Day 14: June 27 (Barcelona - Bilbao - San Sebastian)

shiny

We woke today to a morning of travel.  Our plan was to fly to Bilbao, then take a bus to San Sebastian.  We had the hotel breakfast, packed, and took the bus to the airport.  The bus stop was not where we had gotten out several days ago due to traffic flow, but Neil had figured out exactly where it was.  Everything went smoothly.  We returned to the blindingly shiny Barcelona airport and checked in to get our boarding passes, as we could not print them out at the hotel.  We window-shopped some glitzy stores and moved quickly through security.  The plane was full.  I could see Montjuic out the window as we ascended from the airport.  The flight itself was not very long - about 45 minutes including 15 minutes of taxiing before take off.

The temperature was a sultry 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Bilbao but we didn't really have to worry about it.  The bus stop was at the end of the arrival area right outside the baggage claim.  We waited about one half hour before hopping on the air conditioned bus.  We were a little confused about how to buy tickets since we could not find a ticket office for the bus company.  It turned out that all was handled "out of pocket" by the bus driver.  There was an older German woman on the bus.  She asked me a few questions in English.  She had to be at least 75 years old, but looked very fit.  She was on a hiking trip, traveling with a backpack and walking poles.  We talked about the high price of the bus ride to San Sebastian, about 15 euros.  I was surprised especially because our research online listed the price at about half of what we paid.

The bus ride took about an hour and dropped us at the bus station, about two blocks from our hotel. We set off from the station and walked right past the hotel, eventually being turned back around by asking directions from the locals.  The hotel was called the Astoria 7 which sounds like the name of a cinema multiplex.  This is because the hotel was converted from a cinema, and is reflected in the hotel's movie design theme. By the time we got to the hotel, my friend Carol was coming out of the lobby looking for us.  It was a muggy 100 degrees Fahrenheit in San Sebastian also, unusual for the coast.  Heat has followed us everywhere!

at the beach

Carol gave us a tour of the town.  We walked past a street vending machine for fresh milk.  It was very clean, large, and new.  Carol said that these machines had been around for about a year.  People said that the milk was very fresh and good.  The only drawback was that there was only whole milk, no low fat or skim. We headed down the street to the waterfront / "Concha" beach area.   It was late in the afternoon but the beaches were still pretty crowded (more crowded later in the summer, Carol informed us.).  We turned away form the water back to the older area of town.  We had drinks in the Plaza Mayor, which was bounded by several stories of apartments with big address numbers displayed on their balconies.  Carol explained that the balconies used to be rented out for viewing bullfights, and the numbers identified seat location to the renters.  As we sat, the weather was changing noticeably.  The temperature was dropping and winds were coming up.  Big umbrellas were starting to fly around the plaza.

We strolled through some lovely town areas with shops and displays of food.  Everything was very attractive and resort-y.  I did a lot of talking - catching up - with Carol.  Neil asked a lot of questions that had been accumulating during our travels about language issues, local mores, etc.  Our travels returned us to the hotel where we made plans with Carol to meet for dinner.  Plans involved us trying to navigate the bus system to a place on the map provided to us by the hotel clerk.  Carol gave us her prepaid electronic bus pass to save some money.

After a rest and some laundry, we set out to find Carol at the restaurant "El Lagar".  The temperature had dropped significantly and, for the first time in Spain, we were almost cold!  The bus went along the river over to the waterfront fronting a "third" beach which we hadn't seen in the afternoon.  This beach was more exposed to the ocean and popular with surfers.  We found the restaurant and had a "blow out" basque style meal with blood sausage, mussels, a salad with shrimp, a bacalou prepared differently from the ones we had earlier in our trip, a pork dish, and a poached egg dish.  Everything was delicious and topped off with a local white wine.  It was a good time for all with good conversation.  While we ate, rain fell, accompanied by some thunder and lightning.  After, we walked briskly back to the hotel.  The waterfront was chill and windy.