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Recently I shrugged off the COVID vibes and took to the skies to get back to the place that holds my heart, France!

In the planning for l'été français I made arrangements to stay with ma belle amie Sarah Zwick from Be My Guest Immersions near Bayonne in southwest France. Bayonne is a medieval city not far from the more glitzy Biarritz close to the Atlantic coast, with a population normally in the tens of thousands. However for one weekend of the year the whole place explodes with over a million visitors descending on the area. The Fêtes de Bayonne is an experience like no other. It was pure coincidence that I was going to be there at the time of the festival so to prepare myself, I checked it out on line before leaving Australia. The first thing I noticed was a kind of uniform that was being worn. Every attendee was decked out in white with a red sash or cinta and scarf, so I ensured I had a variety of white clothes packed to get me through the days of the festival while I was there. When I arrived I asked Sarah's family what this event was like and what to expect apart from what I could see online. Her dad Jean Paul simply shrugged his shoulders in the wonderful French way and told me there are no words to describe the festival. One must just feel it. "You need to just live it and feel it", he said. After my first Fêtes, I now completely agree. The Basque spirit is contagious!

Tune into this wonderful chat with me and ma belle amie Sarah to hear all the gloriousness that is the Fêtes de Bayonne!

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Louise Prichard is the host of the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles podcast.
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Other Loulabelle's links:
FrancoFile Fix on YouTube
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Spotify Playlist
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Instagram
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles website