Paris and beyond - week 3

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This is the third ‘episode’ of another of 'our' travel experiences.

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The collective ‘episodes’ (this being the third) describe our journey from our arrival in Paris, France (from the 2nd week of May) for a holiday. The third week witnesses our departure from Bayonne and arrival in Pamploma (northern Spain) where we encounter Basque from a Spanish perspective. As noted in previous missives, our journey is largely unplanned - except that we have now decided to focus on the 'Basque' regions of France and Spain. As also noted before - we'll sort of go where the scenery and experiences seem worthwhile. This 'blog' begins the Spanish part of the journey. Eventually, we'll find our way back to Paris to depart back to Oz.



If you missed our earlier travelblog 'episodes' for this journey, here are links to the first and for the second .



We've attached a few pics that give you a flavour of our journey, and some 'flow over' past the dialogue. You may need to manually go to the 'spillover' page to see them. As always, if you want to 'see' more detail in an accompanying picture, click it to enlarge.

Friday 5th June - to Pamplona

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We'd pre-booked accommodation in Pamplona - sort of 'on spec'. Except for the famed 'bull run', there's not much written in the English language travel journals about Pamploma. But, the little we'd read suggested it a good place to visit.



We left Bayonne mid morning and headed south-east for Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The French use hyphens between the words, but we don't know why (we just copy). The route took us along the Nive River valley and gradually up into the mountains. The route on a sunny day was magical. At nearly every turn, amongst the trees we glimpsed the sparkling river as it cascaded over shallow rapids. Before an hour was gone, we arrived into a village with busloads of people. "What is this", we exclaimed, "we haven't seen any tour buses as we drove here". But, here they were!



We parked beside the fortress wall and made our way into the bastide (walled area). We learnt that this town was a strategic post as the pass across the Pyrenees here is relatively low. So, back then, Romans built a defensive town. Subsequent power brokers continued the tradition (especially when Spain became Islamic). Since the middle ages, the town has been an important stopover for St James Way pilgrims travelling to Camino de Santiago (in north western Spain). Even today, pilgrims hoof their way south from various parts of Europe via this route to visit the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral is reputed to hold the remains of the apostle St James . And, due to the vaguaries that the mountain pass might hold, the town was more than an overnight stopover - hence it blossomed economically.



We wandered around the village and trod the 'way' street. With buildings dating back to the 1500's, there is a real sense of timelessness in this street. And, fortunately, the shopfronts on 'pilgrim's street' haven't been taken over for tourism (though the vendors do a good trade). That task is left to the 'real' town vendors on the main road aside the bastide (where the tour buses park).



After a bite to eat, we made our way back to the car and headed further East into (the higher part of) the Pyrenees. The road from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Pamplona is relatively straight-forward and only takes about an hour. As we had to meet the owner of our Pamplona at 4pm, we had several hours to spare. We'd heard of a beautiful drive to Irati Forest. As we discovered, Irati is also a ski area and like most ski areas is located atop a steep mountainside. The road from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Irati is closed during winter - skiers travelling from the opposite way (Larrau). We learned why: the forest cover would have made the road a block of ice for months. Nevertheless, it is a very pretty drive - except for the continuous hairpin turns!!



The Irati forest straddles both France and Spain, and contains species such as Elm, Oak, Birch and Silver Fir trees. Where we ventured, Elm and Fir dominated. In a particularly beautiful section of road, we ventured deeper (along what may once have been a logging road) into the forest and went for a walk. Fresh mountain air? Try 28C - but on a day when it was 35C down the slopes it was OK. That said, we loved the shade, the ever so soft grass and the continuous babbling of the brook.



Continuing on we 'found' a fromager (cheese-maker) in the middle of nowhere. The establishment was (for the region) quite large and modern. We stopped, had samples and left with some great milk and goat cheese to consume later.



