Stormygirl returns from 3 weeks abroad: Paris and Northern Spain Report!
 

Hello all! My husband and I just returned from a marvelous 3 week adventure in Europe. We flew from Seattle to New York City on the 4th of July on Alaska Air, they upgraded us for free to 1st class which was great! We spent the night to take in the awesome firework display for Independance Day. In NYC we stayed at the Waldorf Astoria for $110 thanks to Priceline. The next day we flew on British Air to Paris via London. The BA attendants at the check in counter upgraded us for free to World Traveler Plus class. It was so much nicer! Better seats, tons of room, only about 10 rows in the cabin, better entertainment center, etc. Very nice of them!! Stayed with friends of mine in the 17th in Paris.

This was my 6th trip to Paris and my husbands 3rd. The first night we all went to dinner at L'Atilier Joel Robouchon. We were very excited as the press has been so good. We showed up early, around 7pm but the counter was full with a 1 1/2 hour wait so we took the small counter facing the window/backs to the counter.

The restaurant is gorgeous but from the get go the service sucked! We all had champagne then wine and 2-3 small plates each. All of us thought the food was VERY good. Some of the things we had that really stood out were the gazpacho, sorel broth with asparagus, monkfish and the famous potatoes which came with the pork chops. Even though we raved about the ingrediants and presentation all thought the small plates were REALLY small. This was tapas size not tasting menu size. It was very overpriced for the servings and the bad service. Glad I got to go to see for myself but I won't be back.

After dinner we headed to the 5th to a jazz bar called Caveau des Oubliettes on Rue Gallande (?). What a fantastic place! The jazz in down in the basement which use to be a dungeon!! There was a band but as the night went on different musicians showed up and started a jam session. After the band finished we asked the bartenders if we could go explore the cave behind the stage where the dungeon cells use to be. They let us so off we went with drinks in hand, heels on and no lights thru these old dungeons under the street level. There were skulls (this theme will be repeated! haha!)and cells with bars, etc. Very cool! We had a blast. Finally came out, picked up a bottle of wine and proceeded to the front of Notre Dame where we sat until 3am drinking wine and catching up. A perfect Paris night with our friends :)

The next day my husband and I were off to explore the catacombs. How strange a place is this?? And there were no guides or gardes or anything down there! It was raining outside so there was quite a bit of water leaking in adding to the creepiness!

A quick beer at a cafe after to make our plan and off we went to Laudree for macroons. I have always had the Fauchon ones so I was very excited to try the famed Laudree. We bought a pack of metro tickets from the machine right in the station- 10 tickets for whatever euro. We take the metro everywhere when we go to Paris. First stop while walking to Laudree was into the Maille mustard shop, so cute! Fantastic mustards and pots. My husband talked me out of a great little $40 pot so away for macroons.

We bought a dozen to share with our friends back at the apartment: chocolate was the winner with citron and carmel a close second. Pistacio was great but the raspberry was a bit dissappointing.

Decided to walk thru the Tuilleries a bit as the sun was now out, bright and sunny. There was an amusement park set up on the right bank side so we wandered around laughing at some of the booths. Stopped for a snack: panini for me a hot dog for my husband (lord! thank goodness is was the worst he ever had- that should cute him!) and beers (of course they serve beer and wine at the amusement park! haha!)

Took my husband to the Louvre Carousel as he hadn't been and did a bit of browsing. There is a Lalique shop in there where I bought myself a beautiful green crystal ring.

Back to the apartment to grab the girls and off to the 12th to check out a new spot for happy hour- The China Club. The drinks were good as was the service but there was nothing special about the place for us (we like the Buddah Bar and Barloti type of places for cocktails). After dinner we wandered around the 11th and decided to stop at a little restaurant called Cafe Divan. Excellent food, prices and service just off the main touristy restaurant row.

