San Sebastián to Caceres via Madrid

 Easter Sunday evening and it looked like the whole of San Sebastián was out and about.  We managed to squeeze into our favourite pinxtos stop to mingle with the locals and watch the action including the local txakoli wine being poured from a great height and somehow making it into the glass.  We got talking to a lovely Israeli lady who was very bemused by the whole pinxtos and drinks ordering system and she asked what we were doing in San Sebastián.  We told her about our trip and she was a little surprised to hear we were retired, she was worried about what we would do when we were old and had run out of money.  Tracey told her we wouldn’t care at that point and she threw her arms around her, kissed her and left!

Our final day in San Sebastián today so we decided to get a birds-eye view of the town by going up to the top of Mount Igueldo, the highest point in the city.  A lovely walk to the far end of the esplanade along La Concha beach brought us to the tiny funicular.  It was well worth it as the views from the top were spectacular and you could see the mountains that frame the city very clearly from this height.  While we were at this end of the bay we also went to find the Peine del Viento (Wind Comb) sculptures which were built into the rock and are intended to be battered by the sea when storms hit this coastline.  It was a very calm day but they still looked impressive.

Our next destination is Caceres in the Extremadura region of Spain.  It is quite a long way from San Sebastián to Caceres, 8 hours by train, and the complexities of the Spanish rail network meant that we couldn’t do it all in one day so leg one was San Sebastián to Madrid and then on to Caceres the next day.

The gorgeous historic old town of Caceres was originally built by the Romans and has recently been used as a filming location for Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. It has a wonderful atmosphere and was virtually empty for our visit.

Caceres feels very Spanish and not touristy at all which is a little bit of a challenge as our rudimentary Spanish makes communication a little difficult but we are getting by in the traditional British way.

Our second morning started with a walk through the Parque del Principe which is full of sculptures and water features.  It must be such a relief to have this green space in the heat of summer.  On our way back to the old city we stumbled across the town’s bullring which was fascinating and horrific in equal measure.  

We learnt a little more about the old city today.  During Holy Week a series of processions takes place during which the members of ‘the brotherhoods’ carry statues around the city.  Some of the brotherhoods date back to the 14th century and each has a different set of robes.  A little strange to us but a true spectacle we are sure.

San Sebastián 

Basque cheesecake and PX sherry

Caceres

Not sure how PC this photo is

Caceres Bull Ring

Caceres Square

Bordeaux to San Sebastian

Friday 7 April

Having walked our legs off yesterday we decided to use the tram today. We couldn’t work out how to use the ticket machine so we had to download another blooming app! You have to validate yourself when you get on. I couldn’t work this out either until Tracey pointed out I was tapping my phone against the hand sanitiser.

Enjoyed a lunch of duck and chips at the halles de bacalan before heading to the old submarine base to visit les bassins de luminaire. An immersive art exhibition Gaudi and Dali with a great soundtrack by Pink Floyd. Very enjoyable and a great use of a huge, ugly block of concrete.

Travelled back to the mirroir d’eau before supper in the communal kitchen.

Saturday 8 April 

We were typically early for our train to Hendaye so we had time for coffee and a Bordeaux speciality, cannelle.

Once in Hendaye we took the Euskotren (a kind of metro train) to San Sebastián.

Walked to our room in the old town (which took some searching) and was greeted by our friendly host Josun.

Set off in the evening to explore and wondered why there was a huge queue outside a shop only to realise it was the time for all Spaniards to have an ice cream. So naturally we had to join the queue.

A walk along the promenade although this proved rather difficult as San Sebastián is incredibly busy for the Easter weekend. 

Pinxtos and wine completed a very enjoyable day.

Sunday 9 April 

Got up early(ish) for a steep walk up Mount Urgull.

Once back in the town we stopped to watch an outdoor Easter service before a coffee and brunch.

After brunch we visited the cathedral where we listened to wonderful choir - very moving.

Thought we should plan ahead and reserve our train seats for the next leg of our journey to Caceres on Tuesday. The train we wanted was fully booked so we had to book a later one meaning we will need to spend a night in Madrid.

Mirror d’eau

Canard et Frites

Cannelle and coffee in Bordeaux

View from our room - San Sebastián 

San Sebastián cathedral 

Stratton St Margaret to Bordeaux

 Tuesday 4 April 

Stratton to London

Hotel California, St Pancras. Such a lovely place where it turns out you can leave.

Wednesday 5 April

London to Bordeaux via Paris

On the Eurostar to Paris

Monntparnasse Tower, Paris

Thursday 6 April

Bordeaux. Staying at the Meininger Hotel which is a quirky, communal kind of place. We like it.

Breakfast in Bordeaux

Halles de Bacalan

Liquid lunch

Outside Citie de Vin

We were sitting on a bench alongside the Garonne River when we saw smoke in the distance and started to hear explosions! No one around us seemed worried about it so we decided not to worry either.

The tram ride home was cut short as the trams would not cross the demonstrators.

It was all over by the time we walked through but we could see where the fires were (see photo above).