TRAVEL: Bilbao, San Sebastian and Northern Spain - architecture, aperitifs and afternoon jaunts

There is undoubtedly no better time to set sail for warmer climes than during England’s cold and long winters so that’s exactly what we did. After an early start (my mantra being that the only reason anyone should be up before the sun rises is if they have a flight to catch) and we caught a flight from London Heathrow to Bilbao.

Just over an hour later, and we had arrived in Spain, which was decidedly colder than we had anticipated. Our first stop – Avis car hire to pick up a snazzy Renault Kadjar which would be our mode of transport for the week. We headed for the city centre, with the road curving right beside Frank Gehry’s famously designed Guggenheim Museum – a striking building with sheets of metal appearing to stick out from here, there and everywhere.

Too early to check into our hotel and not wanting to confine the car to the hotel car park just yet, we decided to head for the coastal town of Getxo, the drive to which was impressive itself with mansions lining the road vying for the best sea view and reminiscent of Rhode Island’s magnificent stately homes. We took a quick wander along the pier, with the strong winds batting against our faces to the quaint white-painted lighthouse at the end.

Nearing lunchtime, we headed up to the Old Town for a quick walk along the cobbled streets in search of something to eat. This corner of the world is famous for pintxos, a bar snack often composed of a slice of crusty bread topped with some form of meat, which we tried for the first time at a popular spot called Tamarises. Like tapas, these are small enough to have a few each, and so my travel companions split some tuna, pork, anchovy, and croquette topped pintxos between the table to keep themselves going until dinner. Unfortunately, their only vegetarian option was an unexciting looking salad pintxo so I decided to wait until I could find something better. Thankfully, this came swiftly, surprisingly in the form of Lidl, which had a great selection of fresh-baked goods including an incredible goats cheese pastry.

Back in the car, we headed more into the centre of Getxo, although the one-way road system made for confusing twists and turns, and eventually we decided to head back to the main highways for fear of eternally being trapped in endless loops. We made our way back along the coast to Bilbao, stopping directly opposite the Guggenheim. This was where our hotel, the Gran Hotel Domine, was conveniently located, and I don’t think you’d be able to find a better location anywhere.

Our rooms were lovely, and it was the view that really made it looking straight across at the Guggenheim and the massive flowering dog structure, called Puppy, which guards its main entrance. After taking some time to rest we headed out as it began to get dark, walking along the river and Bilbao’s version of Oxford Street before ending up at La Vina de Ensanche restaurant for, you guessed it, more pintxos.

Whilst still relatively early (for Spanish time at least) at only 8pm, the place was completely packed. We were extremely lucky to grab a table that had just become free, but this didn’t stop a number of people coming over asking to take any spare stools they spotted whilst members of our party were up at the bar. Again, a pretty poor vegetarian selection so I opted for patatas bravas (spicy potatoes), followed by apple tiramisu – the cheese ice cream is a must. The rest of the group fared better, with slices of Iberian ham and steamed fish to fill them up.

The following morning we got to try what I always think is one of the most exciting parts of any trip – the hotel breakfast. We found the breakfast room up on the 7^th floor terrace, and whilst laid out like a buffet, it was the waiters and not the guests who served up the food. Our breakfast consisted of multiple courses ranging from fruit and yoghurts to eggs and meats, setting us up perfectly for the day.

We’d booked tickets today for the Guggenheim which was almost as interesting inside as it is outside. Whilst also learning about the architecture of the building itself, our audioguide talked us through the exhibitions, including Richard Serra’s huge metal spirals, Anni Albers weaving, 82 Portraits and 1 Still Life by David Hockney, and rooms filled with masterpieces from the collection, including one of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe prints.

Having had our fill of art (which I’m still not sure I fully understand, but was nice to appreciate nonetheless) we stopped for coffee and a delicious brownie in the museums café before checking out the building from the outside. Words cannot do the building justice aside from saying that it truly is an architectural wonder, and makes a visit to Bilbao worth it if only to see it (although hopefully this blog will highlight that there is plenty to see in addition!) Art is not confined to the walls of the museum either, and the public walkway behind the museum is home to a ‘Stranger Things’ looking spider sculpture, the flowering dog and a few other sculptures.

