Barcelona - Bilbao - San Sebastian

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Travelling again today, picked up at our apartment (transfers went very smoothly here) at 7.30am (daylight saving started yesterday, so dark) and off to the airport.

Managed to check in and find the gate for our Vueling flight to Bilbao. Short flight, very squeezy!!

Landed in Bilbao, pouring rain, and then the fun started - driving in the hire car, a Renault Scenic - feels huge! Drove into Bilbao (airport is outside town) to check out the Guggenheim museum - from the outside only, closed on Mondays. There was one sculpture outside - "Puppy" - a dog made of flowers. Apparently it has been there since 1992, and the flowers are actually planted, and growing! Got very wet (even with rain jackets and umbrellas as it was also very windy) walking around the outside of the museum, so decided we needed coffee. When we came out of the cafe, the rain had stopped, and the sun even shone for about 2 minutes!

Then I discovered we were not following the highway to San Sebastian, but taking the scenic route along the coast! In the rain! Had to navigate some windy mountain roads to reach the coast, but then came to the town of Bermeo, very pretty coming down the mountain. Then it was a mix of coastal roads with little towns (much like the Amalfi Coast, but not quite as pretty, similar weather too) and inland through hills. Gave up after Zauratz (thankfully, even though not much further) and got on the highway. Then had to find our way through San Sebastian to the hotel. (Thank goodness for Google Maps).

So did not reach the Hotel Londres in San Sebastian until 5pm, still raining on and off, and when we got to our room, I thought I could just stay in there for the next 2 days! Beautiful views over Bahia de la Concha (Concha Bay) and the beach, and beautiful room. But couldn't resist, even in the rain and icy wind, had to go for a walk on the beach (not sure if I've done that before in boots & jeans).

Decided to stay out of the weather for the rest of the night, and eat at the restaurant in the hotel, which specialises in local Basque cuisine. I had the Menu of the Day (3 courses, water, wine & bread) for 28€. Very nice!

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