We have lived in Spain for over three years and I have been wanting to visit Bilbao and San Sebastian for ages. Rory races over there a couple of times a year, but the timing has just never worked out with the kids. I was so happy when we planned this trip and it did not disappoint!
We left Girona on Saturday afternoon and drove down to the airport in Barcelona for the flight to Santander. We went this route because the tickets were ridiculously cheap. Anyway, Spanish (and most European) airports are a revelation for families. We were in the security line when one of the security people waves us through. We passed through to an empty line (and nobody gave us a dirty look) where we could take our time getting organized. They even had a play pen set up for parents with babies. You can set your baby or toddler in it (they had a couple of toys) and get yourself organized. I mean, seriously. We did not need it, but I appreciated the space and kindness towards us.
Flying in Spain seems to be a bit more gentle as well. Flight delayed? Meh, it happens. Flight canceled? Great news, let's go have lunch or dinner! Babies are screaming on the flight (not mine)... Those poor parents! Someone help them or buy them a drink. People are just a little more patient in my humble opinion.
Anyway, the flight from Barcelona to Santander is all of an hour, so the kids were disappointed because they barely had time to read or do much of anything. I know a lot of people hate RyanAir, but I always find them to be really nice to families and we have never had a bad experience.
We landed in Santander and picked up our rental car and headed to Getxo, a little town just outside of Bilbao where we had rented a holiday flat. The flat was perfect for us, but it was 9pm by the time we put our bags down and headed out for dinner. Spanish vacation for sure!
The next morning we drove about 35 minutes to one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. This is a little island on the Basque coast. Now, this part of the coast faces endless wind and rough seas, so over the years erosion has caused interesting islands and caves to be formed. This particular island has a church on top of it that dates back to the 9th or 10th centuries (this is debatable depending on what you read). It is a bit of a hike to get to the church, but it is worth every step.
The parking lot is large and one begins to walk down a steep, but paved path. The path quickly turns to dirt and is very wet and slick during the winter. Our kids walked and did fine, so it is not impossible. It is about 1.5 kilometers from the parking lot to the pathway to the church. One must climb roughly 237 steep stairs, but again, Aurelia did it without any problems. Well, except for the wind. It was so windy. Winds like I have never felt before.
Eston was our trip photographer and these are his photos, with the exception of those he is in!
This is a great little hike for families, though I know some people will think I am crazy for taking my kids up some unstable stairs with cliffs on both sides. They were completely safe and they loved every moment of the walk (except for the wind).
After our hike we drove back to the beach near our holiday flat. It was incredibly crowded because it was a holiday in Spain and the weather was about 20 degrees warmer than usual. We found a great restaurant right on the water and sat down for a typical Spanish lunch--meaning several courses and several hours. The kids gorged themselves on crema de veduras (veggie soup) and fresh gambas (shrimp). The restaurant had an old fashioned dessert cart that they wheeled around and the kids thought that was fantastic.
For the record we all split dessert, but for a moment Aurelia thought it was all hers and was delighted.
We went across the street to the beach after lunch and had some running races to work off the dessert.
On Monday we headed to San Sebastian, which was just about an hour away from where we were staying. The weather cooperated with us once again, which is the opposite of normal weather in the Basque Country.
San Sebastian is pretty incredible. See the plaza below? The original buildings were destroyed during a war, so it was rebuilt in this neo-classical style. Do you see the numbers on each balcony? The city used to rent out balconies for bull fights and other cultural events in this plaza, so they put numbers on each balcony so one knew where to go.
We decided to have a bit of an adventure as we left the city of San Sebastian. We drove down the coast and found random roads to explore. The kids love when we do this. I really loved looking at Eston's photos of this portion of our trip because it is so clear what captured his attention.
I grew up loving the water and waves, so I was keen to see a famous surf break called Mundaka. It was not really on our way to anywhere, but Rory drove us way out of the way so we could visit. Eston was really concentrating on getting a decent shot of the surfers, which is really hard to do. I think he did a pretty good job for his first try. Mundaka was a small fishing village and it does not look like a typical surf town, that's for sure.
We visited Bilbao on Tuesday. We took the kids to the Guggenheim in the morning when they were fresh. Aurelia was hilarious and was telling me all about each painting. "It's a lady and she is all different colors." Got that, Andy Warhol? Eston was content to take dozens of photos of the building and the spider.
We went with our friends to a wonderful restaurant right on the river and enjoyed another Spanish lunch. The kids were famished by this point because they had both walked all over the city, so they ate each course with glee. Aurelia even asked for more pumpkin soup because she was still hungry! Nothing is more delightful than a long lunch (and playing with Mumma's scarf)
The trip went by much too quickly and we look forward to returning again to explore!
No comments:
Post a Comment