We took the rest of the afternoon pretty easy, simply walking around and doing a little exploring. For our last dinner in Paris we went to a great little neighborhood restaurant about 2 blocks from the Orsay. It was one of the best meals we had in Paris. The cheese ravioli was unbelievable! What a way to end our trip.
PC
]]> Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=9288 0 48.8666667 2.3333333 The Orsay was great - one of our favorite museums of the trip. Next we went to Montmartre to see the Sacré-Coeur Basilica and the Moulin Rouge-this is definitely the red light district of Paris, and even Mark picked up on the fact the neighborhood was a little more “slutty” than the areas we had been frequenting (where do 9 year olds get their vocabulary). After hiking up and down the hills of Montmartre, Mark was ready for a nap at the hotel. Suzy and Paul headed to Cafe Les Deux Magots, a favorite writers hangout for folks like Hemingway, for a glass of wine, some people watching, and to do a little blog writing of our own.

In the evening we all hiked the spiral staircase to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. There we watched the sun set over Paris and the flashing lights come on the Eifel Tower. It was a great view!
PC]]> Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=9287 0 48.8666667 2.3333333 Off to the town market where we found plenty of fruit, cheese, meat and spices to keep us entertained. We found not only breakfast, but the makings of a nice picnic lunch we would later eat on the train to Paris. After dropping the food in the car, we found a spot on the beach where Mark could busy himself collecting shells and we could read our books. I went exploring the multicolored umbrellas that could be rented if it had been a hot and sunny day. Very few were in use while we were there. More interesting was the walk of Cabanas. There were rows of beach cabanas all named for movie stars, directors and producers. Who needs a star in front of a Chinese restaurant when you can have a cabana named after you?

We had a dinner date in Paris that night with the Graziano’s who were also vacationing in Europe, so to the train we went. Soon after pulling out of the station we ate a wonderful lunch of meat and cheese sandwiches, olives, and the best, biggest, juiciest strawberries we had ever had. It will take me a long time to get used to the Minnesota supermarket produce after being in France.

When we arrived at the K+K Cayre Hotel on Rue Du Bac near St Germaine and went for a quick glass of wine nearby, just to get our bearings. Upon retiring to the hotel we had a message to meet Vince and Jude in their room for a little wine before dinner. It was Vince’s birthday and they were celebrating with his brother Steve and his family as well. We did finally all head to dinner, quite well primed. Luckily the Blanc Gorilla was not hard to find and we had a very nice dinner with more great wine and great company. We said our adieus late that night as they were headed to Florence in the morning to bask in the 100 plus heat. SKC
]]> Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=9286 0 49.3666667 0.0666667 We headed down a straight road with Mark in the back seat. We had to stop on the highway for a potential puke, that did not come to fruition thankfully, and then transferred him to the front seat. He then became the designated shifter of the car and that seemed to keep his mind off of being sick.

The weather had turned cloudy and quite cool when we got to Caen. This is really the first cool, long pants, type of weather we have had. The museum is inside so it did not bother us much. The museum is filled with war history, starting with WW I and continuing through the cold war. Most of the exhibits cover WW II and are filled with quotes from letters of the soldiers, French people, and the politicians. I did not take pictures as it just did not seem like the right thing to do. It was quite a sobering experience. War is hell and this museum did a very good job of showing that. We spent about 3 hours in the museum and did not see the whole thing.

Next stop is the beach in Deauville. It is not really beach weather, but what the heck. The first thing we notice is the buildings are different here. Large plaster buildings with plenty of roof gables, decorated with various metal sculptures, and decorative brown wood battens. The second thing you notice is the seagulls. They are everywhere and none too quiet about it. Clearly they think all those pretty buildings were built for them to perch upon until low tide reveals their seafood buffet or until some café patron leaves a delectable treat for them. The last thing we noticed were the boats, lots of boats, big boats, expensive looking boats.

Deauville is the Hamptons of Paris crossed with the Sundance Film Festival, the playground of the polo set with the extra draw of the annual film festival the beginning of September featuring both French and Hollywood stars. The French hate to admit that they are impressed with anything American, but from the number of photos of Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Jennifer Aniston on the walls of their restaurants and hotels, don’t believe it.

