Having devoured finished all the sweets I brought back from France’s Basque country, I am now savoring each and every one of my hundreds of photos taken during my recent trip there.  And already planning my next trip back.  So many villages visited (Aïnhoa, Espelette, St Jean Pied de Port, Itxassou, Sare…), many that I can’t wait to revisit, and yet so many more to discover (Guéthary, St Pée sur Nivelle, Bidart, St Etienne de Baigorry…).  My favorite, which will always be on the list, no matter how many times I’ve been back… is St Jean de Luz.

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I recently professed my love (again) for Zürich and before that, for one of my favorite regions in France, Alsace (by the German border).  There’s yet another region in France that holds a spot near and dear to my heart, and that’s the Pays Basque (on the very opposite end of the country by the Spanish border).  While living in Clermont-Ferrand (in the Auvergne) from 2001 to 2002, I spent a week in the French Basque country and was beyond charmed by a culture, cuisine, landscape and language (Euskara) all its own.  Ten years later, I finally returned with my husband and parents, overjoyed to share it all with them.  I returned to the villages I have been thinking about all these years, and brought my taste memories back to life.

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The first of July marked three years that I have been living in Zürich.  And yet when I walk out the door of my apartment, I still get that giddy excitement of a child when I see the Alps crisp in the distance or a perfect reflection of one of the many churches on the river; and I continue to smile when I walk up and down my favorite winding, cobblestone streets in the old town.  You’d think that after a while, it would wear off.  Not a bit.

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