San Sebastián, Spain And Its Famous Pintxos

The Maria Cristina Hotel in San Sebastián

Glorious morning in San Sebastián

Constitutión Plaza

Glorious symmetry

Old town San Sebastián

Basílica de Santa Maria del Coro

Newlyweds

Casa Vergara in old San Sebastián

Casa Alcalde

My apologies for going silent for a while. I am still in Europe, but have enjoyed stepping away from the computer for a bit.

After a wonderful trip to Portugal and the north of Spain,  I made my way to France to my family's home in the Auvergne. There will be plenty of posts on my summer country life in a bit, I promise, but first, some photos of San Sebastián,  our last stop in Spain, and frankly, my favorite place on this vacation.
San Sebastián, or Donostia, is in Basque country, on the Bay of Biscay, not far from France..  It is a wonderful resort town, full of elegant old buildings and a lovely old part of the city, which is lined with the most lively bars and restaurants.  At night, it seems everyone stops at a bar for pintxos, little bite sized sandwiches covered with cured ham, sardines, deviled eggs, shrimps, fried calamari and all other sorts of delicious combinations.  The Pintxos are incredibly cheap, from 2.50 Euros to 4.00 Euros. The wine was even cheaper at 1.50 Euros for a great white or red.
My husband and I managed to stop at four different bars in one night, sampling both pintxos and wine. (I did have a wicked headache the next morning.)
As lovely as Porto was, I think I would choose San Sebastián to come back to. It was just so lovely.

As I mentioned, I am now in the Auvergne in France. Though we are high up in the mountains, it is currently 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which is quite rare in these parts of France.  I have been busy cleaning the garden and the house here before our first guests arrive this summer.  Please come back for photos of this year's project on our 1866 stone farm house.

Hoping that your summer is going well,
Katia

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Santiago De Compostela, Spain, The Easy Way

The Cathedral of Santiago De Compostela

The St. James shell is a symbol of the Camino and points the way to Compostella

Praza do Obradoiro

Hostal dos Reis Católicos

Monastery of San Martiño Pinario

Museum of the Holy Land at the the Hotel Monumento San Francisco

Beautiful old streets in Santiago

A modern day pilgrim in front of the city's Pilgrims Office

Certification received after completion of pilgrimage

Proper pilgrims reach Santiago de Compostela on foot along the many paths that make up the Camino de Santiago, which starts at different points throughout Europe.  We drove there from Porto, Portugal. I know...

The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, is the final destination for these pilgrims. More exactly, it is the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great, which, according to legend, contains the bones of the Saint. Together with Rome and Jerusalem, Santiago was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. Today, it still attracts pilgrims for religious and non-religious reasons. in 2018, a staggering 327,378 people completed parts or all of the way to Santiago. And the number keeps increasing every year.

To receive a 'compostela' from the city's Pilgrim's Office, one needs to have walked at least  the last100 kilometers or bicycled the last 200 kilometers to Santiago.  Along the way, one must collect stamps in a special passport as proof of credentials.

Arrived in Santiago, pilgrims gather at Praza do Obradoiro in front of the huge cathedral, where a special mass for them takes place every day at 12 pm and 7:30pm.

Unfortunately, the cathedral is currently undergoing significant renovation work, so we could only walk through a small section inside. We did however get a peek of the famous Botafumeiro, one of the largest 'censers' in the world.

Perhaps some day, we will walk parts of the camino along the French route along the Northern Spanish coast, but a visit to Compostela by car was quite pleasant as well.

Next stop on our trip, San Sebastián, Spain.

The next stop on this trip is Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. Stay tuned. If you are on Instagram, you might want to follow along in real time here.

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Last, But Not Least, A Stop In Málaga, Spain

Málaga as seen from Monte Gibralfaro

View over the Mediterranean Sea

The port of Málaga

The Cathedral of Málagua in the distance

Just one of the many pedestrian streets

The Museo Picasso in Málaga

The Palacio de Buenavista, which houses the Picasso Museum

A bronze statue of Pablo Picasso, who was born in the corner house with green shutters across the street.It now houses the Picasso Foundation.

The Mercado Central de Atarazanas in Málaga

Sunset over Málaga harbor

I only knew two things about Málaga, Spain, before we visited this city on the Mediterranean coast.
It was the birthplace of Pablo Picasso and also the native city of my wonderful friend Caro.
It was our last stop in Spain and Málaga proved to be a worthy end to a fabulous vacation.

Much larger than I had envisioned, there are some amazing museums and cultural centers here, from the Museo Carmen Thyssen Malaga to an outpost of the Pompidou Center, and of course the Picasso Museum, which is housed in the beautiful Palacio de Buenavista.

The commercial center of Málaga is closed to traffic and it is a treat to explore the shops and many restaurants at a leisurely pace, unencumbered by cars passing by. At night, it seems that everyone gathers here for wine and tapas. It is quite fun to hop from place to place sampling different foods, which we did.

We also ventured into the Mercado Central de Atarazanas, a covered market place that had some of the most amazing (and cheap) produce I have ever seen. And this being Spain, the selection of olives and olive oils was astounding.

The highlight by far was meeting Caro's mother, who invited us to a seaside restaurant a short bus ride from the center of town. Seafood in Málaga is extraordinary and it was a real treat to
spend an evening watching the sunset over the Mediterranean.

Two weeks was barely enough to explore the South of Spain, but we did see and learn so much. The country is beautiful and its people are incredibly welcoming and helpful. The food and wine are worth a trip on their own and compared to the rest of Europe, prices here are still very reasonable. Needless to say, we plan on returning back soon.

We are now back in Brooklyn, and will dive into our Carroll Gardens life as soon as we have unpacked and put our suitcases away.  Stay tuned. 

Thanks for coming along on this adventure,

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