Professor Sharon

Goodness, I really don’t know where to start, and the days of touring are incredible long, so tiredness sets in at this hour of almost 11 pm.  We began today at 7 am, getting our bags outside the door of our room, down to have an incredible breakfast, and onto the bus.

Today’s schedule had us on the bus for about 3 hours; getting to stop at a very local truck stop for a coffee (of course) and the rest room.  We did it yesterday as well because the rules about the bus driver needing frequent breaks are very strict here.  Apparently, they carry a chip in their bus that records their stops and rests, etc. and they can be fined for not following the rules.  But, we were glad for the stop as well!

We drove from Santiago de Compostela to Santander, then onto Bilbao.  In Santander we had a lovely tour of the downtown, and a summer “palace” built on the sea by Alphonso (the something – can’t remember – oops!).  We had lunch in a restaurant nearby situated on the 9-hole golf course that he built.  The food was phenomenal.  We have not starved on this trip, and are likely to come home about 5 pounds heavier, even with walking nearly 5 miles a day with the touring walks.

On the way to Santander we drove along a long stretch of the Camino that the pilgrims walk and saw many on their trek.  I’ll try to post more in a separate entry about Santiago – it’s a very moving place.

We arrived this evening in the Basque Country and are staying in Bilboa.  A fabulous city by night for sure.  We’ve seen the Guggenheim lit up along the river and crossed an amazing footbridge.

Here’s a few pictures from the last few days that I promised you last night, and the internet connection was too slow:

Octopus for your eating pleasure! It’s really good here!

The front of the 500 year old hotel we stayed in for 2 nights – Santiago de Compostela — right next to the cathedral!

One of the many beautiful streets we have walked this past week.