We checked in at the Normandy Grand Barriere, billed as the favorite spot for the French film stars to stay when they were in town and as having a great children’s program. The two seemed incongruent to me, but there were a lot of pictures of stars on the walls and they did have a pretty busy appearing kids club. There were lots of kids running through the lobby at least, trailed by young hotel staff members that were presumably entertaining them. Mark, not speaking French, was not too interested in spending any time in the “club house”. We did go use the indoor pool with the retractable roof, which was not retracted as it was cool and raining. Mark had lots of fun playing by himself near the other kids. In typical French fashion there was a pool monitor that would hiss at the kids when ever they laughed or yelped a bit too loud. (In France, instead of saying shhhh when someone is too loud or doing something you do not like, the all purpose, SSSSSSSSS is used.) It did not seem to be terribly effective on a pool full of children and their nannies on a rainy day at a beachside resort. I did notice the noise did not draw any of the mothers out of the spa in the next room to see what the trouble was.

Following the swim, we went to explore the town itself. It is a very charming town of expensive shops and sidewalk cafes. We found a spot for a snack as it was 3:30 and we had not eaten yet that day. We sat for quite awhile as there was a war of wills involving the consumption of a sugar crepe occurring between the male members of the family. What Mark did not understand is that we really did not have anywhere to go and we did not care how long it took for him to eat. As we watched the stylish Parisians stroll down the streets of their home away from home we noticed that the seagulls were particularly riled up. A moment later a falcon flew by at break neck speed, just above the cars. He was followed by a very fast falcon handler, running next to the cars, and behind him a camera crew. Now this seemed like it may be worth eating a crepe for, just so we could leave and see what was going on.

With crepe digesting, we walked down to a large crowd of people on the ground and an even larger crowd of seagulls flying in circles in the sky. A lone falcon was sitting on a building ledge having a war of wills with his handler, who was standing on the ground waving inducements to the bird and muttering obscenities not quite under his breath. The falcon appeared to be unaffected by any of this, he seemed to be saying, “I have had enough and I will not work without a change in these conditions”. We finally wandered off and several hours later, following a late dinner, we wandered by the same spot and all the commotion was gone. Presumably either the handler or the falcon had given in eventually. SKC

]]> Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=9144 0 49.3666667 0.0666667 The legend is that St Michael, the archangel came to earth to convince the local Bishop to build a Monastery and cathedral on this mountain. He came to the bishop in dreams two nights in a row and the bishop ignored him. The third night, St Michael had lost his patience and pushed on the bishops head so hard that a hole was created in his skull showing he meant business. The nest day the bishop got started on the plans for the church which was built starting in the 8th century. This story lends a new meaning to the saying, “He must have a hole in his head.”

We climbed up the cobblestone streets to the base of the church. It was almost as crowded as Pamplona had been. The crowd was much better behaved though. We got tickets for the tour and had a very nice young lady, who said she was a trainee tour giver; you would never know it, take us and 4 others on an hour tour. It was very interesting and amazing to think about how they built this huge structure on the side of a pyramid shaped stone mountain. The views across the tide flats were amazing too. It was a very low tide and you could see forever. Until recently, pilgrims coming to this holy spot had to cross the tide flats, about 6 kilometers, during low tide to get here. Not so bad except the flats are filled with quick sand and when the tide comes in, it is at a rate of one meter per second. We learned much about Benedictine life in the monastery’s earlier years.
This a definite do not miss if you are in France.

We went and checked in to our hotel room, which had a full wall of windows that viewed the Mont. We decided to go back for dinner as there were many restaurants on the hill. We wanted to go have an omelet that had been cooked on a wood fire as we had watched them being made earlier in the day. As it happened we did not eat there, but would certainly try it in the future. We found a spot that had a view of the incoming tide for Mark and a hamburger steak that he though was wonderful. The Norman roast chicken and vegetables were pretty great too. The tide was going to be very high that evening so the announcement to move your cars out of the parking lot before they were under water was made. We were parked high and dry so we just sat and watched as it rushed in, and rushed it did. I would not have wanted to be about 1 kilometer away, walking around quick sand when it came in. The lights then came up on the cathedral and it was absolutely stunning. I actually got up in the night and sat by the hotel window for awhile just because of the amazing view.
SKC
]]> Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=9142 0 48.55 -1.5166667 Today we are going to start toward Normandy. We will go a little over half way to Nantes. We drove through the wine area for awhile after loading Mark up on Dramamine and putting him in the front seat. The roads are quite winding and his stomach as we know is not very tolerant. After a tour of the country side we got onto the highway. We could have been in Minnesota by the scenery. The fields are smaller, but lots of corn and wheat, cows and sheep to be seen.

