the road to segovia

The drive from San Sebastian to Segovia takes four and a half hours on the Autovia 1 norte.

To get an accurate idea of the landscape, take a large tablecloth, shake it, and toss it on a table. Nearest to you, push the folds of the cloth high and close. This is the landscape of the Cantabrian coast, which compares to Hawaii in that there are steep mountains leading down into the sea and verdant vegetation because of the daily mists. Piercing the steep folds are tunnels that vary in lkength from a few hundred meters to several kilometers. Now begin to shorten the folds and space them a little further apart. The landscape changes to something more like that of the foothills of Colorado or midway through Kansas when one enters the Smokey Hills. The rain fall is reduced and the vegetation is still green, but not as thick as the coast line. Next, take the cloth and smooth into undulating flows like that of the Flint Hills of Kansas.

As Will and I enter these rolling hills, it begins to rain and, naturally, one hums, "the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain," a song from My Fair Lady, that I assume is not to be taken literally. These plains are covered in wheat fields as far as the eye can see. We have come to the city of Vitorio and the end of the Basque region. Now we are entering Castille-Leon, the home of King Ferdinand and Spain's most conservative region.

The table cloth is again ruffled and the further away from the coast we travel, the drier it becomes. Now the landscape looks a little like Arkansas with the juniper trees dotting the hills. Only a little further south are the mountains from which the water comes that fills the aquaduct that services Segovia. The closer we get to Segovia, the more hills appear. Again, as in Arkansas the roads twist and turn. rise and fall.

Suddenly, there Segovia is. From a distance one can see the aquaduct that Segovia is famous for. What has been preserved and restored rises or rather descends from the mountains to the south and empty into the city center.

We are here.

dining in san sebastian

Criminals often return to the scene of the crime and so did we, for the food at Bernardos was so delicious, it should have a crime to enjoy it so. Tonight we dined next door at Trutzulo, a restaurant featuring a fixed price menu and the Italy vs. U.S.A soccer match.


The food was, in my opinion, better than Bernardos, no pictures of Samuel L. Jackson and Meryll Streep, just good food. Will ordered the prawns and I the mixed salad for a first course. For the second course, Will ate octopus and I had duck. The meal was stupendo.

Afterwards, it is back to Gelato Boulevard for a generous scoup of gelato, vanilla and chocolate for Will and raspberry for me.

the long and winding road

Wanting a drive along the sea, we asked at the front desk of the hotel whether we should drive east to Hondarribia or west to Zarautz.

The long and winding road west on the N634 from San Sebastian leads to Zumaia. At Zarautz it hugs the coast line, the hillside towers above and the sea pounds the rocks below. Zarautz has a wonderful beach almost as fine as that of San Sebastian, but without the island in the middle that tames the waves at the beach of La Concha. The tourists have passed by Zarautz. Its beach front development is more apartment than hotel or restaurant. Will and I had lunch of fish and French fries and then continued down the beach to Getari and then Zumaia. It is a short drive and a nice respite from the bustle of San Sebastian.

The short road back to San Sebastian is along the A8.

segovia

Our next stop is Segovia, a four and a half hour drive from San Sebastian. Segovia is just shy of Madrid, but I am not up for a six hour trip that gets us into crowded Madrid late.

Breathtaking Segovia - perched on a ridge in the middle of an empty plain - remembered for its Roman aqueduct, embroideries, cuisine, and medieval monuments.

We are staying at the Hotel San Antonio el Real, a former monastery. For driving directions from San Sebastian, click here. Pluses include free parking and wireless, breakfastg included, 95 euros.

Photo by Isaac Garcia, other pics.

san sebastian

It is Sunday and the drive from Saint Emilion in France to San Sebastian in Spain is only three hours.

The drive was on the whole uninteresting. The area around Bordeaux is known as the Bay of Biscayne.The landscape is flat and marshy. The only discernable industry is lumber and the only product pine trees, which are cut in uniform lengths of eight feet and stacked like cord wood all along the route from south of Bordeaux to the Spanish border. There is enough wood cut that the French could supply the world for the next hundred years.