Day 3 in Paris- up in the morning and off to the corner boulangerie. My husband loves pain au chocolate so when I saw what looked to be a large one I asked the woman in French if it was indeed. She answered that is was the MAXI size! Then looked at my husband who is 6'6" and said he was MAXI size and everyone that it was very funny that there was a large pain au chocolate for the large man!

We headed off for our daily macabre touring: today the Pere Lachaise Cemetary. What a great place! We found all the graves we had wanted to find and even stumbled upon the markers of each of the concentration camp victims. This was the most moving area and my favorite. The monuments are so violent and distressing.

It started to rain just as we left so we decided to have lunch- mussels and frites at Leon de Bruxelles. The food was good (not the fries though) and there was a ton! We couldn't finish. It is a huge chain but I really wanted moules et frites and they do them good.

The sun was trying to make a reappearance so we headed to Sacre Couer, another place my husband hadn't been to. Funicular up and then a great walk down- finding the little vineyard along the way.

Went back to the apartment where my friends had set up a nice apertif and appetizer table of different meats, cheeses, breads, etc. We gorged ourselves picnic style and decided to head to the local bar for our last night- taking a great little trivia game with us. The bar in the 17th in called Lush and is on Rue de Dames. It is run by Brits and Americans and is quite lively and fun.

Off in the morning for 2 weeks in Spain- first stop: BARCELONA!

I am eagerly awaiting your opinions on Barcelona, I was there last week (you may have read my trip report).

Sounds like a fab trip, Stormygirl! Can't wait to here your Spain report!

Tell me, how did you get those airline upgrades? My hubby and I have never been upgraded, even on our honeymoon. Oh, wait, United did seat us in the exit row! LOL!

stormygirl-sounds like a fun trip-and I'm glad I'm not the only one who eats at Chez Leon's in Paris-when you have a craving for moules and frites, it's the only place to go!

Mmmmm.... I was in France for 18 days and I gained 12 pounds, mostly from eating pain au chocolat. I love it!

mk- just read your report- I'm afraid you'll be finding my trip quite "backpacker-ish" compared to yours- no luxery hotels for this couple. In Spain we did- BARCELONA, PAMPLONA, SAN SEBASTION, SANTILLANA DE MAR, SANTANDER, LAUGUARDIA (RIOJA). Full trip to come......

labs- Honestly as far as the upgrades go I always ask for the best possible seats for my husband as he is soooo tall, bulkhead, exit, etc. also I ask to sit as close to the front as possible. When I fly Alaska domestically I always ask to be upgraded if possible and expect to be charged miles or money but this time she did it just for free. On BA I was REALLY nice and she said that she likes to do things for nice people. She even had to call the gate attendant and ask a favor to move us up. She was awesome. I generally am VERY nice whenever I am expecting service from people and have even been known to kiss a little a-- at ticketing counters ;)

Spygirl- I'm usually very against chains but I wanted what I wanted you know? :)

Loving your report...MORE!

Hey Stormygirl! I can't wait for your report on Spain :)

regards Ger

I had a ton of info gathered from this site so I want to make a special note to say thanks to Maribel. How would anyone travel to Spain without her advise?? Also I copied quite a few dining suggestions from Lesli and took notes on driving around from Nedsireland as well as many others. Thank you!!

BARCELONA- We took the bus from the airport to the the Pl. Catalunya on the Ramblas. Stayed at the top of the Ramblas at the Hotel Continental- balcony room for E100 a night. Great location for us, definately a bit noisy at night at there is no ac so our balcony doors were left open. Breakfast included- an open room with pasteries, cereal, toast, hard boiled eggs, fruit, etc. you do it your self (this also has juice/soda and snacks throughout the day). Room was small of course but had a fridge and microwave. Front desk staff was very helpful and friendly making us dinner reservations, advice, directions, etc.