On the road down 'the other side' of the mountain, Judy announced she was quite afraid. There was no forest cover, no guard rails, and the road is quite narrow. The mountainside at this part is quite steep, so the road comprises endless hairpin bends. Worse for Judy, from the top -and for most of the length - one can see the bottom of the valley way, wa..ay, wa...ay, wa.....ay, wa.......ay do........own below. This road also serves as a recreation facility for idiot cyclists. Why would anyone in their right mind choose to ride a bike up some 1500m on such a steep road is beyond us - but they do!



Once down to the village of Larrau, we headed for the Spanish border - only to climb up an equally steep road to the mountain pass. At the pass, we had a wonderful vista of the Pyrenees (to our east). Most mountain tops still had good snow cover. Fortunately, the road on the Spanish side was far better constructed than the French side - and there were guard rails to protect motorists (and passengers)!



We eventually made it to Pamplona - about half an hour late for the 4pm appointment to be let into the apartment. Our first thoughts of both Spain (or the part we traversed) and Pamplona were mixed.



The road down the mountain was largely empty of activity. Sure there were several small villages. But we only saw one person. After the first couple of villages, we asked ourselves "where are the people". Then it was a case of searching for people every time we went through a village. It's as if the villages were a movie set and this was the day off. We noted also that what once must have been productive small farms were now not being used.



Entry into Pamplona is via freeway. As Pamplona is set in a big basin, all we could see were 5 to 10 story modern apartment blocks - well spaced, but as far as the eye could see. We'd set the satnav to the city centre, so we assumed we'd get into the older section in due course. Not so, except for the city centre itself, we experienced no 'older' suburbs. And, as we travelled through the city centre for 'the other side', again, all we could see were modern apartment blocks.



Turns out that as an urban entity, Pamplona began as a large 'holding' city for the Romans. Later, it progressively became the seat of power for the (larger) region of the Kingdom of Navarre. Like so many political entities, successive 'kings' had to choose which side to offer allegience - France of the adjacent "Spanish" county of Castille. As a consequence, various wars embraced the kingdom. From what we understand, the 'kingdom' retained 'statehood' but over the eons became administered by either the Spanish or French power. During the 16th and 17th century the French restricted population growth to within the city walls. So, the city inhabitants had to 'contained' themselves to within the defensive walls by building up (ie. 4 floors) on the narrow streets. We were told that during the early 20th century, a small section of residences emerged outside the city walls (which were removed to accommodate the growth). But, until the mid 1960's, industrialisation by-passed Pamplona.



In 1965, the Spanish Gov't underwrote a car production plant at Pamplona to manufacture British mini's. A decade later, industrial unrest coupled to an ailing British Leyland, saw car production abandoned. The Spanish Gov't negotiated with SEAT to manufacture cars here, but that firm also encountered civil unrest. A decade later, VW invested in Pamplona to make the Polo - and remains so today. The urban expansion to accommodate workers was undertaken in a planned fashion, and today the urban structure is well laid out. For us Aussies, it is sort of akin to Canberra (except that it in Pamplona it is high rise apartments).



We got into our apartment, unpacked and headed into the 'old city' for a drink and some pintxo's. Pintxo's are not tapas, they are bite sized morsels served at bars. Apparently, they originated as slices of bread (read, this morning's baguette) with a delicious topping to serve to those drinking after work before going to a restaurant - or home. Now, they are an art form. A tapas is a small portion of some meal. Often a restaurant will offer a 'degustation' of it's complete menu as a meal. So, each portion is very small.... ergo tapas. We'd heard that Calle (Basque for street) Estafada was the place. How correct! The street was jumping - or so we assumed. We took a wander, and noted that the bars place their pintxo's under a glass shelf on the counter. This way customers can view what is on offer. We decided on a place that appealed to us. They only served one beer - pleasant, and with a great thirst after a long day, VERY drinkable.