We decided to take a detour to La Rochelle along the way. This is a very nice seaside town that happened to have a music festival going on when we arrive. Lots of people and things to see. We had a very good seafood lunch near the pier before siteseeing. Suzy managed to get seperated from Mark and Paul when they headed to the beach. Mark was not too happy when we had to pack up from the beach and look for Suzy. She was eventually found, and we headed back to the beach for the afternoon. La Rochelle was a nice spot and a key sailing center and beach town, nice detour.

Nantes is not much of a city to look at. Apparently there are some interesting sights including a secret garden, but we could not find them. We could see the spires of the church we wanted to visit, but couldn’t make our way through the maze of one way streets and blocked roads by the above ground train system. After about 45 minutes of driving in circles we gave up and went to the hotel. There was a big thunderstorm and just as we sat down in a restaurant for dinner the lights went our. We had a half bottle of wine and by then the lights were on and we ordered a very nice dinner. It seems that no matter what is wrong with a place in France, they still have good food.
SKC

]]> Sun, 15 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=9141 0 47.2166667 -1.55 We got up and went back into St-Emilion to explore. After Mark had a hamburger we started checking out all the wine shops. Mark even enjoyed learning about Bordeaux wine. He was petty good at determining the contents of the bouquets, but often couldn’t get over “that alcohol smell”. We were looking for a 1982 wine as that is our wedding anniversary. 1982 was a very good year so the selection of available wines is scarce and expensive. We did find a nice bottle of Pomerol for 5000 Euros. I think we may have to celebrate with a nice 2000 vintage wine. We always new we were a fine vintage. The recommendations from most of the wine shops were to get 2005 Bordeaux now as it is going to be even better than the 1982 or 2000 vintages. The second labels of most of the Grand Cru Classic Chateaus are also very good wines that will cellar just a few years less than the first labels and are much less expensive. There are 7000 Chateaus in Bordeaux alone so finding the perfect wine is a bit overwhelming.

Paul and I decided we needed more training so we signed up for a wine tasting school. The class was led by a very funny guy who put on quite a show of being the Bordeaux wine snob. “That Beaujolais is made over night, not even really a wine, and the Rose’s, definitely not wine”, were a couple of his comments. We learned how to smell, swirl, taste, and check the legs after being tested on our ability to detect smells. I only got 3 correct out of 8, but I still know what I like and do not like.

We went back to the hotel for another swim and dinner. The plan was to eat and drive into Leborne to watch the fireworks as today is Bastille Day, or French Independence day. Dinner was a long and very enjoyable event. Mark even joined us for most of it. Just as we finished our dessert, we saw the first fireworks being shot off. We jumped in the car and got to town just in time for the grand finale. We had a perfect day!
SKC

]]> Sat, 14 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=9140 0 44.8833333 -0.15 Bordeaux at about 10:30, exhausted. We thought we might explore the town, but had just enough energy to find a lunch spot and eat. A glass of Rose and a nice little French meal with really great bread and we were ready to head to St-Emilion in the heart of fine wine country and our next hotel. The drive is really quite pretty with vineyards on every bit of available land the closer we got to St-Emilion. With some wines in the area selling for over 1000 Euro a bottle, you can see why.

