Beautiful Views

Today we enjoyed a hotel breakfast with panoramic views of San Sebastián!



Afterwards we spent hours lazing by the pool before our check out time. It was very relaxing, and the Thomas sisters remarked how they missed the walking. Because we’re on a mountain top near the ocean, you just see water all around the edges of this pool deck!

We eventually got ready to check out and headed to our lunch at the world famous Arzak - a restaurant that’s been in the family for 4 generations! Mary Ann and I ordered the tasting menu and Tresa had vegetables and a beef dish. The service was phenomenal and the energy of the restaurant was delightful as they were accommodating and friendly. We got to meet the father - daughter team that run the restaurant today and the sommelier who has been working at the restaurant for over 30 years. Here are some photos of our experience:

After lunch, we took a taxi to the bus station and waited for a bit as we were early for our bus to Bilbao. We tried to get on an earlier bus, but it was sold out. So we waited in the cafeteria and watched many people clad in all white and red scarves headed to Pamplona for the San Fermin festival where they watch or run with the bulls!

The bus to Bilbao is just a little over an hour and the scenery was quite lovely:





We arrived at a busy bus station where we almost didn’t get off as I had to convince Mary Ann and Tresa we indeed were in Bilbao - they had slept through our single stop and the signs all around us were in the Basque language. The city was hopping as there was a music festival and since there was a massive taxi line, we opted to walk the 1,200 kms to our hotel, Meliá Bilbao and get some steps in. We have definitely dropped in the number of our steps since completing our Camino!

The hotel clerk pointed out the elevator was panoramic and we had a beautiful view of the river from our triple room. The elevator just looks out into the lobby, but we do have a nice view - here’s a photo from right before we went to bed:

We enjoyed a few drinks in the terrace area outside our hotel and relaxed before our day in Bilbao!

San Sebastián

Today we explored San Sebastián. I had always wanted to visit this city which is famous for their food! So for breakfast, we headed out in a taxi to the old town. We visited the old Mercado and checked out the local produce.

We stopped in Mendaur where we saw some elderly ladies and decided this was a good place to eat breakfast. We ordered a few pinxtos or what they call tapas here in the Basque region.



We continued to wander the old town and visited the church of St. Vincent, the oldest church in the city:

Then we went to the Basilica of Mary of Coro, one of the patron saints of the city in addition to Saint Sebastián. It’s built like a temple and has lots of modern art:

We then found the famous churro shop of Santa Lucia - we were definitely eating our way through old town:

Here are a few photos of Constitution square which included buildings with numbered boxes where they would be rented out to people to observe bullfights in the square:

We then walked along the boardwalk that outlined La Concha beach - considered one of the best city beaches in Europe!

We enjoyed more pinxtos for lunch at La Perla:

We then walked to the other beach called Ondarreta beach which we acces through this artful tunnel:

We rented a cabana where we could find some relief from the Spanish sun:

Mary and I enjoyed the water and sunbathing while Tresa napped in the shade. We spent a few hours at the beach enjoying the people watching, eating cherries and peaches that we had bought earlier. Mary Ann and I kept saying, “life is good!”

We then went up Monte Igueldo via the funicular train:

This was very convenient since it was near the beach and led us up to our hotel on top of the mountain which has these awesome views of the beach and bay:

After checking out the pool, we got ready to head out to Mugaritz, considered one of the top restaurants in the world. During this time, we learned our friend Jamie who introduced me to Mary Ann had a baby boy - congratulations Jamie and Mike!

We arrived early for our dinner, so we enjoyed wandering the garden and taking photos. One thing that we all noticed was the black toilet paper - Mary Ann promptly pointed out she thought it was impractical, but I guess they were trying to be different. Apparently over 26 countries are represented by the staff as we got a tour of the kitchen. We had over 20 bites of food and even got to sit outside with our global coffees. It was a lovely meal as we celebrated a luxurious dining experience after completing the Camino!

Santiago de Compostela

Parador living is quite amazing. We had a wonderful breakfast in the traditional room where they used to feed the pilgrims. Of course, we were having an extensive hotel breakfast inside this beautiful structure. Here’s a photo of the room with stone walls and windows overlooking the plaza:



After checking out, we walked over to Alameda Park which is outside the city center and popular with the locals. We visited the “Duas Marias” statue which remembers these two eccentric ladies who used to walk around the park at 2 pm. They apparently were a bit impoverished and had mental issues - their family was targeted as they were against Franco. They used to flirt with the local boys as well, hence the winking and the hand reaching out. Many people pose as if their bottom was being grabbed:







Also famous about the park are beautiful views of the Cathedral - here’s a few from our walk:











We then headed over to the Cathedral museum where you’re not allowed to take photos of the treasures or beautiful chapels - only from the balcony and in the cloister.





One sacred chapel where the kings of Leon are apparently entombed was jaw dropping and there was a beautiful recently discovered and restored Triptych that remembers St. Francis of Assisi and Queen Isabella making the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

We cut our visit short to head to noon mass at the Convent of San Francisco - the church that memorializes St. Francis of Assisi and the location of the pilgrim mass during the renovation of the cathedral.



Here you can see Tresa and Mary Ann looking for seats. We made sure to arrive 30 minutes prior as we were sure it would get full early like Christmas or Easter mass. We found seats next to a couple from Seville and observed the many pilgrims.



There were people in crutches, barefoot, and many people in pain. But we were all here together celebrating the pilgrimage. At the beginning of mass, they announce every country and every Spanish province from which a pilgrim had arrived and registered with the pilgrim office within the past 24 hours.

There was a group that was hard of hearing and I believe 2 priests who accompanied them. There was a translator for both the priests and the group. I wasn’t sure if the mass permits any priest who made the pilgrimage to join the celebration at the altar as there were several, including clearly one American as he read part of the service.

In any case, I completely teared up when the priests signed the Our Father and served communion to those hard of hearing. Along the way, we saw many with special needs and it reinforces that this pilgrimage is for everybody.

We returned to the museum to finish our visit and then went to Meson 42, our alternate for dinner last night for lunch. We ordered a goat cheese salad and some bread with ham - all delicious.



As it was close to our SunTransfer pick up to the airport, we returned to our Parador hotel for a quick self guided tour and freshened up. A photo of the chapel:



Our driver was early and we headed to the Santiago de Compostela airport which is not very large. He was very chatty and friendly. He advised he had done the full French way and walked the Camino in 27 days when it takes about 34. He definitely had a lot of energy as Mary Ann tried to understand his fast talking stories.

At the airport, we shared some wine and got on our 1 hour flight to Madrid where we transferred for another 1 hour flight to San Sebastián. Our SunTransfer driver picked us up and we drove about 40 minutes to the top of Monte Igueldo, where we’re staying at an Accor hotel called Mercure. We have beautiful views of the sunset, the famous San Sebastián beach called La Concha, as we enjoyed our welcome drinks and then dinner for our first of two nights in San Sebastián!