We are having so much fun exploring northern Spain, it’s not fair!
Two quick notes:
1) I just changed the format of the blog so it only shows the five most recent posts on the first page. I was noticing that it took a long time for the site to load, due to the sheer volume of photos that had to download. Things should be a little zippier now, but don’t forget to load pages 2 & 3, etc., if you want to see older posts.
2) In the process of making the above tweak, I noticed quite a few comments waiting to be approved. So sorry about that, I promise to do a better job of keeping up from now on. And thanks a ton to all of you who’ve taken the time to comment; it warms a blogger’s heart!
Today was Saturday. We got up, had a nice breakfast, then checked out of our Bilbao hotel and caught the bus to the airport, where we rented a car to drive to San Sebastián!
Along the way, Jorge & Meredith suggested we stop in the town of Durango. (It turns out that this Durango is a sister city with both the Durango in Mexico as well as the one in Colorado) Like everywhere else in Europe it seems, it’s a town rich in history. The tourist info building alone dates back to the 16th century:
We ended up doing a walking tour of the town. I was impressed by how professionally produced the tour was for such a small town. One of the first stops was the Town Hall (I thought of seeing if I could stop in and meet my fellow mayor, but since it was Saturday, I was out of luck…):
A little further along, we stopped at this typically picturesque view of how a river will often be treated as it passes through small towns such as this:
We then found a place to buy some goodies for a picnic lunch. Next stop was the tiny village of Apatamonasterio, in the valley of Atxondo, which just happens to be the the home of Jorge’s ancestors. It’s pronounced Ah-tchondo; he spells his name Anchondo. It was so cool to see where his people came from more than 500 years ago. Anyway, here J&M are, next to the information sign near the village center:
We found a schoolyard bench to sit on and enjoy our lunch, then looked around the village a bit more. In the local cemetery, I found a nice example of the great little columbines we’ve been seeing all along the roadsides for the last week:
Following a little path around the village, we then stumbled across this pastoral scene. So peaceful…
Then it was off to San Sebastián for a little siesta at our hotel, before heading out on the town for the evening. First, though, we wandered past the beach…
…and then through this exquisite park that covers a steep hill right on the ocean front between the main beaches, where I couldn’t resist some sunset scenics:
[I’m loving the panorama feature on the iPhone’s camera; it’s so easy! To think you used to have to do backflips in Photoshop to accomplish that kind of thing!]
For the second night in a row, we’ve found some exceptional pintxos bars, and savored every morsel. Tonight’s one stop was called Bar Borda Berri, and man, were they good. We’ve learned that you know you’ve found a good spot when it looks like this inside:
Tomorrow we plan a relaxing day of wending our way back to Bilbao, where we’ll catch a plane to Barcelona about 6 pm. J&M think they know of another nice beach along the way. If we find it, I’m sure I’ll have some photos for you tomorrow. I know I’ll have something for you, since every day here is full of treats for the eyes!
