It is raining this morning in San Sebastian. Not heavy rain but, alas, enough to deter us from exploration of this sensational city via bicycle as initially mooted.
Instead, we walk across the river to the surf beach. The waves are crappy, although there are a few hardy souls out giving the surf a go. Sometimes some people are just too optimistic!
The damp weather isn't dampening our spirits.
We walk past the theatre with its red carpet protruding into the street; it's sadly deserted and rain-soaked. No sign of Sienna Miller or the other stars who we've come to understand have been here for the film festival. In the absence of celebrities, I walk right up those very wet red carpet steps for a glimpse into the theatre foyer. It looks really nice. Wish I could go in.
We have breakfast in the square and reflect on what a fantastic city this is. It has life and soul and history galore. Great food, great beaches, great people. Everyone is friendly, they mostly all speak excellent English and they all seem to live life with bright eyes and a genuine smile. You could go far and wide to seek and find those traits in a place/people combo.
In summary, we love everything about San Sebastián ... and, from my own perspective, I have to say that the Mt Igueldo roller coaster yesterday was a most unexpected treat of the very best kind that I will remember forever.
After paying the car park fee of €49 (somewhat nasty but necessary as we stayed so long) we drive south. We are off to the small medieval village of Olite in the Kingdom of Navarre, a place that rather took our fancy as we considered various options as to "where next?"
Firstly, we drive en route to Pamplona ..
I am driving and it is oh-so-easy on this truly amazing Spanish road system. Endless miles of fantastic 4 or 6 lane motorways, and dozens of viaducts and tunnels (mostly without a car in sight) take us across and through the hills, sometimes so high it is a wonder how they ever built them. It's a bit like driving on a skyway in parts. It is an utterly incredible roading network. Roads in the most out-of-the-way places are 6-lane highways. With no cars.
The only slight driving difficulty as I negotiate these impressive highways that take us where we wish to go is that the speed limit keeps changing often - but Connie helps keep me on my guard. She alerts me as necessary and I respond.
Once in Pamplona, we park near the iconic bull-fighting ring but it is not open for us to see inside, which is a bit of a shame.
Instead, we go through the magnificent Pamplona Cathedral. Each part of it is astoundingly beautiful, from the peaceful and stunning cloisters to the intricate spiral staircase, and everything in between. There is a special exhibition on, which has been fabulously put together, leading us through a series of rooms and giving us a historical showcase. Oh wow.
We have peeked inside many churches and cathedrals on this trip (mostly for more than a mere peek), and I've seen many many more in my lifetime. Even the tiniest village in Europe has a magnificent church. This Pamplona Cathedral is right up there with the best of the best, for sure.
After wandering through the old town of Pamplona, we make our way to the square. Brett is on a mission to find Cafe Iruna, famed for being the venue where Ernest Hemingway hung out while writing 'The Sun Also Rises'. We enter, take a seat, and have lunch in the exquisitely beautiful surroundings. It has the vibe of a fancy tea-rooms from a bygone era mixed with an old-worlde bar of yesteryear. Except I suspect they've always served more booze than tea! Like a well-made gin & tonic, good things have been blended together here to create a little bit of magic. The decor is ornate, the vibe is serene, the green and gold tones restful in a dusty sort of way. There is a statue of Ernest himself in a small disused bar area off the main dining room, along with lots of photos of him and his cronies back in the day. It all evokes everything.
What's more, for a seriously huge feed of delicious Pintxos, plus dessert and wine, the cost is a mere €6.50 each. We can barely finish everything. Even the wine. (This offering at this cost is simply not possible in NZ!)
These days the place has a contemporary air, but it still maintains its charm and you can sense the spirit of those days gone by. To eat and drink quality food in such sumptuous surroundings in a grand old city square of historical and literary significance, at such a bargain price, is bonus indeed. It consolidated my "NZ is ridiculously expensive" mantra. Big time.
We walk around the square, which is rather quiet on this Tuesday afternoon, and then we drive south to Olite.
In Olite, we find our pre-booked hotel, La Joyosa Garda, in a small cobbled street off the square. It's a hotel that's not so easy to discover and/or access by car in a village with streets only slightly wider than an ox, but after a bit of to and fro, we do eventually find it. Thanks Connie!
It's only the [very lovely] facade of this hotel that evokes yesteryear, everything behind it has been rebuilt and is modern-as. Our room is large and plush with a little balcony that overlooks history from way back. Suits us down to the ground.
We put our feet up for a bit and open a bottle of Grand Cru we bought in St Emilion. I think it would taste even better poured from a crystal decanter into silver goblets, medieval style in keeping with the surroundings - but glasses from the bathroom suffice!
As dusk approaches, we walk up to the square which is strangely deserted. A few bars are open, with some locals hanging out, but there don't appear to be any restaurants open which seems odd. There are certainly no other tourists on show.
We return to our hotel where we discover that there has been a big festival over recent days and the restaurants in town are taking a break. Bad timing for us but, Oh well, our hotel has a restaurant and it looks damn good so we take a seat.
Sitting at another table is a group of 20-something's, male and female. Exuberant and all very good looking, and speaking with different accents, I wonder if they are perhaps models here doing a shoot. They look exotic and out of place. Olite is not a destination for young gorgeous people looking for parties and I doubt these people would be here by choice.
It's actually an out of the way place, not a major tourist trap - which is really why we are here, as this is the type of place we love!
I can hear that one of the accents at dinner is most definitely Kiwi and, as he passes, I say hi. Turns out they are actors on Game of Thrones, filming for a few days in the Bardenes Reales, a nearby desert area, and staying in this hotel. It so happens that very place is our planned destination for the morning - so we discover we will get to see the set.
The actors are from Brazil, England, Russia, NZ and various other locations and they dine with their language coach (apparently they speak a special language on the show - I don't know as I've never seen it). The NZ actor is Joe Naufahu. We have a good banter.
Brett is a fan and I guess I will have to tune into Season 6 to see what they get up to in the Spanish desert! The new season comes out in April next year. Our waitress is delightful and the meal is excellent, complemented with good local wine. We leave the actors in merry mode and head to our comfortable bed.
Observation of the Day: Although I initially had some misgivings about road tripping and skipping from one town to the next, as this can be a tiring way to travel, I have to say that with the great French road system and the truly incredible Spanish one, you can cover great distances quickly. Once you get the hang of left and right transposed, and driving manual again, all is fine.
Sorting parking can be irksome but with some planning, it is an easy way to cover many miles and see a lot of the country. We are both well settled into drive-mode by now, Connie guides us well (most of the time) and the scenery is pretty spectacular all the way. By this point we have decided to abandon our original plan of going south to Andalucia (Seville, Granada etc) in favour of heading west to Oporto, Portugal. The beauty of the freedom of car travel ...
No comments:
Post a Comment