We made our way across the river for a better view of the Guggenheim, and then to the Funicular de Artxanda which took us up to a viewpoint from which you could see the whole city laid out before you. However, our admirations were cut short by some torrential hail and rain which had us running back to the Funicular after just a few photos. Not quite the sunny weather we’d been hoping for! Umbrellas unfurled, we continued our journey on foot back at the bottom of the hill to Akzuna Zentroa, a restored wine warehouse with some fascinating pillars all of different shapes and sizes. Around the central atrium were a number of boutique shops and a cinema, and looking up, we noticed a glass bottom swimming pool, although it’s not easy to spot!

We weren’t deterred by the heavy rain and continued our wandering through Bilbao’s Old Town, perhaps its most touristy district and therefore the perfect place to pick up a snowglobe for my collection. After a quick outfit change at the hotel, we were back out onto Bilbao’s slick streets for our dinner reservation at Las Cascanueces. They suggested that each plate would be enough for two people, and to try a variety. Again, not a lot of vegetarian choice so I opted for some Asian-inspired wok fried vegetables whilst the rest of the party had some decidedly more exciting plates of foie gras balls, monkfish, and steak all of which I hear were very acceptable.

The real star was the dessert, aptly named ‘The Steppes’ as it came out looking like a snowy landscape. Perhaps one of the most pretentious desserts I’ve had the pleasure of tasting, it included dulce de leche, coconut ice cream, a crushed cookie soil, white chocolate rocks and golden crispy chocolate pebbles. Bilbao is known for its Michelin-star worthy restaurants and I’d say this one came pretty close.

The next morning started with another delicious breakfast, before we hopped in the car to cruise down the coast (in the pouring rain), first stopping at Gorliz beach to watch some brave surfers taking on the waves, through Arminza, and for coffee at Lekeitio. I decided to take advantage of the public toilets after the long drive but soon regretted this after pressing a button I was sure was to lock the door, but turned out to turn on icy water jets presumably for cleaning the floor. Backing away from the jets and the door, I was caught unaware by one behind me which completely saturated my jeans. To think that I’d survived the heavy rain only to be caught out by rogue toilet sprays!

Our drive continued up into the mountains and past viewpoints I’m sure would have been stunning in summer, but now offered little to view as the sea and sky merged into one milky grey. After a few more hours, we made it to San Sebastian and to our beautiful hotel, the Maria Cristina, a large colonial style building bordering the river. The inside was stunning too, with the lobby decked out with glorious Christmas decorations, and lovely large rooms with beds that were turned down with tiny chocolates every evening.

Having settled in, we headed out for a walk (in the rain again), this time armed with dashing hotel umbrellas. Our jaunt took us along the sea where massive waves crashed against huge rocks, splashing unsuspecting passersby. We stopped in at favourite shop Lidl for snacks (I love regional snacks!) and headed back to the hotel to try and find somewhere to dinner. Sadly, nothing within TripAdvisor’s Top 50 appeared to be available for booking, so we decided to do a pintxo crawl. Our first stop was Sirimiri for some squid croquettes, before hopping across the road for warm Spanish tortilla (yum) and ‘solo mio’ steak pintxos. Our final stop was La Vina, famous for baked cheesecake, of which there were plenty lining the bar. Definitely one to recommend.

Breakfast was once again exceptional, this time predominantly because of the stunning breakfast room which was more like a ballroom, and the churros which I dipped into Nutella (definitely not the authentic way). I was glad we had breakfast included as part of our room rate as the a la carte menu revealed an omelette would otherwise have set us back 26 Euros!

As the rain had cleared by this point, we decided to venture back along the coast again, walking beside the sands to observe the paddle boarders and hundreds of dog walkers – my kind of town. It reminded me a lot of Nice, a city I’d loved and has a really chilled vibe to it that enables you to easily pass hours aimlessly wandering along the beach with nowhere much to be. We did however have a goal in mind, this time another funicular which actually turned out to be cheaper than the cost of walking up! This provided some of the best views and certainly was much prettier now the sun was out. The top of the hill was also home to a funfair which at this time of year was pretty much abandoned but I’m sure would be very popular in the height of the summer.