After unpacking we walked up to have tapas at La Tramoia on Rambla de Catalunya. Sat outside, great lunch of patatas bravas, grilled chorizo, tomato bread and queso with a bottle of wine. From there we walked into the Exampia area and toured the Gaudi house. We found this to be a fantastic piece of arcitecture although the attic area seemed a bit "last minute tourist dollars". The audio guide was informative but like most soooooo longwinded! Just the facts maam' :)

Strolled around a bit more in the area looking at the arcitecture and stopped at BBreeBa for 2 mini sandwiches and a beer each for E1.50. We found all of Spain to be extrememly inexpensive compared to other places we travel to. Stopped in the Corte Ingles dept. store and bought our train tickets to Pamplona for 3 days later. Quick grocery shopping (ok, let's face it...wine and pringles) and a nap! Dinner reservations were made for us by the hotel staff that night for Jean Luc Figueras. Gorgeous white linen tablecloth restaurant in an old mansion. We had the tasting menu for E75 ea. The restaurant was quite good but would fail to stand up to others we will dine at later. Service was excellent and the food inventive, sometimes pushing that too far we felt. They aren't Michelin starred and we could see where they were missing that. The place was a little too quiet, a little to "trying". Like many of the nicer restaurants we went to they had these funny little stools they would bring for you to set your purse on, so it wouldn't be on the floor. A friend of mine's mom from Seville told me that Spanish women find it bad luck to set a purse on the floor. They say the money will leak out into the earth. Not sure if that is true but we saw these little stools quite often!

The next morning we had breakfast in the hotel then walked to the Barri Gotic. Followed a walk in our Fodors guide and really enjoyed looking at the Cathedral de la Seu and Santa Maria del Mar. We witnessed a wedding in the later which was beautiful. Had lunch at Cal Pep, WOW what an experience! We were the 2nd couple in line. When Pep opened the doors it was like a great explosion of life: waiters immediately scribbling orders, pans and dishes clashing, wine being opened and poured, a flurry of customers talking! Sensory overload for sure!! Since we speak basically no Spanish and there are no menus or even tapas to point at we asked our waiter to bring us what he thought. He was very happy with this, we were very nervous and proceeded to start on our wine! We are adventurous eaters but feared tripe........

First plate out was a plate of tiny fried fish, shrimp and calamari rings. Eating the little heads of fish and shrimp was new for us but when in Barcelona...... next was a plate of fried artichoke hearts, yum!!! Tomato bread, tortilla with ham, baby clams with an amazing garlic and wine broth and finally whole baby squid cooked with garbanzo beans. All in all an awesome lunch- he took it easy on us for sure! It was one of the highlights of my trip just for the adventure!

We walked off our lunch (and wine!) by strolling along the port to the Columbus statue. Went up it for tours of the city. Walked up the Ramblas and toured the food market (amazing!) and peaked at the other Gaudi house exterior. Stopped at the Cafe l'Opera for Sangria (this will be a regular stop fo us!) and watched the Ramblas. The street entertainers were crazy to watch as are all the pedestrians. Strange things like bird and small animal markets take place between flower markets and newstands.

Dinner that night at Can Majo in Barcelonetta. Fantastic "cauldron" of lobster. A cross between paella and bisque. YUM!

Day 3 in Barcelona we got breakfast downstairs from the hotel and brought it up to our balcony to eat. As soon as we finished it started raining like nothing I've seen! And I'm from Seattle! So we hung out and waited for the storm to pass. As soon as it did we headed out to the museum Citudad, great for this still drizzly day. It is really a cool dig of ancient Barcelona under the city. You walk thru the dig. Very interested we both thought. After we grabbed some tapas and a glass of wine by Santa Maria at La Vinya del Senyor. Metro to the Sagrada Familia. We decided to wait in line and walk all the way up in the towers. This is not for the faint of heart or clausterphobic! I got a bit of vertigo- It is very high up and the staircase is very skinny, dark and low. Great views of the city though. We spent quite a bit of time here- truely an interesting spectacle of religion and arcitecture. Our guide book deciphered the Passion facade so we sat and read it while studying the figures. Very stark and violent.