We departed at about 8:30pm, and what we thought was a jumping street had turned into a massive huge party street. There were people crammed into the street, all drinking, eating, laughing, etc., etc., etc.. And, each of the bars were jam packed as well.



But, we were tired and took our leave for bed.

Friday 5th June - Pamplona

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After a long sleep, we decided to 'explore' the 'old city'. As the previous evening had taught us, the city centre was no place to park a car cheaply. So, we jumped onto a bus for a day outing - gee, they are cheap here (compared to Qld).



We made our way to the Information Office and found a wonderfully engaging attendant. All too often we've found staff in Australia who restrict their service to merely giving out guides/pamphlets. Here was a person who had an opinion, and was prepared to engage in discussion (about tourism related topics). And, unlike Australia, he offered us maps and pamphlets that related to non-tourist facilities (as well as tourist facilities). A breath of fresh air.



With a guide to the icons of the city centre, we headed back into the heat of the day. As we later found out, few if any, of the icons pre-dated the 19th century. Many buildings had been all-too-often refurbished such that the 'old city' appeared more pastiche than 'original'. Despite this, the blend of modernist buildings with the old made for a pleasant juxtaposition.



We learned today that siesta in Pamplona is very REAL. The city ceases to function at 2 and doesn't re-open till 5:30 (or 6, for some). Even the churches are closed for siesta. When looking at the weather website, it appears that the heat of the day is between 2pm and 8pm. We wandered some streets looking at the people-less views, and headed for the parks. The 'old centre' is ringed with some wonderful parks. We found a comfortable park bench under the shade of some big trees to while away time. At 5:30 it was (for us), beer o-clock. So, we headed back to Calle Estafada. On route, we noted that bars dotted streets everywhere. But, something was different - compared to yesterday (Thursday). There were less people. We learnt today that the tourism authorities in Pamplona encourage the bars to offer a 2 euro drink & pintxo 'deal' on Thursdays - hence the crowd last evening. Tonight, though less people were at the bars, many were congregated in plaza's - or squares. And, these squares had musicians; we think sponsored by the city. Interestingly, where the bar streets were last evening filled with adults, tonight the crowd embraced all ages. It made for an enjoyably civil atmosphere. Apparently, this is 'normal' - if there is such a thing in Spain.



We also noted congregations of bars in other (nearby) areas. So, instead of returning to Calle Estafa, we bar hopped around the plaza's, seeking delicious pintxo's. We didn't have that many, but enough to catch the bus back to the apartment and have a wonderful sleep.

Saturday 6th June - around Pamplona

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After a long sleep, we awoke to a cool and overcast day. The weather prediction was for much the same all day. Having spent the previous day 'in town', we decided to use the car and 'head for the hills'. As noted Pamplona lies in a basin, so 'heading for the hills' pretty much means leaving town!



We'd been given a good regional map by the tourist info office, and the guy there had marked areas that warranted our consideration. We decided to take up his suggestion to visit the forested areas. We headed north (and slightly west) in the direction of San Sebastian. Instead of driving over the hills surrounding Pamplona, the road went straight through by tunnel. We know it's common in Europe, but it never ceases to amaze us that Australia still winds roads around / over hills rather than bore straight through. Oh, well.



We 'detoured' off the main drag to enter a suggested valley. Scenic as it was, it wasn't forest. Rather, it was dryland farming. In it's own way, it was beautiful. That said, what struck us were the quite small villages; some of only a dozen dwellings. Typically, the dwellings were relatively large and built of stone. Intriguingly, each village had an enormously large church. The churches typically had exterior walls some 3 story's high, and looked like they could accommodate maybe 100 or more people. We wondered why when the village comprised some 2 or 3 dozen adults. Though it appeared the churches were built maybe a century (or more) ago, we couldn't fathom why they were so large. We pondered whether times had so changed they were 'fossils'. Could it be they were built in agricultural times, when the population of farm labourers swelled the numbers? We may never know why!



