Friday March 24th, 2023
We take off in the evening and land in Vitoria around 21.00. We take the shuttle that will take us to the center. While we wait for it to leave, we eat the sandwiches, they will be our dinner. The shuttle makes a stop at the bus station and then downtown near the new cathedral. Our hotel is just a few meters away. We check-in, leave our luggage and go out for a first tour of the city. We pass near the new cathedral (which we had already seen arriving with the shuttle), we walk through some streets and arrive in the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca.
From here we go to the nearby Plaza Espana, then we go up to the Plaza del Machete and walk along one of the pedestrian streets in the center until we get to the other cathedral, S. Maria, which is poorly lit. We go back along another street and go down a stairway to get to S. Pedro, we walk along some other pedestrian streets and go back to the new cathedral and from here to our hotel. It’s now time to go to sleep.
Saturday March 25th, 2023
Today we plan to go to San Sebastian and stop in some towns on the coast. We have to wait until 9 for the rental to open, but we also want to see Vitoria with the sun. Consequently, we get up early to tour the city before breakfast. We do more or less the same tour as the night before: the cathedral, Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, Plaza Espana, S. Miguel, S. Vicente, Plaza del Machete, the Cathedral of S. Maria, the Portalon, S. Pedro. We then return to the hotel and have breakfast.
At the end we go to the rental and pick up our car, a Fiat 500 Hybrid. The highway is quite expensive, we make a first stop in Bergara, a town with a center full of medieval palaces. In the main square a cycling race in extravagant costumes is starting, there are not many participants. We see, among others, the Royal Seminary, the town hall, various palaces, the churches of S. Pedro and S. Marina. Not far from Bergara is Loiola, home to a famous sanctuary.
We turn around and enter the church, Mass is ending, we wait a moment and then we visit it. We also see a small part of the annexed monastery. Having reached the northern coast of Spain, we stop in Zumaia, a beautiful holiday resort. We stroll along the canal to the lighthouse at the end and look at the beaches and cliffs that surround it. As we walk back to the car, big waves roll up.
Along the coast of Northern Spain
A little further on we stop in Getaria, another very crowded seaside resort. We park in the lower part of the city, near the beach (we struggle to find a place). We walk through the narrow streets of the center, all the bars are full of people, we enter the church of S. Salvador. Around 3 pm we reach San Sebastian, we park near the Kursaal and look for a place to eat something, we choose a bakery. We pass the Kursaal (a modern building), overlooking the beach, we skirt the canal a bit, we pass San Telmo, San Vincente, Santa Maria, and the beach on Hondartza bay. We leave the seafront to go inland, up to the neo-Gothic cathedral.
Returning to the car we pass by the Gipuzkoa square, the Constitution square and the Theater. Before leaving the city, we drive to Bahia della Conca and walk to Punta del Vento with its monument. Here the waves of the sea crash against the protective wall and raise high sprays. There are also some holes in the promenade, where the waves are channeled and generate a jet of water that submerges anyone who dares to approach. We go back to Victoria. It was a long day, we decide to have dinner at the hotel and postpone the night tour of the city to the next evening.
Sunday March 26th, 2023
After breakfast, we go immediately to Burgos without stops. We park near the Convento de las Bernardas and the Monasterio de S. Juan. We enter the church of S. Lesmes Abad. We cross the pedestrian streets, we stop at the Casa del Cordon, then we continue passing by the theater, with the statue of the Cid Campeador in front of it, by the Paseo de Marceliano S. Maria to arrive at the large Plaza Mayor. We return to the promenade to cross the Arco de S. Maria. Thus we arrive at the cathedral, we immediately buy the ticket and enter. The visit takes a long time, there are audio guides.
We go around the cathedral to take some pictures, it’s a beautiful sunny day, then we go up to the upper part of the city: S. Esteban and the Castillo, of which few ruins remain. There is a beautiful view over the city. We return towards the center passing by S. Agueda, the Monasterio de la Visitacion de S. Maria, the Arzobispado and return to the Cathedral and the Plaza Mayor.
We stop here for lunch: a bottle of black water (Lava brand) is brought to me which, according to the label, has never been exposed to sunlight. Later we go back to the car and go to the Monasterio de las Huelgas which, however, is closed. We can only see the courtyard and the exteriors. We move to another abbey, the Cartuja de Miraflores and here we visit inside. In the late afternoon we return to Vitoria and see the Basilica de S. Prudencio de Armentia (externally only, this is also closed). We walk around the center of Vitoria, go to Mass and have dinner.
Monday March 27th, 2023
Today’s first destination is Bilbao. Once in the city, we struggle to find parking, so we get in the car to the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Begona. After a short visit, we drive down to the lower part of the city and park along the road (downhill). A little further on we find an elevator that takes us down, near the Iglesia de la Incarnacion.
We arrive at the church of S. Anton and then we walk through the narrow streets of the center, still all in the shade, up to the cathedral, to then adorn the riverside near the Arriaga Antzokia theater. After crossing the river, we walk along part of the Gran Via to the Plaza Moyua. We don’t have enough time to get to the Guggenheim Museum because we’re running out of parking. We then cross the river on the Zubizuri bridge, and skirt it up to the town hall.
The Guggenheim Museum amd Portugalete
A short detour to the church of S. Nicola and the Plaza Barria, and we take the lift back to the car. We move to the Guggenheim Museum, unfortunately Monday is the closing day, we can only see it externally. After the external tour, with the flower dog in front of the facade, we make a brief stop at the nearby shopping center to go to the bathroom.
Before leaving the city, we reach the hamlet of Portugalete: we see the Andra Maria Basilika and go down by the river until we almost reach the Bizkaiko Zubia bridge. It’s a nice neighborhood. Our next stop is San Juan De Gaztelugatxe, a church located on a small promontory in the middle of the sea connected to the mainland by a long staircase. Having parked the car, we begin the descent, but it seems very long to us (on the other side we will then have to go up and then go back).
We decide to stop at a panoramic point, take some pictures and go back. A short distance away is the town of Bormeo, with a beautiful little port. We walk a bit around the port, we go up to the church, passing by the monument to the sailors. Then ee return to the main square and stop a little late for lunch. We head to Guernica, stopping in Mundaka for some photos at the beach. Once in Guernica, we see the symbolic tree of the city, we walk in the nearby park, we arrive at the church, we pass by the mural and we return to the car. We arrive in Vitoria in the evening, have dinner and later, we go out for one last tour of the illuminated city.
Tuesday March 28th, 2023
We get up early, we can’t have breakfast, but we ask for a picnic bag with some food and we go to take the bus that will take us to the airport. While on the bus, we eat what was given to us at the hotel. Once at the airport, we pass the security checks and wait for the flight which is delayed. We land in the late morning.
Another great trip of this year was Uzbekistan
