Biarritz, France where Kings & Queens Vacationed & I went with my own Royalty: General Yeager

In October 2008, General Yeager and I visited the area in France where he had been shot down. After that, we drove down to Sort where he had been interned after escaping the Nazis over the Pyrenees while carrying a wounded airman.

We then drove into Biarritz around 7 pm to the hotel where Kings & Queens stayed over the centuries. I knew it’d be expensive but for one night, we could splurge.

We parked, walked in. The first line of defense looked down his nose at us and asked if he could help us. We were in jeans. I replied, in my best Parisian French, “Non, merci, ca va”, and kept walking. That set him back.

When I was junior year abroad in Paris, the kids of the elite wealthy families, wore torn jeans and oversized jackets, looking disheveled like ragamuffins. So when I came along, I wore jeans, but clean and not ripped. The very expensive stores that would buzz you in, Since they had no idea whether I was from an elite, wealthy family or not and could or would buy their overpriced items you never knew you needed to impress someone, and I had the audacity to request entrance, they would let me in.

You see, you can’t out-snooty me. I went to an elite girls’ boarding school (as a day student) on the Main Line, one of the snootiest, wealthiest counties at the time, in the country.

At the front desk, in French, I asked how much the rooms were.

The friendly  young man asked: With or without an ocean view?

Me: Depends on the price. (Most people in a place like that wouldn’t have the guts to say that, let alone ask the price. That old silly saying, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”)

FYM(friendly young man): (in French) $450.

I definitely felt like Rip Van Winkle. As I weighed the idea of a splurge vs. we’d probably only be in the room to sleep and shower – and then continue on our travels but General Yeager and his comfort were worth every penny and more; I told General Yeager: It’s about $450.

General Yeager, without skipping a beat, said: I want to sleep in the room, not buy it!” Clearly, General Yeager was NOT comfortable even in principle.

FYM burst out laughing as I did. One could tell he agreed.

We left, passed the snooty doorman who was much more courteous this time, got in our car and found another place for the night. It was pretty noisy, but clean & really for what it was still too expensive ($110).

BUT. It was near the Salon de The (tea salon) with a beautiful view of the bay and Atlantic Ocean that we would never have found otherwise. The salon served fried eggs on bacon – something my Dad made for me as a kid – with fresh baked croissants, and true fresh, homemade healthy multigrain whole grain toast. Deeelicious.

More later.

c. GCYI

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