls of Musée Cluny. Perfect! The kids were then keen on visiting Paris sewers and catacombs! Children have their own agenda and quirky ways to define what is interesting. Indeed I had never seen the Paris sewers and its museum. Well, it was a very interesting stop with a combination of real sewage canals the kids were happy to race by and comment on, followed by a museum section. The exhibits took us through a trip back in time from Roman times to the 21st century. It highlighted the problems the growing population faced over the last 2000 years and the solutions found by its leaders to ensure both access to clean water and disposal of soiled waters as Paris transformed itself from village to major urban center. It is a good historical overview on how Paris became the prestigious destination it is today while initiating people to water management habits and technologies. I remember reading a line from Napoleon who claimed that the radical improvement of Paris sewers was probably one of his most important accomplishments but for which he will not gain any glory. The catacombs were closed until early 2010 unfortunately, due to some recent vandalism. Paris below ground seems to attract many people! I was grateful to the children for the learning opportunity but happy to immerse myself back in the above ground appeals of the capital.

The tale of Olentzero, a Christmas story from the Basque country

A long time ago, deep in the forests of the Basque mountains, a fairy found an abandoned baby boy. She gave him the name of Olentzero and the gifts of strength, bravery and love. She then left him on the doorsteps of a childless couple who was thrilled to be given the joy of raising a child. Olentzero grew up in their loving home surrounded by beautiful mountains. His foster parents eventually died as he had turned into a mature and hard working man. Feeling now lonely in the mountains, he remembered a house in town where orphans lived; he could relate to their loneliness. He decided to carve some wooden toys for them that he would bring on his next trip to town on market day. The children were so happy to play with Olentzero’s toys and story telling that Olentzero made it a regular habit to come and visit them. He gained tremendous popularity among all children in the town over the years as he often took the half day trip down the mountain carrying wooden toys to the less fortunate ones.

Once, as he was in town in the middle of a thunderstorm, a lightening hit a house that started to burn. Olentzero noticed two children totally frightened at the window. Without hesitation, he made his way to the house full of flames, extracted the children safely but got himself knocked down by a falling beam. He died on the spot, his body left in the flames. Soon after the fairy appeared and said that she would not let him die based on his exemplary life. She announced that he would forever be able to deliver toys to the children in needs throughout the Basque country.
Therefore every year towards the end of December, Olentzero dressed in black comes down from the mountains with a bag full of toys to offer to the least fortunate children throughout the Basque country. Today children sing songs in the streets to call Olentzero with messages of love and giving, strength and bravery.

Some people do not believe in his existence but let’s not forget an old Basque proverb : Anything, anyone with a name exists if we believe in its/his/her existence.