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178
Tuesday, July 26, 1928

Monday, July 28-29 Burgos and the train

Burgos itself is a very old, dirty, odorous, buggy city.  The Cathedral stands "waist-high" in building's — town-bound.  Even the spire and towns straining to the sky and god rise only slightly from the roofs of the houses.  The cathedral is very lovely in a flamboyant style, showing up the influence of german and English and French architecture of the   century.  The cloisters are beautiful, very early gothic and graceful.  There was one simple balustrade on the older part, which was perfect in rhythm and simplicity.  [[image]].  Up hundreds of stairs to the town where I got a view of the city and the ruins of the Cid's house.  In the church was the Cid's trunk which he filled with dirt, supposed jewels, and gave to the Jews to get in return money [[space]] [[strikethrough]] with [[/strikethough]] [[?haverail]] which he took Valencia.

The train ride up to St Jean was beautiful.  Somehow the arid tan country of Castile woke up, freshly green and verdant in Aregon and the country of the Basques.


179
T.29 W.30 T.31 F.1 S.2
Wednesday, June 27, 1928

Tuesday July 29 — Friday Aug. 1, 18:30  St Jean de Luz

St.-Jean was a charming place.  The beach is sandy and the water invigoratingly cold.  One street of stores is as amusing as a fair-street. 
 The main street has a strange combination of naive sophistication.  The cafes are delightful — The Bar Basque in the day time and Maxims at night.  The first day we went swimming and liked it — lunch — the café — supper — and then timidly to the Casino in evening clothes.  The Casino was dead, and after gambling all of 20 francs at La Poule we left.  We wandered to Maxims and had two bicardis.  An Englishman asked mother to dance and I was awfully glad.  I can't blame her for getting sort of home-sick at times. ... A rather elongated English appearing person asked me.  It turned out he is an Italian Marquis who is the Italian Embassy to Spain at San Sebastian.  With them was an attractive Irishman.  "The Foreign Legion" were gay and peppy and the evening was fine.  

The next day we went to Biarritz.  It is much more artificial and although the combination of rocks and sea is superb the atmosphere is so less nice than that of St. Jean.  It is small and affected.  Coming home we met Don MacLaughlin.

After supper Don came out and took me for coffee and told me about the people at Palma and that 

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