pintxos, pintxos, and more pintxos.
One thing that's great about going back to school is that I still get vacation. And it's even better when you have friends who work in tech and can take a week off with you. For my week off in April, Allison, Zach, and I planned a road trip through Spain, leaving from Bordeaux. We didn't want to drive too too much because we wanted to have time to explore and relax [and eat all the pintxos]. So we met up in Bordeaux, drove to San Sebastián, then onto Bilbao, then onto Pamplona, and then back to Bordeaux.
On Saturday morning, I met Allison and Zach at the Bordeaux airport, where we picked up our trusty Clio for the week. We got ourselves to the autoroute and headed south. We stopped for lunch in a little beach town for our first taste of vacation - tapas and white wine, complete with sun hats for Allison and Zach. We continued south the San Sebastián, where we met our Airbnb host and set up shop for the next few days. For me, this trip would be one of the first times I saw the sun and enjoyed nice weather, so I planned to spend as much time in the sun as possible. Lucky for me, Allison and Zach were game as well. We wandered around the city before picking up provisions for dinner and settling in.
View from our apartment, San Sebastián, Spain
Our time in San Sebastián was full of pintxos, pintxos, and more pintxos, punctuated by wine, beer, and coffee as well as the occasional card game. We even did a pintxo tour, during which they took us around to the best pintxo bars, where they ordered the specialities. To say it was good is an understatement. We had amazing foie gras pintxos, chorizo pintxos, and scallop pintxos, plus everything else. There were too many good ones to choose from. We also did a day trip to Biarritz and St. Jean-de-Luz where we enjoyed burgers followed by macarons. We even managed to find some espadrilles! But Zach decided that they weren't for him, so only Allison and I bought pairs.
From San Sebastián, we drove onto Bilbao, stopping along the way for a photo-op at a Game of Thrones filming location [I forget the name!]
In Bilbao, we settled into our Airbnb and played cards on the roof deck while sipping local beer. For dinner, we ventured into the center of town and had [you guessed it] more pintxos! The next morning, we got an earlier start and headed to the Guggenheim, in an attempt to avoid the crowds. A few exhibits were closed, but the Richard Serra exhibit was fascinating.
Once in Pamplona, we waited for Airbnb host and then followed him [in our Clio] through one-way [it's unclear if they really were], windy streets until we got to our apartment. We unloaded our suitcases and then followed him to his family's home, where we parked our car for the remainder of our time. What was nice about the towns we visited is that once we parked we really didn't have to drive anywhere. After walking back to our place, we set out to find ice cream, which we had yet to have! The next day, we wandered around the old city, ate breakfast in a square while watching children play at recess. We then walked to the old walls of the city and enjoyed numerous hands of cards and sandwiches. For dinner, we tried two different pintxo bars, which were both amazing.
We decided to take the long way back to Bordeaux in order to drive through the Pyrenees, which I will say was worth it. Even if Allison and I both got a little carsick.
Once back in Bordeaux, we settled into our respective apartments and then met up for dinner, after which we got ice cream at my favorite place and walked around the city before getting a good night's rest. The next day, we had an appointment at Château Pédesclaux for a tour and tasting, which was super cool. For our final meal together, we went to one of my favorite wine bars, where we enjoyed a charcuterie plate and foie gras and many different tastes of wine. The perfect way to end a perfect trip. Looking forward to our next adventure!
