Don Pedro Hotel Cala San Vincente

Our final day, and from Madrid it was off to Bilbao and the Guggenheim, followed by a night encamped at the ferry port.... Lym was STILL cooking, folks, even sat on the concrete of the ferry port... as our posh caravan neighbours came out in the morning to wish us good morning, shaking out their table cloth ...

Having disembarked the Pride of Bilbao, following our two day mini-cruise (the highlights of which were DVD horse races, bingo, Geordies on the lash and two memorable dining experiences at Langans Brasserie), we faced the delights of industrial Bilbao, which proved to be a fitting introduction to North Spain. Undaunted we headed to ...

... few pinchos and glasses of wine. It is the favorite pastime of Bilbaoans on a Friday night. In fact, it’s 10pm and they action is just starting….but we’re settling in for bed. We’ve just been blown away by the food this time around. In the past our gastronomic experience was less than stellar. I think we just hadn’t gone to the right places. The feature tonight was a duck ...

We drove from Madrid, got a bit lost trying to find Lurdea. We thought it is a name of a village but it is not it is just the name of the Hotel/Casa Rural.

The place is amazing. Located in the hills above Bermeo, with magnificent view of the ocean. It is clean (like really clean) and has the air of a relaxing boutique hotel.

Bilbao, the capital of Viscaya in the county, with the nice weather and climate that is milder than in most other parts of the peninsula, rarely falling below freezing in winter or rising above 35 degree C in summer.

One of the best features of this place is the collection of Museums that exhibit the artifacts that well ...

Urghh long, long bus journey from Valencia. Sleeping tablets helped, but what didn't were the rude Spanish couple behind us who persisted on banging on the back of our seats all journey. They seemed angry that we were using the recline function which we had paid, and were entitled to use...

Anyway, arrive at about 8 or something where we got ...

... in Cantabria. Although no one was killed, there were several injuries. These bombings may mark the beginning of ETA's traditional summer bombing campaign, which targets holiday resorts to hurt the Spanish tourist industry. In light of these recent bombings, U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance, be aware of local events in all parts of Spain, and take the appropriate steps to bolster their personal security. "

... by a bombing run during a Spanish civil war. The sole survivor of the bombs was a lone tree, now protected and kept as a symbol of peace and a reminder of the viciousness of war. Gernika is also subject of one of Picasso's best know works. (learning more each day!). It also just happens to be fiesta day here for something (can't remember what, but perhaps Inigo or Jaione can post a comment reminding us) ... so the town is full of music and festivities. We don't know the town ...

... cobble-stone European villages and are really neat to explore. The only problem is sometimes you are too tired to look around or it´s too bloody hot! When we first started the trail we were able to watch a world cup game every night. It was great to look forward to a game every night, especially since we are in Europe and were constantly surrounded by the coutrymen of whom ever is playing. The people we met on the trail are from all walks of life and from every country under ...

... smoother Guiness than the usual brew back home, plus a few regular pints of lager, and found great humour in the fact that we were listening to U2 and the cranberries in an Irish pub at the North of SPain. Discussed the clear difference in drinking culture between Spain and Australia, in that Spaniards drink only to get a little tipsy, preffering a small snifter of the good stuff to get them chatty, rarely anything more. Nor do they ...