Tuesday 10th. Back in Cahors and the Lot Valley

The journey to Cahors is not a long one but we still set off fairly early and spent our time on small roads among the vineyards.

We decided to make the detour up to the village of Tournons d'en Agenais.  Td'A is a lovely bastide village with fabulous views over the surrounding countryside.  It is part of the pilgrims route to Santiago de Compostella according to the large church.  The small square is charming and full of pots of flowers.  We stopped for a coffee (along with some other Brits) .   I have a feeling it is one of the villages in our books on the prettying villages in France and I can imagine it deserves that accolade.

We arrived in the Lot valley at Puy l'Eveque and we have definitely stopped here before but felt it was worth another stop,   However, along with Condom it seemed to have suffered slightly from the recession in France as many of the shops were closed down.  However, it was nice to wander round and we had some good views of the Lot below.  We headed out for our lunch just across the bridge to a cafe on one of the banks of the Lot.  We both opted for a salad de Quercy which inevitably comprises pâté de fore, walnuts and smoked duck breast and very good it was too.

We finally reached Cahors and found our hotel with the help of the trusty Satnav.  We were staying in a Kyriad just outside the town.  This is a new hotel chain to us but is perfectly serviceable although lacking in character, but just the thing for a last minute stop where the only purpose of the room is to sleep in it.

After checking in we headed into the town for a wander around and to find a suitable spot for dinner. The first port of call was the famous Pont Valentre which is a lovely fortified bridge across the Lot and is just as beautiful as when we first saw it some 40 years ago.

We then went back to the central square and settled down to a typically meal of the Quercy variety, the LLW's Mer et terre plate comprising the inevitable pate de foie and smoked salmon whilst I had Ris and Rognons de Veau - all delicious for a routine centre of the square restaurant. 

Monday 9th inland to Condom en Armagnac

The morning was sunny and we were treated to some wonderful views of the northern Spain coastline from our balcony before we started our journey inland to Armagnac.

After and hour or so on the motorway we took the D roads from Mont de Marsan (no mont and not very memorable) through the lovely Armagnac countryside to Condom. It really was a lovely drive with beautiful rolling countryside and virtually no traffic on the roads.

Montreal was a lovely village not far from Condom and we made a brief stop there to wander around the medieval centre.

We had stopped briefly in Condom many years ago and had good memories of the town. In common with so many towns in this parts of France it has been renovated and the building expensively restored. Those of you who visited France 40 or so years ago will remember the charming but rather tumble down villages and towns. They are still charming but are very much pristine these days. Sadly Condom has clearly suffered during the recession and lots of shops and restaurants had closed.

Our hotel Les Trois Lys could not have been more different to the one in Biarritz which was large and modern. The Trois Lys was an elegant small mansion in the centre of Condom; lovely but quite eccentric in a typical small town France style.

Just outside the cathedral was a rather strange sculpture of the Three Musketeers and D'Artagnan by the Russian sculptor Zourab Tsereteli who is famous (infamous!) for his "unloved large sculptures".

 In spite of the many closed restaurants we found a very nice bistro with outside seating close to the cathedral. It did appear to be the only show in town on a Monday!

Sunday 8th over the border to Biarritz

We awoke to a dull morning with some rain around as we started the short journey to Biarritz. A short stop was planned in Hondarribia but clearly there was an important Basque festival under way and absolutely nowhere to park! Hondarribia will have a wait a little longer before receiving an official visit from the LLW!

Once again we had used booking.com to find a hotel which this time had the very romantic name Le Grand Large. However, it was good and in an excellent position overlooking the Boulevard du Prince de Galles and the main surfing beach. Having checked in and parked the Mazda we set off to explore Biarritz.

From time to time the sun came out and we enjoyed a long walk along the Grand Plage - not quite swimming weather but very enjoyable.

There was a festival of dance in Biarritz and open air performances outside the Casino were attracting reasonable numbers of  interested onlookers.