Our hotel was a renovated Chateau just outside town with beautiful ground, a pool, and grape vines up to our patio. We got settled in and went to town to feed Mark, who didn’t want to eat at the fancy hotel restaurant. St-Emilion is a very old town built on the side of a large hill. It is filled with wine shops offering tasting of fine Bordeaux wines and restaurants. Mark was picky though and we found him a cheese pizza, what a waste. Paul and I went back to the hotel and had a very nice dinner outside at the hotel, overlooking a large yard and the vineyards. The chef did and excellent job of surprising us with new taste combinations. The red pepper sorbet was really memorable. SKC
]]> Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=9123 0 44.8833333 -0.15 Madrid and Spain for that matter. Mark wanted to go to two museums today, the Archeological and Navel museums. We started at the Archeology museum which was filled with ancient artifacts and art. Lot’s of mummies, skulls, and old art and pottery. The Roman mosaics were very cool. Our hotel room was also decorated with 3rd century Roman Mosaics.

We then had a nice lunch on Passeo de Recoletos, a wide treed area with side walk cafes where Spain’s famous authors often meet to talk. There was an artist painting our lunch scene. We didn’t stay to see the finished painting. Next to the Navel museum that was unfortunately closed so we went back to the Park again as Mark had no interest in going to the Prada, the last big art museum on our to-do list. Paul and I took turns going to the Prada while the other watched Mark in the park. There was an artist painting pictures with spray paint in the park that had Mark captivated. He would paint very elaborate scenes on a paper in about 5 minutes. Then right on to the next one. He would get about six done and take a break to sell them. Then he would repeat the whole process.

The Prada was filled with whole galleries of masterpieces rather than one or two famous works mixed with lesser known artists. It was quite amazing even though renaissance art isn’t my favorite.

We went back to our favorite Tapas bar for one last time for dinner and then to the train station for our overnight train to Bordeaux. We were in a sleeper car with 6 berths. The other three were filled with young English speaking men about John’s age. They were very nice and didn’t complain about Suzy’s snoring. It was really hot in the train and the kids partied in the hall for quite awhile into the night so we did not get much sleep, other than Mark who can sleep through anything. SKC

]]> Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=9122 0 40.4 -3.6833333 Before lunch or any purchase we visited the most elaborate Cathedral in Spain. It contains so much famous art work including El Greco, Rubens, Goya, and Velázquez masterpieces. This is the real reason one should travel to Toledo, a most definite do not miss. El Greco who was born in Greece and trained in Italy said, while in Italy, that he would have done a much better job than Michelangelo on the Sistine chapel as that Michelangelo is a nice guy, but not a very good painter. He was then banished to Spain. He did leave some beautiful artwork in Toledo. We went in search of one of his most famous works next in a nearby chapel, Santo Tome’, The Burial of the
Count of Orgaz. This is another do not miss in Toledo.

Now we were ready for lunch at La Perdiz (the Partridge) where we had one of the best meals in Spain. Paul had the Partridge and Suzy the suckling pig, both of which were excellent, but the grilled goat cheese with caramelized onions was out of this world. This is one Suzy will be attempting to duplicate at home.

Full of good food and Toledo we caught a train back to Madrid 3 hours earlier than planned. The train station bears a mention. It was a beautiful tiled building in the Moorish tradition. The 30 minute ride back to Madrid wasn’t quite long enough for the nap we needed so we went back to the hotel to relax.

Paul was enjoying a nice glass of wine on the veranda when after a large noise noticed by Suzy, but not Paul, he says, “Where did the umbrella go?” We quickly located it on the next veranda. A call to the front desk required the manager to come to the room as we had a bit of a language barrier with the words flying umbrella. By the time he got there, the umbrella was on the roof. “Not Good”, were his words. Soon it was 6 stories below on the ground, thankfully not hitting any bystanders or vehicles. We were without an umbrella the rest of the stay.

After recovering, Paul and Suzy went to dinner and a Flamenco show at Taberna Casa Patas. Its nick name is the house of feet and that is very apt. The dancers have incredible energy and stamina to move so fast in such a small warm little room. They were literally wringing wet after each performance. SKC
]]> Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=8821 0 40.4 -3.6833333 Our laundry we had asked the hotel to do was back in our room upon our return. The bill was 168 Euro. It was probably the most well pressed laundry we ever had or ever will have. I told Paul that it just showed how much I was worth back at home. He was skeptical about that as he hasn’t had pressed shirts since leaving home at age 18. Anyway, so much for the deal we had gotten on the room rate.

