Spain: Day 9

Poor Andrew was still recovering today, but he feels much better than yesterday.  The weather in SS wasn't great, so we took the opportunity to drive to Bilbao to the Guggenheim Museum, which a dear friend recommended.  It really was incredible.  Even if we had only seen the outside, the drive would have been worth it, but we went in as well.  Unfortunately, we couldn't take photos inside, but here's what the building looks like...but first, Madeline and Andrew playing this morning before we left :)

Here is the Guggenheim:

This was a humongous dog statue covered in flowers in front of the museum

Madeline enjoyed her stroll around the building

The ceiling of the lobby

We aren't yet sure what our plans are for dinner, but if we get a second wind and do something fun, I'll check back in.  If not, we should be back to normal tomorrow and I'll post some more foodie pics.

Spain: Day 8

Unfortunately, the trip caught up with us today.  Andrew wasn't feeling well most of the day so we laid low.  Once he felt up for going out, we browsed the San Sebastian aquarium and then had a little dinner.  Not many photos, but here are a few:

Harbor near the aquarium

Looking from the aquarium back to the city

We should be feeling better tomorrow and are looking forward to seeing more of SS :)

Spain: Day 7

Today was our drive to San Sebastian!  The countryside was beautiful with an ever-changing landscape, but actually arriving in San Sebastian was the highlight.

Upon arrival, we took a little (needed) rest before we hit the streets :)

Our hotel is a bit off the beaten path, but still quite good.  We have a decent walk to the middle of town, but this is what we found when we arrived:

Charming old streets filled with amazing pinxtos bars!  We started at A Fuego Negra with fried sea anemone, among other things.

Our next spot was a traditional place with pinxtos all over the bar that you just grab and eat while standing (or sitting if you can find a spot).  We made some lovely friends from Australia during our bites here!

The last stop was this little spot (I don't remember the names of any of these places because 1) We visited several, and 2) they're all spelled with Ts and Xs and I have no hope of ever knowing how to pronounce let alone spell anything.

The first few hours in this place were fantastic.  We can't wait to explore more!!!

Spain: Day 6

Our luck with the weather finally ran out.  We woke up to a grey sky and chilly weather, but it was perfect for our plans, so we hit the streets.  We first walked to Sagrada Familia and walked around the block to take in the entire structure, which is enormous.  The photos don't nearly do it justice.

The building has been under construction for 200 years and isn't expected to be done until 2030.  As you can see, there were cranes everywhere and it was being worked on as we walked around.  It's an entire square block of gothic architecture with a bit of playfulness.  It's difficult to see, but there are small touches of whimsy all over the place.  I'm so glad we got to see it.

From there, we walked a few blocks to Bardeni, a small restaurant Andrew was super excited to try.   On the walk over, we happened upon a legit ham shop.  They had all their credentials hanging on the wall alongside their ham!

We considered doing a tasting, but we didn't want to ruin our appetite for Bardeni, so we got a small package to go and off we went!  

At Bardeni we enjoyed a mozzarella and tomato salad, artichokes with foie gras, sardines with sour peppers, some lovely cured beef and onglet (a small cut of steak).  Oh boy was it good.

Decor in the restaurant

Sardines

Artichokes and foie

Cured beef

Onglet

After lunch we strolled to the Gothic Quarter and hit the Picasso Museum.  No photos were allowed, so I can only tell you that it was very interesting.  It turns out Picasso spent quite a bit of time in Barcelona and many of the works in the museum were done of places in and around Barcelona.

Madeline started to get a bit cranky near the end, so we booked it back to the hotel for a bottle and some play time before she went down for a nap.  Dinner tonight is at Bodega 1900.  Should be great.  We'll check back in afterwards to let you know how it went.



Oh mah gawd.  Dinner tonight at Bodega 1900 was unbelievable!!!  Every single thing we had was better than the last.  And what we started with was fantastico!!!!

Mad before we left

Inside the restaurant

We sat in front of the kitchen where they constructed the cold dishes

razor clams

regular clams

fresh oysters with foie gras

baby squid

tomato salad with...

tomato consume (with a tea bag of mint, tarragon and juniper)

calamari hot dog!

vanilla cream on crunchy pastry with strawberries

This was only part of the menu.  Literally every single thing we had was amazing.  The best meal we have had here by far.  We're starting to see why this city is considered such a culinary destination.  

When we returned, Madeline had some dinner and we watched a bit of "football" and then packed.  We're off to San Sebastian tomorrow!  Can't believe it's almost half way over already.  We will try to check in tomorrow, but if not, the next day for sure.  Xoxo!!