Category Archives: getaways

katharine

30 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways

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On my second night in San Sebastián was taken out by Gabriella’s lovely colleague and “right hand” Katharine from Tenedor Tours. Katharine and I have “known” each other by email for awhile now, so it was nice to put a face to the name, but really especially nice to be in her company for the evening.

I was taken to bars I hadn’t previously been to with Gabriella, and the surprise dish of the night was the pork snout salad. We had a great time, talking about food and wine, and some of the history of San Sebastián and the Basque Country… but also about pets, hair, back problems and WHATEVER. You know, just like on the best food tours ;). Hoping that Katharine will visit Sevilla soon so I can return the favour.

bilbao bites

28 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by in getaways, travel, trips

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Travelling in August, and especially arriving on a Monday, is not great for finding places open. At least half of the recommended pintxo bars on my list were closed for holidays. Perhaps because of this we found the food a bit uninteresting (and very mayonnaisey!).
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We fared better at Casa Rufo (below), a restaurant that was recommended by my landlord. Cosy ambiance, great staff, delicious food and wine… AND we got to sit down. 😉
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bilbao & san sebastián getaways

16 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in getaways, spain, travel, trips

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So it won’t be long before I head out on my second week of summer holidays. This time to places I have NEVER been to before. Bilbao and San Sebastián. Well, okay, back in May 1992 I did pass through San Sebastián on my way to Spain from Bristol, but we couldn’t find anywhere to spend the night where we could safely unload all the crap in our car (all my worldly belongings), so we moved on.

Fast forward 26 years and I will be visiting these two fabulous cities with friends and also with a lot of great local advice as to what to see and – of course! – where to eat. All those little black stars you can see mapped out are recommended places to eat. And yeah I know, won’t get to most of them, but I love having that comfort factor, knowing I don’t ever have to experience a bad meal somewhere.

The other stuff – monuments, museums, etc – are much easier to sort out. And it looks like I’m even going to be going up a fucking funicular in Bilbao (eek!). But I am really excited about this GETAWAY because they are places I don’t know and have always wanted to visit.

Meanwhile, don’t worry about the cats. A cat-loving friend is coming to spend the week at Casa Azahar and make sure everybody is sufficiently fed and cuddled. And my friend is also looking forward to a WEEK WITH CATS.

Does anybody else have any late-summer travel plans?