Paul needed a new watch battery and was going to get us train tickets for the next portion of the trip so he headed in one direction and Mark and I went to the Wax Museum. This was Marks choice, and it was a lot of history about Spain, but all in Spanish so I did not catch a good deal of it. (I would say that this is a miss of you are planning time in Madrid.)
]]> Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=8820 0 40.4 -3.6833333 We hopped back on the bus for awhile and then a stop in Plaza del Sol for some more exploration and to get a treat for Mark. We found the perfect chocolate and churro spot. The hot chocolate here is more like a thin pudding, and the churros are nothing like Taco John’s. Imagine dipping a nice greasy donut into a warm pudding that hasn’t quite set yet. That is hot chocolate in Spain. We then walked to Plaza Mayor for a little lunch and back on the bus we went. Next stop was the Cento de Arte Reina Sofia to see Picasso’s Guernica. The painting is Picasso’s protest of Franco and his fascist government in Spain. It is Picasso’s view of what took place in Guernica when Franco allowed Hitler to test his bombs on the town. It was especially moving as Guernica is located very near San Sebastian.

Mark had been cooped up for quite awhile now so Paul took him back to Retiro Park to feed the fish in the pond and rent a row boat. Suzy went and relaxed on her veranda with a glass of wine. We all do what we have to do. Mark was filled with McDonalds and hooked to the internet for the evening so Suzy and Paul could find their new local Tapas bar just across the street. We had two drinks and 3 tapas in a very friendly and active bar for only 5 Euros. This became our home away form home for a couple days. Even Mark eventually found that he enjoyed this spot.
]]> Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=8819 0 40.4 -3.6833333 The bull fighting is quite interesting and we are glad we have seen it once, but that is enough. This night was for the lesser known and less experienced matadors. They dressed with all the glamour of the famous matadors and there was great pomp and circumstance when they entered the ring. The first bull entered the ring and appeared to try to get back out again. I think he had some prior knowledge of what this was going to end like. First several matadors or helpers try to rile up the bull, then after a horn is sounded a horse and rider come out and tease the bull into attacking them. When the bull charges, he is poked in the back by a large spear. Next the Matador holds 2 picadors and attempts to stick them in the bull’s neck while being charged. This is repeated 3 times to loosen the neck muscles of the bull to hasten the kill at the end of the fight. Now the matador places his hat in the ring and does his one on one dance with the bull, trying not to get the horn. Finally, the matador places a sword in the bull’s neck that is meant to kill it quickly when removed. If that doesn’t do it, a dagger is used. Once the bull is dead he is hooked up to a couple of horses and dragged from the ring. We stayed for 3 bulls and as the skill of the matador improved, the suffering of the bull definitely lessened.
]]> Sun, 08 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=8818 0 40.4 -3.6833333 We then joined a group of about 12 of us to head to our balconies. We were warned to stay close and hold on to our wallets and each other. Luckily there was a TV camera man following our group so we could see his camera above the crowd. Even so, we did get separated and almost squished a couple of times. The idea of being up on a balcony safe above the hoards seemed very attractive. We eventually reached our host apartment and were welcomed by two very nice ladies into a beautiful apartment above the throng. One of the members of our group did get his pocket picked of about $350 Euros on the way.

Our view was perfect. We were right where the first and second turns of the course were and watched the police clear the streets and the clean them before they started the running promptly at 8:00.

There was a police line holding back a throbbing mass of revelers all dressed in white with red scarves and sashes, most covered in wine stains. The firecrackers went off and the crowd was all running to find their spots along the street. A second set of firecrackers and the bulls came running around the first turn. The bulls appeared to be much less dangerous than the crowd of runners. In about 2 minutes it was all over, much like the Kentucky Derby. We then watched the highlights on TV and when the drunks had somewhat dispersed we ventured back onto the street.

We went and got our obligatory T-shirts and red scarves and sashes so we would be ready for next time or maybe just Halloween. Then 5 very sleepy people piled back into the car and headed to Valladalid to drop off Serina. We stopped for lunch in Burgos which was a very pretty town situated along a nice river.

Serina introduced us to her host Mother, who was very gracious and let us use here internet connection to book a hotel in Madrid for that night. John was going to leave early the next morning so we found a hotel near the airport to make things easy and set off for Madrid, about 2 hours away.