Hungry again we head back to the Gottic to Vox Populi for tapas, then closer to our home- Cafe l'Opera for a glass of wine. This is our last night and we want to keep it quiet so we head to Tapa Tapa for dinner on a recomendation. Although it's filled with Spanish I would say it's not a very good place. On the way back we grab a few gelato cones and stroll to the hotel.....ah Europe!

Before heading out of town the next morning we skip the hotel breakfast and have hot chocolate and churros at the Cafe l'Opera (told you we became regulars!)A quick stop for some sandwiches and beers and we grabbed a cab to the train station and boarded our train to Pamplona. 5 1/2 hour ride, very pretty with walled towns, castles, windmills, coast and Spanish lavender fields.

Here we are!!!!! PAMPLONA AND THE FIESTA SAN FERMIN!!!!

We used Erreka Services in Pamplona for our hotel booking and stayed at the Albret. This is somewhat like a Holiday Inn, not much charm or character but the rooms were nice and it was just outside of the madness that is San Fermin. It is about a 20min walk to the old city from here. We met up with friends who were on their honeymoon for the bull running festival.

After a quick change into white and red (EVERYONE wears this combo for the whole festival: moms, dads, babies, grandmas, tourists, locals, cafe waiters, etc!) we walked to town and into the plaza. What a zoo of people!! And we went on the last 2 days which are quieter. There was a round bandstand in the center of the plaza and people all around it dancing to the music. The plaza is surrounded by cafes on all side, we picked one with a table outside and drank bottles of wine with tapas until late- people watching the entire time.

From Pamplona along the north coast that we went we will run into very few Americans and only a handful of Brits. English is NOT widely spoken in this area but Basque is. Tons of French tourists let me use my limited French when desperate!

The next morning at 6:45 AM my friends and I, all decked out in white pants, white shirts, red kerchiefs and red waist sashes head out to the H. Tres Reyes where we will be met by the tourist services and taken to a private home with balcony to watch the running. It is EARLY and the streets & parks are littered with people sleeping, passed out or still partying. It smells!! BAD!! Not the best thing for this girl before 7AM. We walk thru the small streets until we reach the beautiful town hall. Here the street is lined with wood baricades. We climb through and out the other side where we enter the apartment building. Into an apartment on the first floor with multiple balconies overlooking the path of the bulls and crazy men who will run with them. The elderly lady who owns the apartment supplies us and the Japanese group who will be viewing there also with juice, coffee and breakfast cookies. We watch the people below jockey for positions on the street, buy their newspaper to roll up and protect them from the horns of these huge animals and police pull out those who are too drunk to be in the crowd. The balconies on every building fill up, the crowd gets very thick in the street and finally it is 8AM! Rockets are fired to announce the bulls are loose!!! People start running and within seconds 6 HUGE animals creen around the bend and slam into the wall infront of us- no traction, slippery streets, a curve in the road and speed are not a good combination for the 1600 pound animals. People go flying as bulls and man connect. I have massive sensory overload and want to shout, scream, cry out...but I'm mute as I watch the spectacle wide eyed! Another 2 seconds and the bulls have rounded another corner and are now out of our site. We all race into the living room where we watch the rest of the run on TV.

This is the craziest thing I've ever seen! But there is an addictive rush that comes over you..I see why this has become such a pilgrimage to some. We leave the apartment as the run ends and follow the crowds on the now safe street to the bull ring. There is a smaller baby bull in the ring, it's horns covered with thick plastic tips, that boys and men are encouraging to charge them. Some sort of macho game. We watch for a while amused then head off to find some cafe con leche.

Exhausted by 10 AM we head back to the hotel for another 4 hours of sleep. This is the most we will get at any one time in Pamplona!

Wow, stormygirl, Pamplona sounds like a wild place to be!

It's really interesting, but I think I'd rather hear about it than be there.

