A Beautiful Stay in a Sleepy Village

After our fantastic week at Quilt en Sud, in St. Jean de Luz, we moved into a country hotel in the sleepy village of St. Etienne de Baigorry. This village is located in the Southwestern Atlantic-Pyrenees region of France, near the border to Spain. On the first day of our vacation (after a week of rain) the weather turned glorious.

As with any ancient European village, the church is the focal point of the village. We can hear its beautiful bells ringing throughout the day, and this morning there was sweet music wafting out its doors.

Our hotel (building on the right) is situated on a property along the Nive River. There are several bridges crossing the river that I am sure Monet would have loved. We wake to bird song each morning.

On nice days (which we now seem to have run out of) we eat breakfast on the beautiful patio beside the breakfast room, with the Nive flowing beside us.

When it happens to be cooler or raining, we eat inside. 

The glorious view from our room.

We had about four days of good weather, and then it began to rain again. It has been raining for two days and the Nive River is getting high. If it doesn't stop soon I fear we'll need to build an ark!

During a little break in the rain this morning, we took a walk through the village once more. This is the "Roman Bridge", dating back to the 1600's.

It is very green and lush here, with moss, ferns and ivy covering bridges and walls. There are also a lot of flowers creeping along and tumbling down walls.

Some beautiful gates, fences, and doors.

It is the time of year when flowers are bursting into full bloom.

Calla lilies are common here. 

The rain is beating down the rose petals, but they look lovely lying on beds of moss.

There are chickens on the outskirts of the village.

Sheep graze in the fields around the village. Brebis cheese is made in this region.

Down the street there is another hotel and restaurant, where a cat named Estee lives. On evenings when weather is good and we can eat on the patio, Estee greets each table and waits for a tip. That's probably how she got to be so substantial and huggable. 

Here's hoping for better weather in the next couple of days.