Saving more money, we walked back down the hill and along the boardwalk (more dogs!) to the hotel. Due to having ‘status’ with the hotel, we were entitled to 85 Euros free credit in the Dry bar and so treated ourselves to hideously expensive sandwiches (26 Euro club sandwiches don’t sound so bad when you’re not paying for it), a disappointing brownie and a pleasant virgin colada, which was honestly one of the nicest I’ve had.

Having exhausted San Sebastian, we hit the road in the early afternoon and headed off in the sunshine until we got near to Vitoria, where we would be staying in a Parador. This refers to a state run hotel, normally housed in old palaces and the like, so we had high expectations. Ours was less grand than anticipated and didn’t look too different from your average hotel, but at least we could say it was an experience at least.

Being in the middle of nowhere, there wasn’t much to do, so we set off for a walk in the countryside which, being a city girl, wasn’t necessarily my favourite activity, although it did provide a stunning sunset as we made our way back with pinks and oranges reflected against the endless sky. We were in for another late dinner (‘tis the Spanish way) and so at 8:30 we headed to the dining room for our included 3 course menu. Frankly not much to write home about, I tried a mushroom cake, followed by vegetarian lasagne (which was actually another starter as they had no vegetarian mains) and a traditional sponge cake.

Breakfast the next morning was more promising, consisting of your usual cold meats and cheeses, breads, and even some cakes – always a good way to start the morning. We headed off pretty swiftly thereafter to Mendixur lake just the other side of the highway, which provided a pleasant little loop to walk off our big breakfasts, and again was pretty much deserted.

Our drive took us through wine country, with thousands of bodegas spanning the roadsides – I’m sure you’d have no trouble finding somewhere to do a bit of wine tasting. Our destination was another of Gehry’s masterpieces, this time the Marques de Riscal hotel, a vision of purple-y twisted steel in the midst of a small sleepy town. We arrived at an unlucky time, with the next tour in English not for another 4 hours. Rather than risk an 1hr and a half tour in Spanish of which we would understand approximately 10%, we decided to find a loophole of how else to see the hotel, and figured this could be done by visiting the cafeteria.

Sure enough, they buzzed us in and we headed up to the gorgeous hotel, taking plenty of photos on the way. The food prices were not actually as extortionate as expected so I opted for patatas bravas (I’m seeing a theme here – I promise my diet isn’t entirely potato based) whilst other party members went for the cheese board, salmon, and chocolate cake. This was a great way to get up close and personal to the hotel and saved us a little bit of time and money rather than going for the organised tour (although you do get wine tasting at the end of it!).

Having filled my camera roll with more photos than I can count, we left the hotel and wandered through the neighbourly sleepy village of Elciego. Life certainly moves a lot slower here and the only inhabitants we saw were lazing about outside of the local bar enjoying a glass of wine. A lovely way to live but perhaps not something I could stick at for very long! However I can imagine how pleasant it would be to while away the hours soaking up the sunshine and a nice refreshing drink.

Our final leg of the journey was en route to the airport via a number of pleasant villages like Logrono, Briones and its historical architecture, and Haro at the heart of the Rioja trail. No doubt a better route than one along the highway. At the end of it, I do feel like I have seen a good chunk of Northern Spain, and undoubtedly spent some of the cold winter months in a far better location than back home. There’s plenty of culture to be found in this corner of the world, and no doubt I’ll be back to explore even more of it soon.

Tips for visiting Northern Spain: Check the weather forecast! This applies to any and every trip – whilst we had anticipated sunny climes, alas this was not the case so it is always good to be prepared with hats, gloves and umbrellas if the need calls for it. If you’re an avid reader of the blog, you’ll know we’ve been caught out by bad weather before in the Netherlands so this is always a key watch out for me! Secondly, embrace the local culture and cuisine. I may well have spent the whole time not knowing that such a thing as pintxos existed but what a great way to ‘do as the Romans do’. A pintxo bar crawl should definitely be on your list! Finally, travel around. Bilbao is a great city to entertain you for a few days but this stretch of Spain has so much to offer – make sure you see as much of it as you can!

 I hoped you enjoyed today's travel blog! I'm slowly but surely thinking of travel plans for 2018 but would of course love to hear any recommendations you may have, both near and far afield! What are your travel plans for this coming year? Drop me a message in the comments below or on Twitter @CiarasCountry and stay tuned for more upcoming travel blogs soon!