Of mice and men

It was a wet night, and a wet morning, with the cloud base at around 300 metres. We never got to use our beautiful terrace.

We came to the conclusion over breakfast that to try to enjoy the mountains in weather like this was hopeless. So a change of plan, or rather a reversion to plan A, and we set off for Bilbao, to visit Frank Gehry’s amazing Guggenheim museum.

From first glimpse, you have to be impressed, though we did find the signage less than adequate and made an entire circuit of the building before locating the main entrance.

Inside the exhibits are definitely modern. In the permanent collection some big names: Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Mark Rothko, de Kooning, Jeff Koons. But it tends to be a few, or even a single, very large example of their work, rather than a range to compare and savour. Photographs were not allowed inside, so you will be spared examples, except for this Koons outside:.

Downstairs, there was a strange permanent installation exhibit by Richard Serra in an enormous hall, consisting of sheets of steel bent into strange shapes that you could walk through or into.  Children were enjoying it, and we did too - sort of!

After that we set off towards the old centre of town, but it was wet and rather depressing, and we couldn’t get the car near the cathedral, so we decided to cut and run to the fishing village of Getaria, about 20 kilometers short of San Sebastián.

We had been told that tonight’s parador does not have a restaurant, so we thought we would have a slap-up final meal in Spain at the famed (and expensive) Elkano restaurant. But they had the workmen in and it was closed, so it was down to a tapas bar yet again: however, the Getaria tapas were notably good.

Then it was back on the road, next stop San Sebastián. It was still rather cold, damp and grey, but it looked as if there was a glimmer of better weather out to the west. We checked out the beach, which seems to be the top attraction, in summer anyway. There was a group of intrepid swimmers, but they were wearing wet suits.

So finally we slipped along to Hondarribia, where the parador is a conversion of a 10th century castle used by Carlos V in the 16th century, strategically situated on the border with France, just across the estuary. Once again, we have a very superior room, with a great view, as the sun struggled to break through:

And once again, our own private terrace. The sun has been trying to come out, but sadly it’s not really terrace weather yet.

Tomorrow it is just the long haul back home, so this will be the final installment of our holiday diary.  We will have driven nearly 5,000 kilometres without problems so far, apart from that annoying puncture. Taking photos with our iPhones has been a new experience, and not always an entirely happy one. Getting them into this text remains a challenge each evening!

Staying in the paradors has been a great experience. They can be quirky too. One detail struck us in the bar at Limpias last night: there was no sign of a barman, but our neighbours pointed out what was effectively a remote control on the table. You press the symbol for waiter, and magically he appears. Apparently it buzzes or vibrates a watch on his wrist, and tells him where he is needed. A great way to increase productivity - or perhaps just to keep the workers running around!

But we have greatly appreciated the nine paradors we have stayed in, as well as the pousada and two hotels in Portugal. They seemed good value to us, and were always friendly and welcoming - probably even more so because of Lorna’s influence. We owe her a great deal!