Thursday, October 12, 2017

Snippets from San Sebastian, Spain

Tuesday October 10, 2017

Leaving Barcelona,  the neighborhood bakery opens early so commuters can have their fresh baked baguette or pastries for the day...



...while the sanitation crew washes down the plaza after the weekend festivities.



Early morning rush hour in Barcelona



The surrounding vineyards awaken with the sun.



A stop to see the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar and the Roman built bridge in the university town of Zaragoza



In the Plaza square, three drinks of choice in Spain.. caña, vino ó Cola.



Even panhandlers can have fashion style...



Next, a rest stop in Pamplona where the annual San Fermin festival 
starts with the running of the bulls. Iruña is the Basque name for Pamplona.




As close as Amparo is going to get to a Pamplona bull.



 The famous statue dedicated to the Running of the Bulls.



 On the ground floor of this building is where Hemingway toasted the night away in Pamplona.



Finally arriving in San Sebastian as the sun drops on the horizon. 



 Next day, off to see the famous Guggenheim Museum of contemporary art in Bilbao



Wrapped with a skin of titanium and stainless steel, 
the structure glistening in the morning sunlight.



Amparo looks cool next to the outdoor sculpture...


...that reflects the surrounding neighborhood.



A jazz musician floats a melody that he hopes will garner a few coins for his efforts.


Returning to San Sebastian, we drive along the northern Spanish coast.


Wash day in a small Spanish village.



Overlooking La Concha (Seashell Bay) San Sebastian, Spain



As the sun sets on our final day on the northern coast of Spain.


Tomorrow we drive to the Spanish capital, Madrid.

On the road again....

CCjon




7 comments:

  1. Didn't spot the caña drink, bet its sweet! The Spanish do seem to have some fancy looking churches, cathedrals and basilicas!

    I like the colors in the last shot.

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    1. Thanks Dom. Caña is what they call their draft beer in northern Spain. I don't remember hearing that word in the South.
      There does seem to be a concentration of large catholic churches here, but then the a religious war between christians and Moors lasted for hundreds and hundreds of years here.

      And now in the last decade it seems to have reawaken worldwide: Moors against everyone non-muslim.

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  2. I was in Pamplona for the Festival in 1967, Was going to stop overnight until we realizrd what it was. Spent 4 days there, lot of fun but I just watched the drunks running with the bulls ! Doug

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    1. Thanks Doug, that must have been quite a a four days. I guess sober people don't run with the bulls...

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  3. The Northern Spanish coast and La Concha! That scenery is absolutely gorgeous!! WOW! Definitely will be on my travel list. Is it the pictures or are Spanish cities super clean? It is interesting, living in such a young country like the US, we forget there are places across the ocean that have so much history and LIFE. I think this can only be appreciated when we make the effort to travel to these places and see the old world with our own eyes. I really appreciate you taking us along this trip and reminding us that there is an entire world out there ready to share their story.

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    1. 10LE, all of the Spanish cities we have seen are very clean. No trash or plastic bags littering the streets or landscape. Tourism is a huge, HUGE business for Spain, so they go out of their way to make sure you enjoy your time here.

      The Spanish population is 47 million, but there are over 76 million visitors coming here each year making Spain the number one worldwide travel destination. A lot of tourists are changing their plans, coming here and staying away from the troubled spots.

      We don't remember hearing much about San Sebastian before, but there are ships that go back and forth between here and England every week. It's not that far for them.

      Thanks you for following our wandering tale, or is it trail. Its not over yet.

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  4. My friend Guy in Luxembourg writes:

    "Guggenheim museum is all titanium. Polished and anodized. ( was my job for 35 years.) anodizing in different Sulfuric acid concentrations gives different colours to the titanium. Maybe there is some Stainless in the frame, but the “shiny” plates are all titanium.
    Same architect did the Hotel of the Marques de Riscal wineyard in La Rioja."

    Thanks you for the clarification Guy. I any and all appreciate the feedback.

    CCjon

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