Later in the afternoon we decided to drive the short distance to Bayonne and managed to find ourselves in the very narrow streets of the old town around the cathedral which provided some great views but did require careful navigation from the LLW. Back to Biarritz along the coastal route where we passed several vast sandy beaches. 

Saturday 7th More time in San Sebastian

Wet again this morning but still warm and  we had decided to explore all of the city on foot and after the long walk down to the old town stopped for a coffee to watch the world go by.

As we sat watching the world go by there was a street demonstration by a fairly large group of people carrying placards saying no to 150% IBI. This was also written in the sand in several places and we gather it is a protest about the government imposing a property tax of 150% on holiday homes.

Along the square was a small but very colourful market and as usual, sur le continent, the produce looked terrific. Sadly we cannot say the same about the new Kursaal across the river just in front of the Playa de Gros. The beach itself is beautiful and clearly a haven for surfers of which there seemed to be hundreds. However the building did not deserve a photo but does deserve to adopt the name of the beach.

 Clearly it's cider time at present and the festival the main square was already in full swing and nobody seemed concerned about drinking cider and consuming vast baggette type rolls relatively early in the day.

We were even treated to a very large cider barrel being brought into the square by two Oxen|

There were also a group of three men in  only their underpants (with Bilbao emblazoned on the back) running through the square, but sadly we had no time to get a photo.    

The lovely lady wife had said at this point that she was feeling a little under the weather and we decided it was time for lunch.   We selected a restaurant, again recommended in our guide book, and although it was now 1.00 there were only 2 other people in the restaurant when we arrived, although the Pinchos part downstairs was very busy.  It is clear that mealtimes are different in Spain as by the time we left, it was very full.   I had roasted vegetables with veal sweetbreads and the lovely lady wife had a piece of block de foie mi-cuit with toasts and a peach puree.   We then both skipped a main course and had a pudding.  I had the local speciality which resembled bread and butter pudding and the LLW had a strawberry dessert.  She declared herself completely recovered after that.      

We then headed back for a rest and in the evening made the 2,2 mile trip again to the old town where we walked around the port and mixed with the locals.     We were sitting having a salad near one of the churches and were treated to a procession (no cows this time) comprising men in beefeaters style hats, a band and lots of others, some dressed up.  We were unable to make our waiter understand our questions so we still have no idea what it was about, but it appeared as if the whole of San Sebastian took part in it at some point.   It is worth remembering that on the continent most people live in fairly small flats and hence will seek to perambulate outside at every opportunity (that is probably almost every evening) .   We then headed back to our hotel by taxi for our final night in SS. 

Friday 6th on to San Sebastian

Rather wet as we set off for San Sebastian so sadly the roof needed to be closed on the Mazda. Initially we took the motorway before heading off through Gernika (the Guernica of civil war and Picasso fame) and on to the very windy road along the coast.   One of the interesting things about these trips is that it does make you look up things which you may have known long ago but are now lost in the mists of time.   Our guide book has a passage on the horrific straffing of over a thousand locals at a market in Guernica and a quick review of Wikipedia reminds us that Franco ruled over Spain for some 30 years until 1975.   How things have changed in a relatively short time.  

We had booked in to a hotel on Mount Igueldo which is on the western side of the city of Donastia San Sebastian so after checking in we left the car in the hotel car park and walked down the hill and along the very long promenade.  We had chosen the hotel because it was slightly outside the main area and had easy parking, something which is always a concern with the Mazda.  In any event driving in the narrow streets of Spanish cities is very difficult from experience, even with a Satnav.   Our hotel is in fact a 2.2 mile walk from the old town so our walking shoes came out and we had a fair amount of exercise during our stay.

 Apparently San Sebastian is often call the Rio de Janeiro of Europe and we can see why  The huge sweep of the Playa de La Concha and the islands are absolutely spectacular complete with a statue of Christ at the top of Mount Urgull.

We did of course swim in the bay and it was wonderful with crystal clear water and fabulous views all around the bay.

