Where in the world is Carmen Mike & Andy?: Summer Vacation Begins

We left Paris June 30th with about three changes of clothes each, enough camping gear to stay comfortable, lots of sunscreen and two pairs of shoes: flips and sneakers. Bordeaux being on the way was our first stop. It's also where Andy lived for awhile whilst studying French. I think the most memorable thing was the walk-up McDo window- a great idea that we both would like to see more of.

Walk up fast food- brilliant. BBB and the Dune

We spent a couple nights in Bordeaux, which had a great little tram service, but the campground was quite a hike and we never could seem to catch the city bus that supposedly went out there once an hour. Oh, and we also got to watch this crazy homeless man do a pee right in the middle of an asphalt parking lot, in plain site. He was a ways off at least, but not something you want to see really.

Arcachon, site of the Great Dune of Pyla, was just a short day trip from Bordeaux, so we boarded a train on day 2 and headed out to see what the fuss was about. You guys should see this thing- it was so freaking huge. It is the biggest dune in Europe, and if you check out the aerial pics, it looks even bigger. Mike kept telling me stories about sand duning in Michigan with his dad when they were kids, but I admit I am still skeptical.

Can you see me up there? BBB and the Dune

From there, we headed out to Biarritz and Bayonne, which were just a short train ride away, and a stop in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, also known as Fiesta. I keep mentioning the book because it is about the bull festival in Pamplona, and a group of friends living in Paris, with not much to do and going out all the time. We went to all the same towns, including the festival, so it was interesting to be reading a book whilst doing all the same things.

Going back to the short train ride. What should have been about a 2 and half hour trip turned into an all day affair. And let me tell you how. At the Bordeaux train station, I purchased tickets for Biarritz. The tickets gave a train number and a departure time. ONE train number and departure time. What the ticket, and the seller of said ticket, failed to mention is that we needed to transfer trains along the way. A transfer would have been indicated by TWO train numbers, also showing departure and arrival times for both trains required to complete the journey.

We discovered this error on our own, once we began to realize the trip was taking longer than expected. So we get off at the next available station- it was about 5:00pm by then. We get lucky and find a train conductor who not only speakees the eengleesh, but also really knows his train schedules. He tells us that we have to get back on a train going the other way- back to Dax, which is where our transfer would have been- and from Dax catch another train to Biarritz. However, the next train wouldn't arrive in Dax until 10:30 that night. Leaving us with a 3 hour wait in Dax. We didn't get into Biarritz until 11:30 that night. Eleven. Thirty. I should expect this by now, at least once per trip.

This is me, cursing the unfriendly ticket lady who screwed us. BBB and the Dune

So, much later that night, we disembark in Biarritz, get our bearings and set off in the drizzle up the hill and around the corner to the campground. We're pretty fast at setting up the tent by now, so we get settled, cook a quick dinner and go to bed very late. But the next morning, after an hour spent figuring out the confusing bus system, we end up having a pretty good day.

We breakfasted on delicious crepes in Bayonne, enjoyed their lovely gardens,