Kevnjan's new adventure.

Thurs. 9th. May. After our thoroughly enjoyable stay in the country, we left our site on Sunday morning and continued our scenic drive through the Asturian countryside. We drove along the northern coast of Spain and finally settled on a wild camping spot by a river, next to a beach just west of Llanes. We spent a peaceful night there but next morning got an early call from the Guardia Civil.Good as their name, they were very polite and had the good manners not to disturb us until after 8am. The weather had started to deteriorate on Monday and by the afternoon it was cool and cloudy and we drove up to the small town of Zumaia, recommended by my new Swiss friend. It’s a charming place, with a pretty harbour and a river wharf. The beach is supposed to be excellent but we didn’t walk to it as it was too far in the rain. We parked on an aire, overlooking the river, surrounded by industrial units, one of which seemed to be fabricating objects out of steel. At midnight some clown was banging steel with a hammer or similar object, waking us up and generally making life uncomfortable. I was too lazy to move the van and the noise eventually stopped around 1am. If anyone reading this is tempted to stay at this aire, I would draw attention to the above. Needless to say, we moved on next morning, Tuesday, being Jan’s birthday. It had been my plan for some time to celebrate in San Sebastian, a place I’ve wanted to visit for many years. We arrived on an aire there around 10.30 am and after a phone call to Anthony, we set off for a day on the town. The beach and seafront are a joy to behold. Without a doubt, we had saved the best of Spanish seaside towns until last, a perfect place to enjoy a birthday!! Shame about the weather though, although it was warm, humid even, there was a drizzle in the air which was persistant an annoying. Eventually it eased and we settled on a cafe terrace, overlooking the beach and drank our first coffee of the day. The architecture along the seafront is very art deco and we spent some time picking out our houses of choice in the unlikely event of an enormous lottery win. We walked on to the old town, wandered around just enjoying the ambience and look of the place, and before we knew it it was time for a drink and a snack. We selected a pintxo (Basque for tapas) bar and ordered two outrageously concocted mini feasts which were delicious and a work of art, pictures below. Mine was enhanced with a glass of vino blanco, Jan was happy with another coffee. What a treat. The bar was full of character – and characters! After a little shopping and more gawping at the picturesque streets we couldn’t believe it – lunch time. We went to a basement restaurant, recommended in The Lonely Planet guide and enjoyed a three course gourmet meal, whiled away almost 2 hours and remarked that it was the first recommended place we had found which hadn’t closed down before we got there!! Quite the contrary, it had obtained a Michelin star since the entry, another first for us!! Very special. Lunch over we walked out onto the street and found the sun had come out. We headed for the beach and walked along paddling in the sea. The day kept getting better. I was very pleased, managed to keep Jan amused on her birthday without the help of grandchildren. After meandering around some more and spotting a nude sunbather (male) on the beach, which was an extra present for Jan, (she was very impressed – not a white bit in sight.) we eventually got back to the van around 7.30pm. A full day, we found it was warm enough to get the chairs out and watch the world go by. A good day!! Wednesday morning was dull and wet and we decided to make a run for France. We’ve planned to spend some time beach hopping up the west coast, on our way to Le Havre. The weather is not good at the moment, grey and showery. Hardly beach weather. It had better get better!! The pictures are of Jan's gastronomic birthday and fabulous San Sebastian.