Spain - the first time

Is there room for another one ...........

St Sebastin
Arriving at St Sebastin, Spain in early May we were fortunate to find a camping spot at a little place overlooking a valley - had excellent showers - yipee!! - no push in button, hot AND with a shower screen so your clothes don't get wet. !! First in a while. Another plus staying at Garoa Gueldo was strong internet access which meant we could catch up with news from our family and Grant enjoyed listening to an AVL game and knew the scores when he called AJ. 

It was also the anniversary of Helena's Dads passing - so we decided to stay a couple of days - travelling by bus to the older side of the city - enjoying the hospitality of the locals, having a beer, a coffee and sampling a plate of Tapas that our daughter Traci had told us about. It was fabulous.

We enjoyed the company of  Al, a retired principal and avid cyclist and his wife Jan who was a teacher and also avid cyclist. We shared with them the joys of technology - introducing them to our iPad and new technology which they enjoyed. The GPS held a certain amount of intrigue and Jan felt her job as 'navigator' may very well be on the line. We really enjoyed their company and listening to their tales of riding around Europe with their bikes. At the same time we met a group of Australians who were travelling with their little daughters and also enjoyed their company. The two 'Pauls' and their wifes were alive with tales of left hand driving!!

Albert and Jan - avid cyclists and loving life

 

Street scape

Bilbao
On arriving into this city we could see the stunning facia of the Guggenheim building which was stunning as was the exhibition. Thought of our friends Mark and Judith and knew that they would love the creativity of everything displayed. Fortunately we used very god audio guides to view the three floors of interesting pieces. It was truely stunning and had two special exhibitions featuring artwork from very different time periods showing the beauty in art between 1918 and 1936 in France, Italy, Germany and Spain. There was a permanent installation titled 'The Matter of Time' which is a complete fumination on the physicality of space and the nature of sculpture. It was very challenging feeling the double ellipse to the more complex spiral. The space was shifting in unexpected ways as you walk in and around them. Helena became very dizzy and unstable with the ground moving and the unforgettable sensation of space in motion.  Unfortunately we picked up a parking ticket and remained unsure how to pay for it until I lost my coin wallet.

Travelling through Santander we arrived at Noja which was a little village on the coast. Noja is situated in the east of the Cantabria region, about 70 km from Bilbao and about 45km from Santander. The beach is washed to the north and west by the Cantabria Sea but the one we saw was dotted with many black rocks making it quite unsuitable for surfing the waves. The area was quite lovely, but mainly deserted with many of the beach side houses looking unlived in with their shades pulled down - we both felt quite sad to see the reality of tough times.  Helena enjoyed the local market and bought a cute little jumpsuit for the impending arrival of Matt and Neritas baby - perhaps it'll be a little big but couldn't buy another size unfortunately.

What can we say .........

The beach and the rocks

No body home

Zamora

May 5 we reached Zamora and discovered why it's known as a 'unique' city - the Olivares Water Mills, the Church of St. Claudio, the Medieval Wall and the Iron Bridge. It's a small city - it's medieval and contemporary, Roman and Modern, well cared for and a delicate jewel. You can also say it's a city of discovery. We enjoyed seeing as much as we could before a lunch of Beer and Tapas. We then headed to Salamca before crossing to Porto in Portugal.

Look at the size of the gin and tonic .....

and another one ....