The buildings on the front of the town are a real mixture and generally it would not be right to call them faded elegance.  They are probably a bit faded but many are a bit ordinary and a real hotchpotch of styles.  Some could certainly do with a coat of paint.  However, it is a busy city with lots of people, young, in between and old walking along the path around the bay and great fun;  plenty with dogs, including some of the joggers.  It has the feel of a city which suits those who live there but is a great place for a long weekend for those who do not.  

In the evening we headed for the old town to experience the justly famous Pinchos bars and there was no shortage of choice.    They were heaving with people.     The Pinchos come in all shapes and sizes but almost all seem to have a thick slice of bread underneath.     This can be a little too much, but we had to try.  After that, we had supper at a restaurant which featured in our guide book (and the guidebook used by many other tourists we think) and then headed back by taxi to our hotel, tired and replete, but having thoroughly enjoyed the day.   

Thursday 5th September Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar is a beautiful medieval village which is quite busy during the day and quietens down in the evenings. We stayed in a really good hotel called  Casa del Marques which was right in the centre of the village and we needed special permission to drive through the historical centre to our private parking area behind the hotel.

We had arrived the previous evening and had time for a quick walk and then a plate of very good local ham, and mixed pinchos (tapas) and local wine.   After a good night's sleep, we wandered around the village in the morning before many tourists arrived; it is really delightful and reminded us in many ways of San Gimignano in Tuscany.

After seeing the sights of Santillana we drove down to the coast at Comillas another famous village but this time definitely by the sea! After an orange juice at a local bar the clouds began to lift, the sun came out and we enjoyed a lovely walk along the beautiful sandy beach where the water was incredibly clear. 

Next we decided to experience some of the mountainous areas south of Comillas and Santillana and we drove over a fairly tortuous pass in the FFFFF to the town of Reinosa and then back via a different route. All very spectacular and wild but sadly the visibility was not that great so the photos do not do it justice.

In the evening we indulged in some local cider (quite strong) and Pinchos in the Playa Major which was very lively until the heavens opened with a lengthy thunderstorm and everyone, including us, retreated indoors.

Wednesday 4th September The Bay of Biscay

We woke up bright and early once again to brilliant sunshine and not a cloud to be seen. Looking out of our cabin window it was difficult to believe that this was the Bay of Biscay. Certainly it was just about the calmest sea I have ever seen and I doubt it is like this very often.

We were lucky to see a pod of Dolphins approaching from the starboard side and later a whale was spotted by many enthusiasts off the port side and I just about saw it surface and given a slightly better sighting I would have been able to inform you whether it was a Minke or Blue whale!

Food was good on the ferry and we found that the small self service restaurant at the bow of the ship was fine for breakfast and lunch with plenty of seating and no queues .

Now only about two hours to Santander and once on terra firma we drive the short distance to Santillana del Mar where we are staying for two nights.

Tuesday 3rd August Ferry from Portsmouth to Santander

We left Skinners Cottage in very good time with the Mazda packed to the gunnels for our trip to Northern Spain and back via the western part of France. Sadly, once again, no room left for the curlers or the ball gowns!

Beautiful weather as we drove to Portsmouth and very hot as we waited in the queque to board the Brittany Ferries vessel, Pont Aven. Definitely lots of signs of the silver dollar as numerous other people, who were obviously much older than us, had the same idea and I lost count of the open top sports cars and vintage cars that boarded.

We had great views of Portsmouth dockyard as we left at about 18:00 and HMS Victory, HMS Warrior and the new Mary Rose museum were prominent.

Very busy on board but once we had sailed for a short while the crowds dispersed somewhat and there were plenty of places to sit relatively quietly.

What was quite extraordinary was that after only a few minutes of leaving Portsmouth we left the brilliant sunshine and entered a very dense fog bank that lasted well into the channel. Fog horns blasted away but no sign of other vessels or indeed on the Isle of Wight so we retreated inside for dinner and an early night.