Atlantic Spain

On 23 July we headed south and into Spain and to another favourite city, San Sebastian. San Sebastian has great sandy city beaches to enjoy during the day and the best Tapas Bars in the whole of Spain to enjoy late into the night. The old city, ParteVieja is pedestrianised and from about seven in the evening everyone trips from bar to bar drinking beer, wine or local cider and and sampling tapas (Pinxtos in Basque language) each served on a piece of baguette or Racciones; larger portions served in small pottery plates. We also loved the  thinly sliced Jamon Iberico; the aged ham made from pigs that are fattened up on acorns; the best regional varieties we thought, coming from Bellota or Jabugo. There are quite a few Michelin starred restaurants here too, but we were always too full on tapas to get around to real dinner.If you consider yourself a bit of a foodie, you need to visit San Sebastian.

We watched the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in a campsite bar in Luarca and also got to see some good live music in town the following night. On the western tip of Spain is O'Coruna; not much of a place for tourists though. Santiago de Compostella kept us busy for a few days; pilgrim watching and wine drinking mostly, with enjoyable Olympic coverage of Spanish athletes on TV. We enjoyed the Wine Festival in Cambados; home of the popular Galacian white grape variety Alberino and visited the River Minho  area; home of the other Galacian wine varietal Ribeiro.