After looking forward to Spain for so long it had finally arrived for us. We enjoyed speaking some Spanish again as we arrived in San Sebastián. We came with high expectations of glorious weather but it was not to be in San Seb. Wind, rain and a temperature gauge along the foreshore indicating 10 degrees was a bit of a rude shock, the beach was practically deserted, but we made it our goal to make the most of it.
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| Wind blown, a chilly 10 degrees in San Seb. |
We explored town, had some long, cold, wind blown walks and runs along the beach and we visited the ridiculous number of Pinxos (tapas) bars in town, the last was the highlight for us in San Seb. Tapas bars open from early in the morning to the wee hours of the night churning out delicious snacks with drinks all day for the regular customers and the curious tourists. It was certainly the norm for a lot of locals to wake up, head to a bar for a coffee and maybe a small snack, head back to the bar at midday for some tapas and probably a sneaky beer or two followed by some lunch at home then a siesta then back to the bar in evening for some more tapas and a beer/ vino or seven then home to dinner and then back to the bar. I think perhaps that tapas bars and siestas are one of the reasons for the struggling Spanish economy.
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| Typical Tapas bar in San Seb. |
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| Cheesecake and Sherry, such an amazing combination, La Vin, San Seb. |
They certainly do it well though I do admit that, the tapas creations are amazing.We sampled the gastronomic delights of the tapas bars in San Seb and even went out for Pinxos Porti, every Thursday night there are lots of bars offering a tapas and drink costs you 2 euro, needless to say it was a big night once we got away from the guy offering for us to take us to all of the bars when in fact he had a hidden agenda to take us to his mates crappy sushi bar, we bailed on that quick smart and had a good night out from then on.
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| Check out the rabit face on top of the rabit tapas, how do they do it? |
A day trip to Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim Museum was very worthwhile. An incredible building design and very interesting exhibits particularly an exhibition showcasing French art during World War 2 and art by victims of the holocaust. An interesting part was when we learnt that prior to the start of WW2 the French Government protect their prized art by packing it all into crates and sending it to Southern France to be hidden away in French Chalets and out of harms way of the rampant Nazi forces.
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| The amazing Goggenheim, this one won't rust, titanium alloy. |
We moved on to Madrid we were amazed by the number of buskers and beggars in the streets, it is definitely the place we most noticed the economic troubles in Spain. We were told unemployment was a massive 40% in Spain overall and the scary one 49% of people under 30 years are unemployed, I think the figures vary depending on where you read this information but Spain is going through tough times. In saying that, we loved exploring Madrid and had an great time at our hostel which served us churros (Spanish fried donuts) for breakfast and free Paella one night while we watched the champions league final.
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| Typical busker in Madrid, tricky stuff. |
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| Beautiful and popular park in Madrid |
Madrid is home to the largest bull ring in Spain and we visited during a festival with bull fights every day. We plucked up enough courage to go and purchased the cheap tickets which were funnily enough the only undercover seats with the prices being much higher to sit in the sun closer to the action, of course it rained and the people in the expensive seats got wet while we remained dry. The bullfight was a full on experience and a one off for us. We witnessed a very unusual occurrence of the matador being on the receiving end of the sharp bull horn during the first of six fights, the matador collapsed in the ring after getting away from the bull and was quickly rushed out of the arena for medical attention, he was said to be in a critical condition in hospital, the crowd clapped for him and the spectacle continued which was sometimes very entertaining and heart retching with the crowd erupting in a standing ovation waving handkerchiefs and he matador getting to do a lap of honor. At other times the fight was long, bloody and gruesome and we wondered how the show is still allowed in our modern day society.
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| One matador down, one bull down and 5 to go. |
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| An impressive bullfight gets the crowd up and about. |
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| Lap of honor for the impressive matador |
We headed to Southern Spain to embark on a week long adventure of of the area with my cousin Jules and Eloy (her Spanish boy). We visited Seville followed by a road trip along the coast visiting the beach town of Cadiz, fish and chips in Gibraltar, beach paradise of Costa Del Sol and finishing up in Granada. So much sun and I have never seen so many olive trees. The Islamic architecture in this part of the world is very beautiful, we loved visiting Alcazar in Seville and especially the incredible Alhambra in Granada. The Tapas scene in Granada is very famous, you get a free tapas with a drink which is a very cheap way to eat. We were lucky to be in Granada for a big festival and visited the carnival site where we boogied and went on some dodgy rides which was pretty fun.
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| Plaza de Espania in Seville, astonishing Islamic architecture. |
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| Watching a typical Flamenco show. |
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| At the beautiful Alcazar |
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| Sunset over the rooftops in Cadiz. |
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| Sunrise over Costa Del Sol, wish we could have stayed longer here in the vineyards and on the coast. |
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| The celebration festival in Granada, so much fun. |
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| Waiting for entry to the palace in Alhambra, Granada. |
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| Beautifully decorated courtyard at the Alhambra palace. |
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| Huge Tapas for 5 people, free with 5 drinks of course in Granada. |
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| View of Alhambra and the Sierra Navada snow capped mountains in the background. |
We said goodbye to Jules and Eloy and railed to Barcelona. What a terrific place it is! It was a pleasure it was to tour the incredible Sagrada Familia church designed and partly built by Antonio Gaudi, a remarkable and ongoing story. Our mouths were watering to visit the famous Boqueria Market and it definitely lived up to its reputation, we visited every day to buy delicious jamon, cheeses, dried fruits, exotic fruits, chocolates etc, I am sure this would have to be the best or at least one of the best markets in the world. We had a very intimate cooking lesson with just one other guest and a wonderful chef, the lesson included a visit to our favorite market where we asked ridiculous amounts of questions and then it was into the kitchen to cook up a storm of Spanish cuisine including anchovies, dips, soup, paella and cheesecake. Of course a trip to Barcelona would not be complete without hitting pretty impressive shopping strips, luckily we still have a little money left for the rest of our trip.
We shall definitely return to Spain!!
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| Outside the Sagrada Familia nativity facade, slow progress, due for completion in approximately 2028, just over 100 years after the death of the master architect Antonio Gaudi, the poor man was hit by a tram while admiring his Sagrada Familia from a distance, he looked like a bum and it took days for someone to lift him off the streets and into a poor mans hospital, he could have lived on with treatment in a better hospital however decided that he would stay with his people in the dodgy hospital and died soon after, very sad story to cut short the life of one of the greatest architects of all time. |
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| For the engineers, a proportionally weighted upside down model of the Sagrada Familia, a method invented by the genius Antonio Gaudi, who needs Spacegass. |
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| Inside the Sagrada Familia, has to be seen to be believed. |
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| Cooking lesson in Barcelona, can cook a paella. |
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| The amazing La Boqueria Market in Barcelona, food lovers paradise. |
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| An egg stall in La Boqueria Market, selling all sorts of, you guessed it, EGGS. |