After a while, we decided to take our leave of the valley and ventured up a road 'promising' to lead somewhere different. How on earth we 'cracked' it we'll never know. The road departed the agricultural valley and ventured up over a mountan to the next valley and beyond to another. Of importance is that part way up the mountain, the road entered a most amazing forest. This road was not on any 'suggested' route. At times, the road width was reduced to only a single lane. But, beautiful it was. Most of the trees had a carpet of moss, some had trunks girths as large as the car we were driving. The canopy was immensely high. Though the day was not sunny, the contrast between light and dark was still promounced. Near the top of the range, we entered cloud that delivered a quite surreal effect.



We eventually wound our way out of the forest and feeling a bit peckish wondered where we'd get a meal. Wherever we entered a village, there were no signs of life. Eventually we found ourselves at a junction of a highway and a truck-stop offered an opportunity. We entered and ordered 'sopa del día' - soup of the day. Rustic and basic it was. We asked in mixed language if there was a drink to go with it. We were expecting coffee or ???? We got Rioja Alavesa - a soft, fruity and very light red wine. As rudimentary as it was, the lunch was 'just right'.



We continued along our journey, sometimes taking 'suggested' roads, and others venturing off the beaten track. Before long we were faced with returning the way we came, or driving the road up to the top of the range; to France via the Izpegi Pass. We chose the latter (15km) and arrived at Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry. The lovely little village, we learnt, has sometimes been part of the Kingdom of Navarre (capital, Pamplona) and sometimes France. Whichever, we had a wander and arrived at a 'tzokalatea' (Basque for chocolatier) which, in the coolth of this day, offered us an amazingly rich, dark and not too sweet mug of hot chocolate. Mmmmmm!!!!!



To return to Pamploma we had to drive the extra few kilometres to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. It was not long before we returned to our apartment in Pamplona - and was beer-o'clock. We'd read of a craft beer outlet so used the satnav to locate it. The beers offered were great. We tried a variety before settling onto the brew we each liked. The pintxo's on offer were insufficient for a meal, so we took our leave and went in search of a restaurant. To our dismay, the Spanish don't have a meal till late. And, as a consequence restaurants don't open till 9pm!!!!!!! While it may well be still light, it's not a time to which our tums are used to eating.



We found a place that tripadvisor clients said was worthwhile - but it was not yet 9pm. We filled in time by wandering the streets, and eventually returned to be the first in the door. Apparently, the food is typically basque. The cooking facility is a big open fireplace, and everything is BBQ'd - vegetables, meat, fish, cheeses, etc.. We had a most wondeerful meal accompanied by a great bottle of local red. And, the head chef must have taken a fancy to us as he kept asking whether we'd like to try a local post-dinner wine. Of course two alkies would!!! But, then there was another, and another..... We poured ourselves out of the place. We couldn't remember where we'd left the car!!!! Each street we'd press the remote in the hope we'd find the car. fter a considerable time, we eventually saw the lights flash. Whew!!!



But, that wasn't the end. Somehow we'd have to get back to our digs. We put the satnav to the place we were staying. Judy gave directions as per the satnav. And, with one eye closed to see more clearly, Bruce drove the car according to the instructions given. Though it's been a long time since we've experienced that manner of driving, at least we had done it before!!!!

Sunday 7th June - to Bilbao

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After a late night, we slept in. When eventually we recovered enough, we departed Pamplona for Bilbao.



Bilbao is some 2 and a half hours from Pamplona. And, as we'd agreed to meet the host at the selected accommodation in Bilbao at 4pm, we decided to travel via Vitoria-Gasteiz. This city is about half way between our departure and destination and the capital of the Basque Province (Pamplona being the capital of the Navarre Province). Along the motorway, the scenery was stunning. The motorway travelled along valleys sandwiched between massive ridges or hillsides. But, these ridges weren't escarpents like we'd see on the east coast of Australia. Rather, they were like long mountains one could drive all the way around.