Finally, when one gets close to the Biarritz does the lanscape change from flat to green wooded hills. We chose to bypass Biarritz in favor of heading on to San Sebastian. The hills on the Spanish side of the border are steeper, here the Cantabrian mountains rise sharply from the sea. The rock is a hard and rugged granite. The houses which dot the hillsides are colored an unusual
orange. The roofs are tilled.

We arrived in San Sebastian a little after noon. The streets were not hard to navigate. The boulevards were wide and direct. The major road in parallels the river that flow into San Sebastian. This was a welcome relief after the nightmare of driving in Bordeaux where the roads are narrow, the stop lights many, and construction everywhere.

Signs in San Sebastian directed us to Centro and then to our hotel Londres. We parked the car around the corner in a garage for 20 euro a day.

The weather is cloudy with a steady drizzle the Spanish call "siri-miri," which sounds perfect to describe the miserable and depressing effect of the weather has on one's spirits. The change is a contrast to the bright sunny weather of Saint Emilion.

dining with anthony boudain in basque country

Check this out if you are an Anthony Bourdain fan like me. It is a show about dining in the Basque Country. Bourdain, like Batali, recommends Arzak in San Sebastian.

dining in basque country.

Mario Batali wrote a book with Gwyneth Paltrow on dining in Spain, approprtiately tiltled, Spain, A Culinary Road Trip. In the Basque country he mentions two cities, Vitoria, the capital, and SanSebastian, a seaport on the north coast.

SanSebastian is the first city a traveller comes to, driving from France. It is just 20 km from the French border. Mario and Gwyneth mark it as the best eating city in the Basque Country. And Mario recommends Juan Mari Arzak and his self-named restaurant as the best place to eat.

Going tapeo is how to eat in Spain. In Basque Country, it is called pintxo. There are an infinite variety of pintxos, as many as a creative chef can think up. Banderilla is just one, consisting of pickled pepper, anchovy, and olive skewered on a toothpick. Also, try the peppers from Guernica, Pimentos de Gernika.

Vitoria is inland, 40 km south of Bilbao.

A guide to the city can be found at IdealSpain.com. The Catedral de Santa Maria is one of themany sites to see. As for restaurants, Mario recommends Asador Sagartoki. This is a pintxo bar where traditional Basque dishes are presented as haute-cuisine.

Near Vitiora, is the village of Idiazabal. The village is known for its nutty-tasting cheese made from the milk of Latxa sheep.

Speaking the local language always helps to make friends. To say thank you in Basque: Eskerrik asko. For more phrases, try out this helpful site.

spanish bullfighter, israel lancho, gets the point.

Now on traditionsHome blog, you can twitter. Spanish bullfighter, Israel Lanch, is on the receiving end of the bull's horn. Check it out on the Huffington Post. This is not for the faint of heart.

paris to bordeaux

Three days in Paris then two weeks to kill before Will and I have to be in Firenze, Italy on the 24th.

Here's the new itinerary: head west and south from Paris to Bordeaux. We have to decide if we will drive or take the train. The TGV is fast, it takes only three hours by train instead of the five hour drive. Raileurope.com makes the reservations.

The problem is - if we pick up the car in Bordeaux, can we drop it in Paris or LeHarve without a huge fee?

After Bordeaux we will travel by car to Northern Spain, then Madrid, Cordoba, Toledo, and Barcelona, and shoot across France to Italy.

This is all done on the fly, so the itinerary is subject to change daily.

Spain - the Cantabrian Coast and Old Castile

Somewhere around the 15th of June, Will and I will find ourselves leaving France and driving into Spain. The first town we will come to will be Hondarriba. (Called Fuentearrabia in Spanish, this is Basque country and the language is Basque.) For a google map of the area click here.

Now you have to make a decision - either drive south to Pamplona and on to the Palacio de Real Olite, a 15th century fortress, or head west past Bilbao and the Guggenheim Museum to Santillana del Mar. It is called the most picturesque town in Spain, but allows no cars unless you are staying there. The Altamira Caves are close by. This begins the northern route on the pilgramage to Santiago de Compestelo. For more information, see Spain.info.com.

Check out the hotels on Expedia. I tried Comillas and found the hotel (with just 9 rooms) already booked for the 16th of June.

Have to go now. I will add more later.