The end is nigh as the fat lady prepares to sing

 

Well, this is it. Once again our allotted time is up and we are turning our minds to heading back towards home. We recall the start of this trip way back at the end of April when we arrived in Portugal. The weather was then unexpectedly hot but this did not last as we headed for Porto and a week of constant rain. Now, here in San Sebastian, we arrived in very warm weather but next day it was overcast and this has been the story of our visit here. And the dull weather looks like it will be with us for the remainder of our stay.

 

So a slight change of plans from sun baking/swimming led us to taking a 3 hour hike yesterday over the coastal hills to the rather appealing fishing village of Pasai Donibane where we had a very pleasant meal-fish, of course. A well worthwhile walk, with plenty of up and down climbs but great scenery all along the rugged coast. After that effort there were rumblings within the tour group about taking the walk back so we found a local bus for the 15 minutes trip back home to San Sebastian.

 

 

 

Meanwhile we have also spent a day in Bilbao - a great looking gallery building- not that fussed about the art within. Actually we thought Bilbao was more interesting than expected as we had heard that it was a bit too industrial to be worth spending time there. We did only visit the old town and strolled along the river where quite a bit of redevelopment has been done but all the same we liked this town.

 

Today has been declared a rest day. We expect Yvonne will take a guided walk of the town before exploring the shops around us. Mr will finish off this blog whilst keeping an eye on things, especially on the TV. The formal part of the Spanish elections kick off today and we are not sure where things will head especially on the Left as the two left leaning parties vie for votes. There are train delays planned for the week and, as far as we know, there are problems today, tomorrow and Thursday but not Wednesday when we are planned to take the train across Spain back to Barcelona.

 

 

 

Elsewhere it seems we should all be shocked when once again one born and bred US citizen takes a few guns and kills some fellow US citizens. From the President down they remain in denial and look for reasons beyond the obvious as why they behave as they do. When will they ever learn?

 

And elsewhere again as UK football thugs do what UK football thugs always do when travelling abroad, we remain saddened for France and we are glad we are not there. Unexpectedly, the football thuggery is currently getting a bigger run locally here in Spain than the US events have.

 

 

 

Happily, there is no local coverage on the magnificent Wallabies and Collingwood football teams.

But here on the Iberian peninsula we can reflect on what we have seen and done. Our Portugal update was great and we both enjoyed our separate activities on the Algave and in the North. Morocco was quite hectic and we learned a lot in a very short time about a rapidly growing country emerging from almost medieval times. A fascinating and enjoyable experience.

In Spain we have tried to do it in a different way to what we have done for previous travels. We have slowed down by renting apartments and not using hotels and we have added time aiming to deepen the day to day experience. For us, this has worked very well and we might do more trips this way in the future as we slow down further. Although we can never be locals we have enjoyed doing as they do. Our walk yesterday was shared with lots of locals out for a Sunday family walk as well as pilgrims heading for Santiago.

 

 

San Sebastian is a fine Victorian era beach city with a blend of youngsters doing what young people do. On our last brief visit here in 2004, we were amazed by the pintxos and the old town area. Older and fussier now, we are more interested in a good fish restaurant and some unexpectedly good local wines. Tough life for some, we know but someone has to do it.

Barcelona was a definite highlight and as a new place for us, a city of immense interest. Somewhat intriguing for Yvonne, our tour guide planned to train back across Spain to fly out of Barcelona rather than flying out from this side of the country. The argument is that this is more about the journey not the destination and I look forward to the 6 hours on the train Wednesday.

Then a last night in Barcelona will see us finished. Time to go home and make plans for the next trip.

Might even cast a vote ourselves too in due course. Not that a vote in a Canberra electorate counts for anything given how far left the town leans.

 

 

 

First arrows from San Sebastian

 

Fishing villages, Victorian era resort with esplanade features. Basque gastronomy with pintxos.

Elegant shopping opportunities. Well, actually for us there is some truth in the above in the area of San Sebastian but it depends on bringing it all together if you want to realise dreams and expectations.

 

 

We left Zaragoza on a late afternoon train which dropped us off shortly after 9 pm. With day temperatures well into the high 30s, we did not exactly rush around this rather quiet but very pleasant city but we did manage to enjoy a visit to former Moorish palace of Aljaferia which is now the legislative seat for the Aragonese people and where we discovered a great little dining room hidden away. And of course we continued discovering Mr Goya before taking our leave.

 

San Sebastian is a very different kettle of fish and a city relishing its location, reputation and history. I have to confess we are having some difficulty adjusting to 'traditional' Spanish lifestyle as we understand it of late morning starts, big lunch, siesta, tapas/pintxos and late evening dining. We have tried this to an extent but not with great success. So we had some difficulty on arrival to quickly find a meal beyond tired looking tapas sitting on yet more bread. Most places were closed or just serving drinks. After a thorough touring team debate we found a small place in the old town that we could tolerate.

