The second half of our trip was spent in the Basque country of Spain. We loved our experience in San Sebastian and are eager to get back as soon as we possibly can. Brian and I feel a kinship with a few cities; Charlottesville, New Orleans, and now San Sebastian. This is a place that we could see spending a lot more time in, and know that whenever we're in Europe we will be finding some way to visit this beautiful city.
We loved our hotel, the Hotel Londres. The first photo, below, is the first glimpse of the bay that we had when we arrived, from our hotel room balcony. It was perfect. We slept with the balcony doors open every night so that we could hear the waves crashing below. I was obsessed with the view, so you'll see many images from this same perspective throughout this post.
Again, I've made notations where photos are not self explanatory. Please leave a comment if you have any questions for us!
Happy New Year!
There were so many stairs leading into the bay. I can imagine how fun this would be in the summer, when the water is much warmer than it was during our November visit!
The old harbor.
The Museo San Telmo.
Still the Museo San Telmo. A convent turned into a museum in the 1920s, and renovated recently. We loved the intervention of modern lines into an historic space.
I was obsessed with this stair. Museo San Telmo.
The old sanctuary in the convent-turned-museum. These murals depict the worst events in human history and were very dark. They are currently being restored.
We love Eduardo Chillida, and were thrilled to find some of his work in the Museo San Telmo.
The light in the late afternoon was magical.
Jamon Iberico de Belota. (above)
Pintxos (the Basque version of tapas) at Baztan, one of our favorite bars.
We hiked up Monte Urgull to see the view of the city.
Just above the Museo San Telmo.
Pintxos at Casa Alcalde
Cafe con Leche! Every morning.
We went on a Chillida pilgrimmage. His sculptures are scattered around the city. Below, the Abrazo (hug).
Chillida - Homage de Titian
Chillida - The Wind Combs!
I am standing on a blow hole that pushes air displaced by the waves below. I thought I would be soaked.
Chillida - La Cruz de la Paz at Good Shepherd Cathedral
Bahia de la Concha. LOVE. This was a warm day and the beach was active with locals enjoying the sun.
Still the view from our hotel room. Incredible.
Typical breakfast for Spaniards - cafe con leche, orange juice, toast with jam.
The promenade around the Bahia de la Concha is lined with this lovely handrail.
The streets of the old town in San Sebastian.
Now, Bilbao. We were there only for a few hours, to fly out the next morning, and the Guggenheim was closed. We still enjoyed seeing it from the outside.
Puppy, by Jeff Koons.