From the information given to us - and it's obviously limited - during and after the Spanish civil war in the 1930's, the Basque seperatists didn't fancy the way the Nevarra administration gave over to the Spanish king. The end result - after much conflict - was that Navarre became significantly reduced in size, and a Basque autonomous 'state' emerged as a result. So, while the people of the greater region are Basque, the 'Autonomous State of Basque' as a political entity was formed to administer the western part of the 'kingdom of Navarre' region. Following the demise of the dictator Franco in 1975, a reconstituted Spanish government provided for a (provincial) government of Basque to administer alongside the (national) government of Spain. The actual powers of Basque we didn't pursue.



Vitoria-Gastiez advertises itself as the 'garden city' and we can see why. We were taken by the fact that there are so many parks (gardens?), and at seemingly every opportunity the city council has turned parks and roadside median strips into rose gardens - which were in bloom when we visited. Despite being a Sunday, there were very few car parking spaces in the 'old city' centre. We found ourselves a parking station and proceeded to wander the city. In comparison to Pamplona, we were impressed. There is a sense of orderliness and cleanliness that was lacking at Pamplona (not that it was unclean, rather, this was more clean and tidy). As it transpired, this Sunday was Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Everywhere were women in bright pink tee-shirts bearing the slogan "hoy ganan les chicas" and with the McGrath pink ribbon attached. What the words mean is beyond us; but we think it means "Girls, today the first step".



We learned that the old city is (now) relatively small. Why? because a cholera plague in the 16th century gave city 'fathers' permission to remove the spreading 'slums' radiating from the (old) centre core. We learnt that the old centre 'site' is of the historic Basque town of Gastiez. And, in the 10th century a Navarre king 'established' a defensive outpost aside Gastietz, anming it Victoria. Over time, the Basque 'government' settled here and the 'larger' town that evolved around it was called Vitoria-Gastiez. Now, the city is the capital of the Basque County. The city grew during the 19th and 20th century on wool and iron. With only a couple of hours, we did our best to see the 'old' quarter. But, we also found time to have lunch and taste the pintxo's here. Superb! The bread (baguette) was absent, but the portion size was just as small.



We took our leave and headed for Bilbao. On the way, we descended a massive range - we hadn't realised we'd been on a high plateau. Bilbao is built on an estuary, and surrounded by steep hills. It was always the hub for the coastal port, but the rise of steelworks along the lower estuary provided the momentum to grow into a city. Our entry via the motorway had us zooming along high bridges between mountains, through tunnels, and even over a soaring bridge across the estuary. The motorways also seem to define the city's western limits. Looking east and north as far as the eye can see are towering residential apartment buildings.



Historically, greater Bilbao comprises three distinct parts; the upper estuary area of Bilbao proper and the lower estuary area - of which is divided into two parts, the Portulagete area (on the western side) and the Getxo area of the other. Between Bilbao and the Portugalete areas are the steel foundry's and associated steel works (of Sestao). The Portugalete area not only housed the industrial workers, but also serviced the shipping industry. On the opposite side is Getxo which, with its high cliffs fronting the Bay of Biscay, emerged as the locality of choice for the well heeled. Bilbao is the commercial business centre. In this depiction, we overstate the separateness of the parts. They are now but one city of residential, business and industry.



We found our accommodation (in the Getxo area), unpacked and caught the metro train into the Bilbao 'old centre'. One Euro for a 15 minute metro trip makes Australian public transport prices look like government gouging.



Bilbao city has a great mixture of historical, classic and modern buildings. Being Sunday, few people walked the streets. Described as a tourist focus, we headed for Casco Viejo - the old town. We weren't too impressed. More like 'seedy town'. It's as if the 19th century buildings (set amongst an occasional older religious structure) had been tarted to coincide with the opening of the Guggenheim Museum at the turn of the (21st) century. And, the investment hasn't paid off as many shopfronts were boarded up. The narrow streets and alleyways were dank and dirty. It was pintxo time and though several establishments looked promising, we decided to head back into the city centre for our 'dinner'.



