Garbi Park Lloret Hotel Lloret de Mar

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 ...

... small place got packed by about 3:30. We had a delicious meal: 1) a Basque version of bruschetta (ham, tomatoes, sea salt, olive oil), 2) a clam that gave you a burst of sea, 3) the best calamari that I have ever had (whole, not your strips type) and then tail of bull (rabo de toro). Oh, yeah, I think we also had a bottle of red wine. Yum!<br><br>We took a nap after a short walk after that. We walked ...

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

Leaving San Sebastian behind we drove to Santander to spend the night. With nothing more then the car, no place to stay and no plan. As luck turns out we found a cheap Pension to stay at, and ate in their quaint little restaurant, treated to warm hospitality, good food, and free Grappa and Lemonchelo

... Sometimes on a holiday like this you become a bit jaded with fine dining, but today I was also tempted by the fact that several of the courses on the tasting menu were vegetarian, and I also felt a bit overloaded in recent days with meat and fish. Aubergine roasted in liquorice was a pleasant new experience, but all in all not a patch on the Andra Mari which I tried on Monday, and not as good value. If you ...

... somewhere you want to stay. True is relatively near the tube into the city (a cab ride of about £5) but it's not worth it. We left and didn't pay for the night we stayed there (I'm not sorry).<br><br>We also came to the conclusion that we needed a car so hired one to drive us to San Seb. Spent a another day in Bilbao seeing the obvious Guggenheim.

... ve learned they are very violent, killing government officials over the years, but I am glad to hear that nobody was seriously hurt in the recent bombings. I'll also feel better come Wednesday when we are in Barcelona, a bit farther away! : ) Just as the night winds down, I sneak down to the garage to watch the kids playing. They do pretty well despite the language barrier ... and one thing that translates in to every language is the growl of a ...

... compliment each other well, as they should since apparently they were somewhat designed for each other. I learned these little tidbits while using the convenient hand held audio guide system. It was informative, but annoying since it tries to be interactive and kept asking me to do things like, "Think about how this sculpture makes you feel" and "Now, discuss it with your companion." Since I was going through the exhibit alone, I wasn't in the mood to accost the ...

... modern art. Temporary exhibits during our visit included a survey of Russian art from the past eight centuries and a tribute to Eduardo Chillida, a Basque sculptor who died in 2002. On the permanent side, while Richard Serra's humongous metal sculptures, housed in the museum's largest gallery (3,000+ square meters), are pleasant to look at and walk through, the video interview in which the artist criticizes nearly everything about art and architecture - including Gehry himself ...

... I get the impression it is a little like Brisbane, in that there is little for a tourist to do unless you have a car and have a local to show you its hidden secrets. Beyond Bilbao I knew there was some great beaches and mountainous country. I had once again tryed to ask about the mountains at the tourist office, and was met with puzzlement when I asked if I could visit. We were definately were off the backpacker route now. Thank god! Since leaving Barcelona, we ...