Great report - and I'm pleased to see you went to the Caveau des Oubliettes! I've mentioned it a few times on this board but don't remember seeing any feedback on the place till now. I used to go there regularly for those jam sessions (just to listen, not to participate, I might add!) which take place a couple of nights a week. They start out with the resident band playing but anyone can get up and join in, as you noticed.

Did you notice the real guillotine in the bar at street level? And was there still turf on the floor instead of a carpet?

hanl, I'm sorry to say that I hadn't seen this place mentioned before. One of my girlfriends who lives in paris had gone there with friends once and we all talked about the guillotine! So I made her take us. YES...still grass instead of carpet...too funny!

Back to Pamplona...

After our much needed nap we decided to investigate the Pena Bars. Penas are "clubs" that participate in the fiesta with bands, dancing, running, bull fight watching, ect. They are locals who wear the white but instead of red accents each club has their own color- green, blue, etc.

We wandered into the local pena area and had beers in a few of the bars. They are a lively bunch of people! We ordered 3 beers and a coke in one bar and the price was E3! Walls inside are decorated with Basque Seperatist Movement posters as well as old pictures of the pena members before them. Quite a fun experience to celebrate with these folks.

Off to the Cafe Iruna in the plaza. Total Hemingway moment folks...I'm guilty as charged!

Dinner that night at the very nice white table clothed Alahambre. Excellent food and service. We had reservations for 9:30 and of course were the first ones there! And even here at the nicest restaurant in Pamplona everyone was in their red and white!!

6:45 comes early again the next day and we meet to watch the running again, it's the last day of the fiesta. Our husbands decide to RUN WITH THE BULLS!! Lord! My girlfriend and I go up to our balcony while they go into the street with the rest of the crazies! The buy their newpapers and take their place, luckily not in my view!

Same adrenal rush as the day before....but now after the bulls run I'm waiting for a text on my mobile letting me know that he hasn't been gored! Finally it comes...toro toro!! All is well and we head off to the Cafe Iruna to meet these crazy men we love.

Breakfast of hot chocolate and churros then off for our mid morning nap. After we decide to walk to the "midway" a strip of carnival type tents set up like restaurants, and have lunch of roasted chickens and french fries. Each 1/2 chicken and potatoes is E6. Love this country!!!

Back to the Cafe Iruna to spend the HOT afternoon drinking and visiting. We get the paper as soon as it comes off the press and I start looking thru all the pictures of that mornings run. All of a sudden I spot my husband in a shot! He is pressed against the wall as the bulls are passing him by!!! And his friend is in a doorway next to him. haha!!! These brave men :) Too funny, we bought many copies to bring home.

A couple that we met while watching the run find us at the cafe and we all go to dinner together at Erburu. A casual restaurant not far from the plaza we stop in a few pena bars along the way.

After dinner we attend the closing of the fiesta- Pobre Mi at City Hall. What an awesome time! Everyone brings candles and lights them, the square is packed and the mayor finally appears on the balcony of the hall to announce another Fiesta San Fermin is over. The crowd goes crazy and sings Pobre Mi, swaying with the candles. Then the tempo picks up and everyone takes off their kerchiefs and holds them up and sings a faster song. They go back and forth for about 20 mins! We were in the thick of it all, very cool!

San Fermin is over and we are exhausted. Off to the hotel, the next day we are driving to SAN SEBASTION!