We caught a tram across the Nirvion River (estuarine channel?) into the city proper and pintxo 'shopped' through several bars. But, unlike Pamplona or Vitoria-Gastiez, the pintxo's here lacked appeal. Were we getting 'over' them? We hoped not. We decided to call it a day and took the metro back to the apartment.

Monday 8th June - Bilbao

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The day opened to a foogy morn, but this soon cleared to a clear sunny sky. We decided to walk to the nearby Vizcaya 'bridge'. This is a steel 'bridge' structure built in the late 18th century with enough height to allow sailing vessels to pass (under). A shuttle carried (dangling?!!) by long cables attached to a trolley of the steel bridge is driven from one side to the other. The 'shuttle' now carries vehicles (about 12) and passengers from Portugalete to Getxo (and reverse). We took the shuttle to Portugalete and decided to wander the 'old town'. Is it 'old' or a mixture of different aged buildings of which some are old? More the latter, but the facades of the newer buildings present as 'old'.



After a bit of venturing, we found the metro and headed back into Bilbao for some (pintxo) lunch. We figured that the range of pintxo's offered might have been made during the day and when we got to them on the Sunday evening, the best may have been consumed. As we'd enjoyed great pintxo's in Pamplona and Vitoria-Gastiez at lunchtimes, we figured we ought to return the the same bars to sample. We were disappointed, they were much the same - nice fillings on slices of baguette.



We wondered whether our 'perception' of the Casco Viejo might also have been coloured by it being Sunday evening - when locals who'd been out for the day returned home. So, we returned and in the cold light of day decided our perception of the previous evening was correct. We took the tram back through the city (largely via the Nirviano River foreshore to the eastern end of Bilbao (city) to explore the central spine Gran Via Don Diego. We loved the park at the 'entrance', but the atmosphere along the boulevard left us cold.



We decided to take the metro back to Getxo and explore the foreshore area. A lovely sunny afternoon enabled us to enjoy a walk from the metro station to the promenade via a fenicular down the headland. We learned the 'mansions' built along the headland were largely established in the late 19th century. Most were huge in scale. Several have now been turned into boutique hotels. For us, the architecture is ostenatious. We didn't see inside any to determine whether the buildings were designed just for impression or that and internal livability; but we assumed the former.



As the day was drawing to a close, we went in search of a supermarket to buy 'dinner' and eat in. As we ventured 'inland' away from the foreshore - and to where wall to wall apartments are now situated - we could only find two mini-superettes. we eventually found a deli and were able to get dinner.

Tuesday 9th June - Guggenheim Museum + beyond

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Today we departed Bilbao for San Sebastion. But, as the Guggenheim Museum was closed yesterday, today was our only opportunity to visit. Fortunately the accommodation host allowed us to 'hold' our goods inside till mid-afternnon so we could take a peek.



Enough has been written about the Guggenheim Museum for us not to add. But, suffice to say it is stunningly spectacular, both inside and out. We understand that rather than have a permanent collection of 'acquired' pieces, as other musuems do, the Guggenheim is more an exhibition space.



At this time, the upper floor was closed as a forthcoming exhibition was being prepared. The 'lower' two floors were mostly given over to a retrospective of Jeff Koons' works. The museum had long ago acquired Koons' 'Puppy' which has been permanently on display in the forecourt. Now, it was freshly planted with flowers for the opening of the retrospective: lucky us!



We couldn't help contrasting the musuem with Bilbao. For us, the parts of Bilbao we visited don't have that certain 'pizzazz' we've encountered elsewhere. It is sort of 'flat'. Both the inspirational aspect of the musuem architecture coupled to the seductive challenge of Koons' artwork left us with a feeling that the museum IS Bilbao - the rest merely being an industrial city that also hosts this icon.