We followed our GPS to the hotel once we arrived in Madrid, for about another 2 hours. We circled the same spots, on ramps , off ramps (all of which seemed to be numbered the same) and decided at that point we would turn the car in and take taxis even though we had paid for a couple of more days. The wear and tear on our relationships and the loss of vacation bliss was not worth it. We did finally find the largest hotel in Europe, or at least it seemed that way, filled with tourists. We threw our stuff in our room and took a shuttle bus to the center of the city and had a very nice dinner just off the Plaza Mayor. Mark even thought the “chicken” was pretty good. It was really roast leg of lamb, but who’s telling. We then crashed into bed as the 7th of July had been a very very long day.
]]> Sat, 07 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=8816 0 42.8166667 -1.6333333 Center. The kids really enjoyed the exhibits that were heavy on Physics. Lots of interaction, buttons to push, bells to ring, and flashing lights to keep them from wanting to go to the beach. We finally got them convinced to leave and headed to one of the two beautiful sand beaches in San Sebastian. Paul had challenged John to a race on the beach. He told him if he could beat him, John could run with the Bulls in Pamplona. John obliterated him (at least according to John), so he was feeling pretty good. Paul went for a 4 mile run on the beach, Mark dug a hole to China (or wherever a hole goes in Spain) and Suzy slept on the beach.

We got all cleaned up just in time to pick up Serina Albrecht at the train station. Serina is our neighbor who is doing a study abroad program in Valladalid Spain this summer. We retraced all our favorite spots with Serina, especially the Wind Combs. We then turned in early so that we could get up at 4:30 AM to get to Pamplona for the San Fermin festival. Yikes, that is EARLY!
]]> Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=8814 0 43.2 -4.4166667 We next headed to the Chillida sculpture museum. He is one of the most famous sculptors in the world and certainly in Spain. He was from San Sebastian so he had a huge exhibit on an old farm just outside of town. We got there about an hour before it closed so we had to rush a little, but saw some beautiful sculpture and were almost completely alone. It was so cool we decided to stop in San Sebastian at the “Wind Combs” one his most famous works. They are three large metal sculptures placed on a point were the waves come crashing in to shore. There were several blow holes on the walkway out to the sculptures that would send a big blast of air and sometimes water up when a wave came in. Mark found that it was a great way to style his hair. Mark says the wind combs symbolize past, present, and the unknown future, they were one of the highlights of his whole trip, much better than the amusement park located next to our hotel. It was a very old amusement park that reminded me of what the Excelsior amusement park must have been like after its heyday. It was built around the old light house. Mark did think the “house of horrors” was pretty good. I thought it just smelled pretty horrible.

Now the boys were both soaked through so we went back to the hotel and had warm baths and Mark charmed the bartender into two very delicious hot chocolates. We got Mark fed and settled in to watch a movie and the rest of us went out for another try at Pinchas. It wasn’t nearly as crowded and we found many delectable treats and even tried the local hard cider that is poured from about 2 feet above the glass to aerate it. I think I still prefer Sangria. Some of our favorite tastes were the grilled, salted Guernica peppers, fresh sardines, black pudding with rice sausages, and coconut covered fried chicken. We meet a couple from Kentucky that reminded us of our friends Simon and Agnes. They had quit their jobs and were traveling around Europe. They were missing the VW bus with the nice wardrobe and shitty engine though.
]]> Thu, 05 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=8813 0 43.5666667 -5.9 Our minds were quickly changed as we pulled up to our hotel after driving up a winding road full of switch backs. The view of the Atlantic and the town of San Sebastian with the surrounding mountains was probably the most beautiful we had ever seen. The hotel itself was very nice too. We settled down and headed into town for some Pinchas (the Basque name for Tapas). The tapas bars were filled with roving bands of young people. They were having a blast, but it wasn’t quite the right atmosphere for Mark so we found a restaurant with a tank full of fish for Mark to watch and ordered a nice traditional Basque dinner. Hake, a type of fish that is prepared all sorts of ways, and very good and some lamb were our main courses.
]]> Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=1200 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=8811 0 39.4666667 -0.3666667