 

 

We are not big fans of paella dishes, having had mixed results with past experiences with this dish. There is some dissention in the tour group around the idea of standing in the small hole in the wall enjoying one drink and a tapas before moving on to the next hole in the wall for a second drink and more bread/topping etc. Unless we make tapas the main evening meal (undesirable) or want to end up the size of ocean liners, I think we have gone beyond the idea of tapas/pintxos.

 

As with our time in Barcelona we are living in a central city apartment. Another great location and a nest up to our expecations. So we can mix our eating and drinking to suit-as one has to do when on the move, as we are, over an extended period of time. That part of the trip is working out very well.

 

 

Yesterday was also warm here in San Sebastian. After the obligatory visit to the markets to store up for the week, we took our walk along the esplanade above the long beach where there were plenty of people enjoying the sun. We gave pintxos a miss before having dinner underground in a small local restaurant. Day over.

 

So now we are settled in and ready to explore further and try to make the most of our remaining time here. The weather is distinctly cooler today and we have had a little rain.

 

And the news seems to be much the same. Hilary on the way up. Brexit, Brexit, Brexit. Spanish elections. Football starting in Paris which is in a mess. Floods now retreating, rubbish everywhere due to strikes, airlines in a mess due to the annual summer pilot strikes, trains on strike, French people still fiercely resisting any form of adjustment beyond the 1960s. What a waste.

 

 

 

And our Queen just keeps on leading our Empire to further glory seemingly forever. We can't wait to get home in time to meet our own democratic obligations.

So where have all the people gone?

 

After zipping along at 250 kph on the train from bustling Barcelona, we are having a short break in downtown Zaragoza along the way. Very impressive central city area. Very clean, huge tree lined avenues.  Wide streets lined with well presented shops and coffee/eating places, huge catholic structures obviously designed to intimidate us mere ants on the planet.

 

But where are all the people?

 

 

We are in a great hotel with plenty of friendly staff. But it feels almost empty. Terrific buffet breakfast for just a few participants. Yesterday, only a relatively few people out and about-maybe it was still siesta time.

 

 

In our spare moments we have taken in some english speaking TV. Most of it must be some sort of media joke as what passes for news these days is almost endless trivia. Nothing on BBC about European floods but film coverage of water in a remote gorge in some out of the way spot on the planet called Tasmania.  BBC coverage of long dead Margaret Thatcher fans longing for a return of greatness in Britain, including the almost inevitable interviews with an aging spitfire pilot and the usual right wing, public school educated clown, still defending the empire against those continental huns. Long may they wait or perhaps they will sink further soon

 

 

A channel change to Russian TV and an interview with an overweight Kevin R opining about Chinese agression and the counter threat from an Australia doubling its defence budget. Who pays this clown to tour the globe listening to himself?

 

In desparation, another channel change only to get screeching Hilary. Switch off.

 

 

We are now heading into very warm weather in Spain-over 34 degrees today. So we may have to slow down a bit as we explore the city from Roman ruins, through Moorish times and of course Mr Goya who left a bit of his work around here for us ants to regard.

 

 

So now we are part of a problem

 

 

So how does it feel to be part of a problem? We are here in our rooftop small apartment in the very much residential Born area of central Barcelona, just a few minutes walk from city hall and the cathedral area. The weather is terrific and not a bit like that now being experienced in France/Germany/Czech Republic/Austria/Croatia where floods are devasting these countries and peoples' lives.

 

 

But here we are part of the floods of tourists enjoying history, galleries and Gaudi. Not really understanding the pressures that we are apparently placing on residential rental prices for locals.

 

 

La Rambla is jammed with tourists and Indians flogging rubbish so we have generally avoided that area and this city seems to be one of the few places frequented by Americans in numbers these days. The major attractions have tourist number limits in place and we opted out of a visit within Park Guell (Gaudi) as there was a three hour wait in front of us.

 

 

My other beef for today is cameras, especially those being used by younger Asians as they preen before monuments, shops, street scenes with cameras set on multishot or taking endless selfies. Not to be outdone, one young woman on the chairlift yesterday had her camera taking a video while taking photos on her iphone at the same time! We are different to that of course.  Just here to learn about as others live.

 

 

 

 

Having said all that, we are enjoying the lifestyle and compactness of a really interesting city with endless enticing bars, cafes and restaurants, little shops and the obligatory patisserie. Without us, it must be one of the better places to live on the planet (as long as you have a job). The Sagrada Familia was fascinating and Mr Picasso has a museum just down the street from us that we enjoyed seeing. We have also visited the monastery at Montserrat and simply enjoyed taking our time to live amongst friendly people. We are now fully relaxed and recovered from the Moroccan tour and preparing to move on within Spain in a day or so.

 

 

 

And with the magic of internet we are keeping up with happenings down under. Not missing it much though. Now what was I going to do next?