As in Irishman, I've always had a love of France and an interest in the Basque culture that straddles the French-Spanish Pyrennean borderlands.
When we had the opportunity to do a Basque flavoured tour of Biarritz, we snapped it up.
When we met Alan for the tour, I could have been forgiven for thinking he was Irish due to his red hair. A good omen before the tour even started, which proved prescient.
Over the course of the next couple of hour, Alan proved to be an engaging, informed, friendly guide.
Some poignant things that would have passed over my head were highlighted by him on the tour, providing a great insight into Basque culture. particulalrly about the importance of stone in the pre-history and how it ties in to the Basque perception of the landscape. And my i add, for a man whose surname is "Rocks", this was particulary fascinating :-). We also got great insight in to the Basque famlial structure, which as a student of history I found enlightening too, and there was more over the course of the tour that resonated with me.
Alan took the time to ask us what we were interested in hearing about ourselves. If you take his tour, ask him about what you're interested in. He'll tailor the tour for you if there is something you definitely want to do and spend more time covering that for you.
As well as providing me with great historical and cultural insights using the sights and sounds of Biarritz, Alan also indulged us by allowing us to practice our rudimentary French. We're native English speakers, and he speaks English fluently too, but when we switched to French, he spoke in clear French and encouraged us to use the language. My spoken French probably progressed more in that couple of hours than it had in a month, and it helps that he is so easy to talk to.
We had such a good time and chat, we stopped to have a Basque cider with him after the tour was finished. A nice intertwining of Irish and basque culture to complete a pleasant afternoon.
To sumarise, I think this is a great tour, Alan is a knowledgeable tour guide, a gentleman, and an interesting character in his own right. This was one of the experiences that will definitely make me come back to Biarritz next year.
If you like this type of thing, go on the tour. Let him know what you want to see or know about and he'll sort out the rest.
Et lorsque la marche est terminée, prendre une cidre basque.
Thanks for a lovely afternoon, Alan. Hope to see you next year.