We had originally planned to drive up to St Jean Pied du Port and then leisurly over to San Sebastian way of Hondorribba but our friends who were honeymooning and planning on leaving for Andorra and then Nice seemed to not have train tickets and no way out of Pamplona. Grrrrrr....not a huge deal but we offered to drive them to Irun where they could catch a train to Nice. We had rented a fairly small car thru Alamo and were really just worried about getting their 32" suitcase, our 2 small 20" cases and all our shopping bags, backpack and duffle in the car!! Well they became very friendly with my suitcase in the backseat but somehow everything else fit in the small trunk. We stopped in a really cute little town called Oronoz-Muguaire (entrance to a national park?)and had a really wonderful lunch at the Hotel Vrgain. Of course we splurged and got the most expensive bottle of Navarra red on the wine list.....E13 :)

After dropping our friends off at the train station in Irun we drove into San Sebastion. What a BEAUTIFUL city!!! We stayed at the Hostal Alemana which was just one block off the beach- La Concha. The room was small but had a nice little balcony and fridge. The staff was really nice. It is on a very busy street so if anyone plans to stay there I would suggest asking for a room off the main street.

Immediately set off to do some laundry at the only place in town. Wow, talk about expensive! 5E a load to wash and 5E to dry. We went to a local bar and had beers and wrote postcards while waiting.

Thanks to all the info on this board we set out that night to go pinchos hopping in Parte Vieja (old town). So much fun!! We made it to Casa Vergara, La Cepa and our favorite Ormazabel. The pinchos are truly little works of art! And we came to love the funny wine Txacoli (sp).

Strolling along the waterfront before and after was so romantic. SS is really one of the prettiest towns I've ever been in.

When we woke up the next morning it was a bit overcast so we decided to do a bit of sightseeing. Started with breakfast at Cafe Con Leche on San Martin and Getaria just a few blocks from the hotel. Run by a woman they had wonderful croissants and coffee.

Then we walked the whole length of the beach until we reached the other end where there is a funicular. It had started to clear a bit by now so we went up and had absolutely amazing views of the bay, beach and city.

The sun was full on out now so we walked back to the hotel, put our swimsuits on and went to grab a quick bite before hitting the sand! We had a really good lunch of pinchos and txacoli at Bar San Marcial. This is really a great place and if you are ever in SS I highly recommend it. The bartenders were really nice pointing out things they recommended. Fun lively atmosphere with a ton of regular customers.

We didn't pack beach towels with us and it was siesta time so the stores we planned to buy them in were closed until 4:30! What to do??? Hmmm, we stopped in the very upscale Hotel Londres and asked if they had a gift shop where we could buy a few towels. Nope. She thought we were guests of the hotel so offered to arrange for our purchases by the next morning. We explained that we wanted to go to the beach (but forgot to mention that we weren't hotel guests...) So she offered to rent us beach towels for 1E ea. Great.....except of course we don't have a room number and our name isn't in the system.....this is where the lack of Spanish/Basque really came in handy! She was worried that the reservation was lost and didn't want us to become upset....we acted confused and said we would call our travel agent. She happily gave us the towels to keep us calm and we gave her a few euros. Off we went to the beach feeling only mildly guilty...I personally kept thinking of how much hotels charge for a bottle of water and it made me feel better! haha! ok, I'm not suggesting anyone else do this, no lectures please! :)

After an afternoon in the sun we stopped for a few quick pinchos and more txacoli at Bar Ostarte which is just 3 doors down from the hotel on San Martin.

That night, with the help of our hotel desk staff, we went to Martin Berasategria's restaurant Kursaal which is also in the Kursaal. What a fantastic restaurant! They deserve a star for sure. The layout is very minimalistic, tables very far apart. The staff is top notch and each staff member presents a different course to your table, each being an expert in their courses. The food was phenomenal...on the cutting edge without going over. We wanted to share a few things and just like in the book "A Meal Observed" which follows the staff and days of the famed Taillevent in Paris, instead of splitting things they gave us each our own portion and just charged us once.

We each had a glass of sherry, shared a bottle of wine, app and 1st course split, each had an entree, dessert, coffee and after dinner drinks for 150E. We loved this restaurant!!! As at the restaurant in Barcelona Kursaal provided small baskets for womens purses, cute! Really though I hightly recomend a night here. I also heard that they have a lunch tasting menu that includes a glass of wine for something like 20E each! Mr. Berasategria is very famous in this region and has 4 or 5 restaurants around.

