Pasaia and San Sebastian

Today, we took a tour to the Basque towns of Pasaia and San Sebastian. Pasaia is made up of four small villages; we started our tour in San Juan, then crossed the river to San Pedro and the Albaola museum and factory.

San Juan is a very pretty little village, with a lot of history. We walked through much of it on our way to the dock for a trip across the river to San Pedro.

Hundred year-old chimney from the porcelain industry
Saint John the Baptist
Fishin’ on the dock of the bay
Victor Hugo slept here!
Lafayette embarked here!
Franco ate here! (Casa Cámera was one of his favorite restaurants)
Time to cross the river to San Pedro
Farewell, San Juan (Donibane)
Albaola (The Sea Factory of the Basques)

Albaola was fascinating. They are actively restoring old ships, ranging from a 16th century whaler to a late 20th century tuna fisher. They use materials and tools appropriate to the time period, so they have resident blacksmiths and weavers (well, no weavers on Sunday).

Blacksmiths at work

Old ferry boat, was crewed by women before the 20th Century.

Nao San Juan (16th century whaleship replica)

We left Albaola, sailed to meet our bus, and drove into modern San Sebastian for a walking tour and lunch.

San Sebastian’s best hotel
Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
San Sebastian Harbor
Fountain near central bus station

After the tour, we drove back to the hotel to pack for our departure to León tomorrow. We took a riverside walk after dinner for one more look at the Guggenheim.

Guggenheim Bilbao by Twilight

Bilbao Tour Day

Today, we took a tour of Bilbao, beginning with a morning at the Guggenheim and ending with a walk through the Old Town.

F. O. G.
The Matter of Time – Richard Serra

The Guggenheim has a rotating “in situ” exhibit; the current one is Unsettling Dust: The Body’s Archive – Igshaan Adams.

And then it was time to leave the museum for our tour, but we had to stop at the Puppy!

Puppy – Jeff Koons
Bilbao main train station
Bilbao Cathedral
Not just a portico – it’s a flying buttress
Oldest bridge in Bilbao
Academy of the Basque language