Driving across the northern coast of Spain

San Sebastián – first stop

Maria Christina Hotel

This is a great medium sized town and a foodies heaven. Unlike the the heavy tapas from the south, the Basque Country serves up some fresh , light , creative and diverse Pinxtos(their tapas)!! It is customary for a group of friends to go to 5 different restaurants a night , trying several pinxtos and a drink at each bar. Most people stand instead of getting a table!

Very windy and cold this first night! Next day was ideal.

Idyllic!

On to Loyola and the birthplace of Saint Ignatius. Rented a car an on to my 2nd stop!

I decided to take a mini retreat for a night and extended there another night! I really wanted to come here and visit, because St Ignatius was born here. In Loiola,there is a large basilica, which was his home(obviously, from a very rich family), a retreat center and a spiritual center that hosts groups studying the Spiritual Disciples that were written by st Ignatius.

loyola.docx Download

Moment of Saint Ignatius’ conversion. He has an amazing life story!

Next stop Bilbao! Stopped at Zumaia and San Juan de Gaztelugatxe on the way.

Zumaia is similar to Getaria in that they are both picturesque small beach towns! Zumaia was beautiful and small enough to walk around in a few hours . It has a nice little port and several sand beaches , one of which is quite large!

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

Apparently part of Game of thrones was filmed here ( I have never watched it , so I don’t know). That filming, highly popularized this breathtaking spot! There is no easy way to get to the top except to climb. I was trying to image the crew trying to go up and down😅🥵

This climb looks easy but it is not!! You have to drop down to the beach and start climbing again. If you have agoraphobia, you can do this because the whole way up , you have hip high walls on both sides of you!

This location is at least an hour and 1/2 from the bigger cities , but it was worth it ! You need to get a free pass in ADVANCE during the busy season.

Bilbao

The Guggenheim Museum . A modern contemporary museum at it’s best!

Santander

Iberostar Hotel and what a dreamy view! 180 degree view from the deck!

Santillaña Del Mar -quaint little town

Altamira Caves

Ok , I have to say that I was a bit disappointed when I got here and realized that I would be entering the museum to walk through an exact replica of the cave paintings It’s hard to believe these have been here for 30,000 years. The caves were closed in 1973 when excessive tourism caused the opening to finally collapse on itself. Honestly, this was impressive, it is strange to walk on the same ground as humans who lived all those years ago!

Comillas

PALÁCIO DE SOBRELLANOS. Summer residence to the Marquis of Comillas and the Royal Family. I’d say it’s a pretty nice little summer shack.

Such a quaint village . Everyone is dressed in their Sunday best as they leave church carrying their palm branches, charlando with their family and friends . The plaza restaurants are filled to overflowing as families sit outside to enjoy this beautiful day!

You can’t be in a hurry for any meal in España, the more you look around for help with the your order, the leas you are served . Just look around as if you don’t have a care in the world and you are planning to sit at the table for three hours and then someone will come by and help you.:)) . They know how to take time and enjoy a meal!