Our next day in SAN SEBASTIAN was cooler and overcast. We were fine with that as we had reservations for lunch at Arzak and then planned to drive east to France for the day.

We spent the morning shopping in Parte Veija. Great kitchen supply stores everywhere! I picked up 8 fish knives, some large stainless cooking spoons and a great little mustard pot all for 27E!! Then we found a great chocolate shop and loaded up on truffles and gifts for family.

My husband was not very keen on going to Arzak as we had just had a very nice dinner the night before, one in Pamplona and one in Barcelona. Lucky for me that as soon as we walked in and were seated upstairs (first ones there at 1:30!), given menus and brought glasses of cava he was enchanted. The waiter who took care of us spoke perfect English and was very good at recommending us mix things up on the tasting menu so we could swap and share. I really liked their menu set up, you chose each of the entrees but it was still done as a tasting menu.

Well let me just say that any place that starts you off with 5 amuse bouche is #1 in our book!! We could not believe the amount of attention to detail, flavors, freshness, everything that went into each of our dishes. We actually started taking pictures of our food it was so beautiful! And we tried our best to take notes of the food. This was the best restaurant we have eaten at besides Taillevant in Paris. Absolutely my highest recommendation. I'll put in the menu later.

What a trip! What a report! Thanks.

Something my husband noticed at both Kursaal and Arzak was that the entire serve staff were women. This stood out to us only because of course in France it is so rare to see anyone but men. If anyone knows why this might have been I'd be interested. It wasn't a mixed staff...at Kursaal the men were mainly bussing, At Arzak only our head waiter was male.

Later that afternoon we drove to Hondarriba. I think we missed something here....everyone said how this was such a gorgeous little fishing village but we only found the one cute street with the same 3 bright colored homes that is in every postcard. The rest was just ho hum for us. Like I said, I think we missed something here. We drove on to St Jean de Luz. Although it is very touristy I thought it was super cute! We had a great time shopping for stuff to smuggle back to the states ;) and I bought a beautiful table cloth.

Drove back to San Sebastian after a drink at the cafe and got very excited to go Pinchos hopping again for dinner. I have to say that I love pinchos way more than tapas!

Hey stormygirl, what a great trip report. We are going to Paris next year and plan to pay a visit to Caveau des Oubliettes and Caveau de la Huchette. We are also tripping to San Sebastian and the French Basque country, so your comments were very helpful. Keep it coming!

toni, you will LOVE San Sebastian. It is just so beautiful!!

Now we were on our way to SANTILLANA DEL MAR by way of BILBAO. We wanted to spend 1/2 a day at the Guggenheim. Both my husband and I really thought the design of the building (interior) was splendid for a musuem. Each of the galleries is it's own "leg" so you always come back out to a center space after viewing. I really liked this because so many museums you are forced to "pass thru" galleries to get to something you are looking for or you have to go thru everything to exit.

The exhibits were a very good mix of modern art...some very cutting edge, so more typical. And the Mark Rothko exhibit was great! It goes until the end of Oct. I think.

We had lunch at the casual restaurant also overseen by Martin Berasatagui, finished our tour, shopped in the gift store and headed off to Santillana Del Mar.

We stayed at the Parador which was nice. It was very medival-ish. Our room had a small balcony that overlooked the front street and shops. The town is very interesting, my first walled town! :) We explored around after checking in a getting settled. Unfortunately the town is overrun with shops selling many tacky souviners. I wish it was still a bit more of a traditional working town. We had dinner that night at the Parador which was very quiet. I think there were only 4 other tables in the dining room occupied. Food was fine if a little bland but I think it was better than eating at some of the more touristy restuarants we passed around town.

The next morning we explored more of the town, bought some cheeses and chorizos to bring home and checked out. We were driving to POTES & FUENTE DIA in the PICOS DE EUROPA!