Our lodging in San Sebastián is another AirBnb.  It is a 10 minute bus ride from the old town,  so in a little quieter neighborhood,  in a large apartment complex.   We certainly have experienced a lot of different types of lodging!  This 1 has a nice view of the park, but was a puzzle to get into,  with email and video instructions on how to park,  where to get the key, etc!  It is functional but certainly not the beauty and grace of last night’s paradore!

The old town on San Sebastián was burned entirely in 1813 by the British and Portugese fighting there!  So it has been completely rebuilt since then and looks totally different from other old towns we have visited,  but still interesting!  And it is a vibrant, bustling scene at night.   People like to at the various pintxo bars,  have a couple of their specialities,  and move on to another.   We might try a couple or 3 today!  Last night we were happy to stay at 1 restaurant and soak it all in!

Along the bay today!

Lovely dancers

In Bilbao for lunch after our visit to the Guggenheim, we had our first pintxos lunch.   Like tapas, these are small dishes, served differently on different places. Here,  we just pointed out our choice and they count toothpicks afterward to figure your charge!  They were delicious!  Lunch for 4 people with sparking water or sodas was only 36€ !

Our first dinner in San Sebastián has to be of course a Michelin mention at least!  And pintxos, of course!  The guys are in charge of picking out dining and they are doing a fantastic job!  This is last night,  in the old town,  at Ganbara.  13 food items between the 4 of us,  wild mushrooms,  crab tarts, gambas (shrimp in garlic olive oil) wonderful battered asparagus and shrimp….  it was all delicious!  As much as we could eat,  we were all full!  With drinks,  just 123€

Our travel day from Santillana del Mar to San Sebastián –  Donastio gave us the perfect opportunity to visit Bilbao and the Guggenheim museum there and have lunch.   It is an amazing place to visit,  even if modern art isn’t your thing!   The architecture alone is spectacular!

The coolest exhibit in the Guggenheim is this infinity mirrored room by Yayoi Kusama.  Here is the description
https://www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/exhibition/infinity-mirrored-room

In Bilbao for lunch after our visit to the Guggenheim, we had our first pintxos lunch.   Like tapas, these are small dishes, served differently on different places. Here,  we just pointed out our choice and they count toothpicks afterward to figure your charge!  They were delicious!  Lunch for 4 people with sparking water or sodas was only 36€ !  If course,  gelato after for dessert!  This place made beautiful roses in the cone!

The cave we visited is very near the little Spanish village of Santillana del Mar, in Cantabria.  It is very picturesque and a tourist attraction of sorts,  in its own right!  We are staying in one of Spain’s Paradores, a network of old historic buildings,  now a hotel.  Paradore de Santillana Gil Blas occupies the old Barreda-Bracho house, a baroque mansion from the 17th century built in the style of the homes of mountain noblemen. of the time.

Our Paradore Santillana Gil Blas, on the main square, our room and our view

The village in the evening,  after the tourists leave is lovely

Ancient cave paintings from 16000 years ago have been found in many locations in Northern Spain.   We got to visit one that has been totally protected by building an exact replica.   The cave of Altamira

The cave has been recreated in its exact form in a nearby building with a museum of ancient civilizations.   Both are very well done

We had to Try the sideria, the Cider place with the great seafood stew!  Lobster, crabs,  prawns,  shrimp,  and clams!  We ordered The grilled veggies, which came as a tower!  They were wonderful too! 

Walking the quiet shopping streets,  visiting the Marina and old town,  out to the bastion of Santa Catalina,  our visit to Gijon is leisurely today.   We have no travel or sightseeing agenda, and the sun is shining!   

The 1990 Elogio del Horizonte (‘In Praise of the Horizon’) is a bold, sea-facing concrete sculpture by Basque artist Eduardo Chillida that has become a symbol of the city.

On this side of the city is a church six stands where the very first chuck in the city once stood.   The Playa de San Lorenzo is the large crescent beach , beautiful views of the surroundings, and at the point,  the Bastian of Santa Catalina where the elogia stands

We walked to see the city parks and the Playa de San Lorenzo,  the beach boardwalk.  What great living spaces here!

The beach

The church of San Lorenzo

Santiago de Compostelo was our starting point, and we drove first north to A Coruna to see the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the world, the Torre de Hercules  built by the Romans on 100 AD.  The outside of this structure was built, however, in 1788.

The view of the northwestern most corner of Spain!

Our next 2 evening will be spent exploring Gijon and enjoying Asturian cuisine

Dinner of Asturian specialties,  a squid stew, another oxtail dish and pig cheeks! 

Not sure if this dessert was what we ordered,  but it was good

We are in Galicia now,  traveling to Austeria region today then on to Basque Spain and France so the foods change a bit with each new region.   This is a foodie trip, both Emmett and his cousin Norbert are here to experience the cuisine!  So many interesting seafood dishes,  and desserts,  I will try to lable them as I post pictures.

Last night we ate at a Michelin noteworthy restaurant…. no star but years of great food recognized by Michelin for excellence

On Monday we picked up our car and decided to do a day trip to Lugo. The old town there is surrounded by an ancient Roman walk still intact after 18 centuries!  A UNESCO world heritage site.  We walked a bit of it,  visited the cathedral outside,  and loved the city squares. 

The cathedral was not open but we walked around it

The City within the walls is old and new buildings,  with lovely squares,  and lots of construction too. 

Lugo is also a  stop on the Camino de Santiago.  You see signs like this along the way