It was time to take our leave - we could have spent much more time at the museum - and head for San Sebastion.



When we decided to book, we'd not been able to find an apartment in residential San Sebastion within our budget that also had car accommodation - now, an obvious prerequiste for us. We instead booked one at Oiartzun - some 15 minutes by car 'away'. It was part of a country house, and to our chagrin, was not 'locatable' on the satnav. Only a nearby main road was displayed. When we did find the actual street (off the main road), number 10 didn't seem to exist. After much to-ing and fro-ing, we eventually decided to go up a lane and there at the end were the hosts awaiting us. If we thought signage was poor in France, Spain offers even greater challenges!!!!



Fortunately, the accommodation is near a local rail station, so after unpacking our bags we headed for the station to go 'walk' San Sebastion - or Donastia as it's known locally.



Like Bilbao, San Sebastian sits astride an estuary (River Urumea) with high hills all around. Fortunately, the city itself is flat. The 'old city' abutts a rocky hill that defines the western side of the river mouth. And, it is the 'old city' that attracts tourists - not only for the engaging atmosphere, but also the famed pintxo bars. We'd done some online research and found a list of those with a great reputation. We narrowed the list to those that were known for their experimentation of food ideas.



WOW!!!! .... It's about all we can say. These 'good' pintxo bars are something else. Gone were the baguette topped offerings. Instead, the various foods were offered in all manner of small dishes. We were presented with the most amazing creations. Each was small in size and created the most sensational taste blast. To describe in detail would be pointless. We've experienced some incredible dishes in our travels, but never have we enjoyed anything like this.



At each bar, we ordered just one glass of red wine - we didn't want to end up so sloshed that we couldn't enjoy the tasty morsels. While the wines varied at each bar, all were enjoyable.



The first bar we visited specialised in fresh offerings such as marinated sardines, BBQ'd capsicum, etc., (which we loved) but specialised in cheesecake. So famous is this cheesecake there were more than 2 dozen caketins awaiting customers. We didn't fancy a sweet offering then, but assured ourselves we'd return before returning to the apartment. That we did. We were offered a sweeter red wine with the cheesecake that worked really well. The cheesecake was far creamier than anything we'd experienced in Oz - and we found it sensational in both texture and flavour!

Wednesday 10th June - San Sebastian

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Overnight it begain to drizzle, and by morning, the rain had set in. We'd planned to return by train to San Sebastian and spend the day there. But, walking around in the rain didn't appeal. As the sky appeared to lighten, we just mooched at the apartment hoping the day would become brighter (as we've experienced it do so often in this region) and allow us to proceed as planned.



Sadly, the rain 'redeveloped' and so we decided to visit a supermarket for a few supplies. When we got there, it turned out to be a 'hypermarket' and had an enormous range of foods. Given the situation, we decided to eat in. We bought some craft beer, red wine, and pre-cooked Basque meal items. Not long after we returned to the apartment, the weather cleared and we could have gone into San Sebastian!!! But, we thought, the night in will do us good!





Tomorrow we head south east to Logroño.

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Photos

Saint-Pied-de-Port
The pilgrim way

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
The tallest structure houses the old gate meeting the bridge on the pilgrim's way

Urban Pamplona
The view from our apartment.

Pamplona
Looking west from defensive wall.

Pamplona garrison church
The central part of this church was built as a defensive structure - few windows, and massive walls.

Pamplona - old dwelling
This was erected in the 14th century as a house for a well to do merchant. It now houses a court.

Rural Pamplona
Note the church!

The countryside
Again, note the size of the church!

The Hanging Bridge
Looking towards Getxo from Portugalete.

Painting the Gugg!
WHS????

San Sebastion pintxo's
l-r: roasted vege's
prawn mousse with beans and chirizo
mini hamburger with banana chips

Manneken Beer
The 'pub' is the Manneken, the left image is their logo, and these are the toilet door signs!