The Great Euro Trip of 2022 Pt. 6

 Reaching Bordeaux, we immediately boarded the boat (ship?) and began our cruising up and down the Garonde and Dordogne rivers.  First stop was Libourne, but St. Emilion was the first tour.  We went rogue with Miriam hiring a taxi to take us for lunch at a small cafe she found on a previous trip.  Lunch was fine, but it was the desert to die for...  Grand Marnier soufflé!

After lunch, we walked around the town...  spectacular views of the village and surroundings.

 And a nice side street...  note the dog that seemed to wander all over the town, pooping in inconvenient places. 

Part of the tour was an underground church.  Pics were hard in the dark, but here are a couple signs describing the site, a feature of this medieval, romanesque village.

The next day, we walked around Libourne.  Let's start with the town hall.

The city hall is at a large, central square.  Below the square is an amazing market.  Every kind of food, meats, fish, veggies, baked goods, prepared foods that you can imagine...  in this huge, underground space.  Way too much to photo, and I couldn't find a good link,  but I would have bought one of everything...  Wandering around I found a very unusual store front, but a pic of this will have to wait, stay tuned...

The Great Euro Trip of 2022 Pt. 5

 On the way to Bordeaux, we stopped in the town of Bayonne.  Quite frankly, I don't know what distinguishes this place.  It has the obligatory cathedral (every town in France with more than 10 people has a cathedral!).  Sorry to give Bayonne such brief consideration.  Here are a couple street scenes.

We did get lunch at a small cafe where we had delicious crepes.  Then I went across the street to a chocolate store and bought a bar of 100% cacao.  Quite a cheek puckerer...

Now off to Bordeaux...

The Great Euro Trip of 2022 Pt. 4

 

San Sebastian is a popular tourist stop and it's easy to see why.  A beautiful place.  These shots are from an amusement park above the city.

Again, our intrepid duo.

And from another part of the city... 

You can't escape Jesus...

And his church...

San Sebastian features Miramar, the escape residence for a past Queen of Spain.  The story is long and complicated (and involves royalty currently avoiding prosecution by residing in Dubai).  Clicking on the signs hopefully will fill you in.

On the "main drag" of old San Sebastian, I was surprised to find all these flowers in bloom.  The weather had been cold and rainy, so thank you flowers for your persistence.

San Sebastian hosts a number of Michelin starred restaurants.  We couldn't afford one of those, but we did have a wonderful meal on our last night at this modernist dining establishment.

Now off to Bordeaux...

The Great Euro Trip of 2022 Pt. 3

On the road to San Sebastian...  a brief stop in Getaria.

 Getaria is a small, quaint little fishing village, known for a famous dressmaker (I missed the dress museum and went walk-a-bout).  And it was lunch time...  we are talking FRESH here...

I loved the narrow streets...

And the dress designers house, found by random chance...

Not a fashion maven, I was unaware of Cristobal Balenciaga, but click on the link for more info.

Getaria also features a prominent, if not large, bastion. 

Then there is the wonderful shoreline.

A welcome stop on our bus to San Sebastian.  Pretty good gelato, too!

The Great Euro Trip pf 2022 Pt. 2

 Day trips from Bilbao edition:

First, to a memorial park above the city.

The Basque area was hit particularly hard by the fascist Franco regime during the Spanish civil war and WWII.  Lives lost are commemorated by this "thumb" sculpture and memorial.

Then it was off to Guernica with its replica of the famous Picasso mural, another memorial to the fallen, and inside the Basque area government hall.

The Basque area enjoys a special relationship with the country of Spain (notwithstanding the separatist movement).  Residents of the area pay taxes to the Basque government, who in turn pays a share to the Spanish government for the country's expenses.  Most signage in the area is in both the Basque language and Spanish (and some English).  Then there are the Catalonians...   Spain has it's share of issues, that's for sure.

Following the river from Bilbao to the sea, there is another area on the other side of the river with a long history.  A UNESCO site is the old bridge transferring people, and later autos, between the two river banks.

We had lunch at a nice cafe with some wine sampling.  First, a beautiful, high quality paper napkin graced our table.

Then a sampling of local wines.  Rioja is the standard red of the region.

Back to the center of Bilbao, and it's time for the big attraction...  the Guggenheim Museum!  My feeble pictures can't possibly do justice to this magnificent structure.  But here's a couple shots anyway.

And a couple inside.

And our illustrious duo...  keeping our masks handy...

Outside is the famous puppy sculpture...  pronounced "poopy" by the locals.

The day ended at a fine cafe in the old town section of Bilbao.  We were served by the best waiter ever.  The Victor Montez, with an interesting history (click on the link) is a great place to enjoy a meal (and opens early for those of us not used to Spanish meal times!).

That ends our time in Bilbao.  Off to San Sebastian.