Wined, dined and rested.

[“Emotion recollected in tranquility” – this is one of a few entries that I’ve written several months later about our trip to France and Spain in that pandemic-smitten summer of 2020. We travelled with extreme caution, often changing our route according to regional news stories that we checked every morning and evening, and we stayed only in very small places off the beaten track. We were even more grateful than usual to be travelling by car, in our own personal bubble.]

We made the long drive from near Salamanca in Spain to the tiny French Basque village of Saint Just Ibarre ( inhabitants – 234), driving into France via the crossing that goes from Erratzu in Spain to Saint Etienne de Baigorri (a word that, pronounced with typical English gusto, has made many an English schoolboy snigger uncontrollably).

We hadn’t done this crossing before, and the road on the Spanish side is very tiny and very winding as well as strikingly pretty. If we hadn’t been on such a long journey we would have liked to spend more time there.

The actual border is at the highest point on this road, and suddenly it’s monumental views and gasp-worthy mountains which have hurled their feet down into deep river valleys as far as the eye can see.

We admired Saint Etienne and again made a note to return, but we needed to reach our destination by now and were glad to reach the very tiny Saint Just Ibarre – blink and you’d miss it. There is a young couple who have taken over the village inn, the Auberge Briseteia, and they are doing wonderful things with it.

It is a typical Basque building and as you walk round it to find the entrance you discover a delightful small terrace shaded by plane trees and scattered with chairs and tables – we were so tired and the sun was still so hot when we arrived, what an absolute joy it was to sip a cold beer outside under that green canopy.

The owners are gradually doing up the rooms and ours was really impressive, large and beautifully simple with restored floor boards and with lovely design touches. The tap looked like a ride at Thorpe Park….

…. and the wonderfully large and cool bedroom had one of those lamps which is trying to look like an artist’s easel. Very on trend.

After settling in and deciding that if we were staying in such a room we must be really cool and edgy and maybe my children would think their mother was distinctly hipster (or is that the wrong word?) we made our cool and edgy way down the beautiful creaky wooden stairs and out to that gorgeous terrace for dinner.

Madame is the cook, and she is both ambitious and respectful of local produce. As we sat on the terrace we could see her picking herbs from the little kitchen garden she keeps beside the building.

The amuse-bouche to start was a cream cheese and fruit mixture that tasted more delicious than it looked and then we had a little fluffy puff pastry packet of really lovely local cheese – this area is famous for its cheese – simply served with a bright splash of salad.

And the Japanese-style tuna that followed was just perfect, with a soy-based sauce and some beautifully al dente vegetables.

There was even a touch of drama at the end with a pistachio and cherry cheesecake that arrived concealed…..

… and then was revealed in all its glory with a flourish….

With all of this we had a bottle of local wine, as we always try to. This one, a Kattalin Irouleguy from 2017 and originating from near Saint Etienne de Baigorri, was an intriguing mix of Tannat and Cabernet Franc grapes. We have had multiple experiences of the Tannat grape because of the time we spend in the Pyrenees, and to be honest although it’s usually very nice in situ it doesn’t travel well and at its worst can be a bit, er, paint-stripper-ish. However this mix was good, and the first time we had tried such a mix of grapes.

We had an excellent night’s sleep – for a minimalist cool and edgy room the bed was surprisingly comfortable – and made our way happily down to the quaint flagstoned breakfast room in the morning.

Apart from needing a degree in astrophysics to make the coffee machine work, the breakfast was excellent – fresh and plentiful and again the simplicity of the room was striking. It’s the kind of room you don’t want to rush away from, it just felt right sitting there.

We had another long day of travelling ahead of us, and some serious wine buying had been planned for the next day, so we did in fact have to tear ourselves away and continue with our adventure.  We really enjoyed our stay here and since we intend to explore the area a little more I think we will return, always assuming a driving holiday in Europe continues to be possible.