We flew out of Barcelona to Bilbao on the northern coast. We opted to fly for an hour over an eight hour bus trip. The weather was quite thundery and showery and we wondered about the flight, but it was fine. We got to our backpackers and James was there to meet us, and I think quite pleased to see us.
He had flown in earlier from Heathrow. The plan was to head to Noja – a known surfy spot and spend the week together relaxing and reacquainting. We picked up a rental car – a few challenging days driving on the opposite side of the road! Georgia was elevated to the navigator position – so that meant James and I shared the back seat driving. It was still wet when we got to Noja. We had a nice apartment complete with kitchen and washing machine (we were thinking of you Annie!!)
So it was nice to spread out and have some space. Not so good was the sofa bed for the parents! The weather wasn’t great, but the kids did manage some surfing on a couple of days. James even had a lesson that he thought was worthwhile. One day we took the car for a spin and went exploring. We finished up parking and taking a local ferry to Santander – the biggest city in the province. We wondered around the city, but didn’t time it well – it was seista time…
Our week was soon up and it was time to drive back to Bilbao and return the rental. We had hoped to go to the Guggenheim Museum that is a feature – but it was a Monday so was closed.
James flew back to London and the travelling threesome headed to San Sebastion en route for France. The weather still wasn’t settled so we had lots of walking in heavy showers. It was a lovely coastal place – but the backpackers wasn’t!! No sleep, (party central) hot water or wi-fi. I think we are getting too old for this lark!
Anyway one night soon passed and we were heading back to the train station for our next leg to Hendiye on the French border. The train took 30 minutes and we were suddenly in France – no customs, checks or fanfare. Georgia was most upset – not even a stamp in her passport!!