So managed to get things sorted and catch
up with Phill and cousin Fi in the north of Spain end of July. At a place called Bilbao,
situated slightly west of San Sebastian. Flying in was full of green peaked
hills that stretched forever. The town is nestled in a valley across a river.
Meet up with the team at the airport (each of us coming from different spots
around Europe) and spent Friday checking out the city. Found some amazing
pastries and gelato, in amongst some interesting architecture mixed between old
and new, and a smattering of art pieces. Cooked up a mean feed at the hostel
for dinner and caught our breath from the early start.
Saturday we hired a car and drove out to
the coast, and along the coastal road towards San Sebastian. Along the way are
lovely ‘towns’ which were rather large! Beautiful golden beaches and blue blue
sea. We stopped at a point where the coast forms a natural bridge out to a
church on a precipice. Down a steep hill and then up another 250stairs! It was
worth the hike to see the cute wee church and amazing views down the coastline.
We reached San Sebastian in the evening,
and Phill’s phone with our only navigation decided to die just as we entered
the city! After some driving in circles we managed to locate a free car park
and headed into the centre. There was a much different feel here, very vibrant
and alive, filled with busy bars and restaurants. We headed to a local bar in
the old town for some ‘pintoux’ the Basque equivalent of Tapas, which were
amazing! Also tried the local Sidre (cider) which was tangy and quite sour, got
a bit of a shock taking my first sip! It’s poured at arm’s length to aerate the
cider so I’m told.
Sunday took us west along the coast;
stopping at a local village we found a local market. Enjoyed some more pintoux
for lunch and sampled the beautiful local fresh fruit. Then weather packed it
in, so we headed back to Bilbao to the famous Guggenheim (or googleyheim
according to Phill) museum to get our art on. The museum is an incredible
building made of titanium tiles in all sorts of curves, interspersed with glass
panels. Some very interesting and thought provoking displays, but some a little
too farfetched for me..
Sunday night was fairly quiet in the town
but found a great place for pizza and paella. Soo good. Fi and Phill caught
early flights out on Monday, while I planned to wander the shops before my
afternoon flight. The city however had other ideas! As I didn’t realize it was
a public holiday and everything was closed! It was steadily raining, so didn’t quite
work out to plan. Ah well!
Arrived home to some beautiful weather (Murphy’s
Law!), and saw an amazing view of London City as we flew in. Brilliant weekend.
Next up local cider festival in Cheltenham, and Fi visiting the Uk in August –
fun times!
