Santiago de Compostela

We take the road to Santiago de Compestela after two days in Bilbao, and the weather changes from grey skies and showers to torrential rain, which is a real shame as this road hugs the coast on one side and the mountains on the other.  Just short of 600 kilometres over seven hours driving on a fantastic autovia the road goes up hills, round hills, down through valleys following the coastline but because of the weather you can't see much more than the road ahead. We will have to do this route again and hope for better weather next time.

 Santiago what a super place, the old town is not very big, you can walk round it in about half an hour, from one side to the other in about ten minuets. The building above is The Convento de San Francisco built in the 16th. century.

The Igrexa de San Miguel des Agros, not as old as it looks, built in the 19th. Century.

The Pazo de San Xerome built in the 15th. century home of the Vice Chancellor of the University.

The pilgrims to Santiago stand on this spot in front of the Cathedral, gazing at the building housing the remains of St. James. No pic it was covered in scaffolding - as its around 900 years old it requires a bit of tlc from time to time.

We had decided not to bother going inside, thinking the inside of one looks much the same as another but the heavens opened so in we went-maybe that was a message of sorts. What a surprise!  

This I think must be the Nativity Scene of all time.

More scenes of the Nativity.

The Altar, with a statue of St. James, the pilgrims walk up some stairs behind the Altar to embrace St James.

A side chapel showing the symbol of  Compestela in the top right hand corner.  

The scallop shell - coquille St. Jacques. The symbol is shown on all the routes leading to Santiago de Compestela.

Brantome to Bilbao

Christmas and new year festivities all over, we start our journey south to warmer climes.   Our first stop is Bilbao to visit the Guggenhiem Museum.

The drive to Bilbao 482 kilometers  and took six and a half hours with two stops for coffee and lunch, a bit boring on the French side, mile after mile of pine forest. More scenic on the Spanish side but by then the rain had started to fall and you couldn't see much at all.

We stayed at the Zenit Hotel in downtown Bilbao and that turned out to be a real gem. Wonderful evening meal and the breakfast was quite a feast.

The Guggenhiem! Well not to sure what to say about this place, the building was something else, the exhibits inside underwhelming to say the least, perhaps what ever you put inside can't compete with the building itself.  Bits of funny shaped stone, metal boxes with lids that don't close, huge paintings if that's what they are - not our cup of tea I'm afraid.

So - some pics of the outside - which I think is the best part.

This dog is the star of the show.

The downtown area of Bilbao has some wonderful late nineteenth early twentieth century buildings.

Late twentieth century building, doesn't look out of place next to one from the fifties? And the green one seventies/eighties maybe?

Some sights in Devon.

We have just returned from a trip to the UK, visiting the county of Devon and Somerset in the southwest of the country, a first for both of us. Would you be leave that in twelve days there it only rained once, I think,that was a first also.

Our first night, The White Horse Pub, about an hours drive from Bristol airport.

The Bar

The menu. The perfect place to stay for our first night back,in England, pub grub and real ale, well I had real ale, as we were in Somerset Ruth decided to have the local brew, draft cider.

The North Devon coast, quite spectacular. The South Wales coast can just be seen in the distance.

Caught sight of this lovely old Morris 1000 Traveler in one of the many villages we drove through.

Now in South Devon one of the many islands just of the coast at Torquay.

Looking north towards the Dorset coast.

Old double decker bus doing the tourist bit round Toquay.