http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Spain , Basque Country en-us Sat, 25 May 2013 04:09:01 +0000 Sat, 25 May 2013 04:09:01 +0000 Crossing from the long straight empty roads of France in to Spain where they were suddenly a tangled mess of twists and turns was a bit of a wakeup call as we headed to Camping Iqueldo near San Sebastian. The sat nav had more in store for us though as we passed through the town it directed us off the main road and into the hills. The roads became narrower and steeper and it was clear that the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/San-Sebastian/blog-786369.html I went to an centuries old Catholic Church for my friend39s first Communion. There was about 20 boys and girls receiving first communion. After the communion we all walked over to the restaurant for a big party. We ate gigantic lunch included shrimp filet mignon wine sidra deserts other kinds of fish lots and lots of food. We all played together The party lasted from 230 until 103 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/blog-786161.html A peaceful night except for Woollys snoring The clouds were a bit lower this morning but the view was still stunning the Pyrenees were still there and we hadnt dreamt them. Woolly says Snore me.never We seemed to be ready and packed into Oliver in good time and were at The Grottes de Betharram by 9.30am although it opened at nine we were told by a sweet French gentleman with bere http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/San-Sebastian/blog-785894.html Yesterday afternoon I had a play time with my friend Eneritz. WE went to her Grandma39s house in Irun. She is teaching me Spanish and I am teaching her English. She takes English in school. All school children now take English in this area.I am going to be attending her First Communion tomorrow in a church that is hundreds of years old. After her First communion we are all going to a fancy res http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Hondarribia/blog-785478.html Papa has a friend who owns a restaurant and Papa ordered a certain kind of fishAnd he told me he would go looking for this fish for us to eat and he told us that he would look at the fish39s eyes and if the eyes were clear it was a really good fish and if the eyes were clouded it was a okay fish. He found us a really good fish and we ate it.I am a member of the Athletic Bilbao club. I really li http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Hondarribia/blog-785199.html There is an old fort and the streets and sidewalks are made of stone. Most of the buildings are made of stone and they are hundreds of years old. I walked all over the fort and saw a big church and a big building with canon and bullet holes in it from a past war. The building is being used as a hotel now a very fancy hotel.Today I walked to the coffee shop by myself and got my Grandma and Uncle V http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Hondarribia/blog-785043.html Today I went to San Sebastian and walked around the historic old section. I saw a Cathedral that is hundreds of years old the beach at San Sebastian is big and beautiful with cool little patterns on the sand. There is an antique merry go round which I went on. Hondarribia is where I am staying and there is an old fort here a couple of blocks away. The fort is now housing people restaurants http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Hondarribia/blog-784209.html Dawn day 2 After hearty meal in Bilbao old town and goode telling us the evil that TV is and blessed are the movie makers who send him Netflix for his ipad we had final beer in skinny bar by hotel.Had hit skinny bar first when we arrived and ken ended up dancing with columbian ladies as we told them he single and a rock star from show off hands group in Coventry. They his groupies nowNot sure th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Bilbao/blog-783082.html all had reasonable kip on ferry but lots of snoring mentioned by allBreakfast was nice as sea was flat and calm so great crossing and all well.We had bikes parked on bottom of ship deck 1 so we all had the fear of riding up wet ramps to get out of the hold etc.We all made it but back wheels spinning to meet the front was a worry. Set off after passport control border officer looked at my pass http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Bilbao/blog-782997.html http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Bilbao/blog-782739.html Hello I apologize for being SO terrible about updating my blog When I first got back from spring break I had a new entry typed up and was ready to post it but I took too long to type it up so I was automatically logged out of the program so it completely wiped out all that I had I was SO irritated haha but here I am about to update you.Last time I posted a blog I was saying that I was going to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Getxo/blog-781216.html With a promise of some sunshine the Basque coast had a real feel of spring about it last weekend. Ok so it wasn39t as warm as a couple of weeks ago but we weren39t complaining. We jumped in the Bogey Buggy and headed to the small coastal town of Mundaka where we stayed in the imaginatively named Hotel Mundaka. It was really comfortable and not badly priced compared to most other options in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Mundaka/blog-778264.html A short drive from Guernika we found one of the most extraordinary sights we have seen on Northern Spain the Painted Forest of Oma. To get there we had to park up in the small village of Lezika where we had lunch at the restaurant. If you have time you can also visit the Santimamine Caves. We didn39t have enough time but it looks like there are some impressive cave paintings inside.From there http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Guernica/blog-777126.html Many places around the world are known for the terrible things which have happened there. When you think of atrocities in Spain most people immediately think of Guernica and it39s a place we had wanted to visit ever since we moved to the North of Spain. Although we had been disappointed with Picasso39s painting when we saw it in Madrid 8 years ago seeing it reproduced in the woods of Zilba http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Guernica/blog-776550.html The weather forecast suggested getting out of Pamplona for the weekend and heading down the Basque coast was a good idea. Who were we to argue So we took the Bogey Buggy out for a drive and tried to find the small town of Lekeitio where we had booked ourselves into the Hotel Metrokua for the night. Unfortunately we missed our exit from the motorway and ended up travelling cross country over a hi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Lekeitio/blog-776380.html the cost of the whole trip includes everything like the plane tickets hotels tours car rentals and so forth. For this 2 week stay in Spain I will spend about 145486.98 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Armintza/blog-776296.html price is 80.72 My last day I would like to tour Barcelona on a segway. I will do this from 24. I will glide through the city streets. I will see Roman ruins and Medievil palaces. It is relaxing easy to manuever and see all of its culture and gothic architecture. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country//blog-775829.html For today I will go to a bullfight. I am purchasing tickets for the most expensive area called the Barrera Sombra. This means it is nearset to the action in the shade so I get the best experience at a comfortable area. I will purchase a ticket for 135 euros which is about 175 dollars. I will attend the event at La Monumental one of the finest stadiums in Barcelona. I will go at noon and will basi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country//blog-775827.html My next stop for the day will be at the church of the Sacred Family. This was built by Antoni Gaudi and is a masterpiece of modernist architecture. Its gothic style is something that attracts me.I will go there from 14 and after grab a bite at Barceloneta restaurant at the city centre to eat some fresh spanish seafood. After I will go around the city in my Bugatti and go to some night clubs. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country//blog-775695.html Next day I will visit the Pabellon Mies Van Der Rohe which is an architectural building. I will roll up in my Bugatti to check it out. From reviews it is said to be amazing and you only have to pay 5 euros. The structures is a must see and I will go from 35. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country//blog-775694.html