The final days, the final installment

Gijon, an industrial coastal town on the north coast of Spain was our final port of call on the seeking summer mega holiday.  .

 Although there weren't too many signs of summer remaining there was just enough sunshine to enjoy a bit of time on the beach and some strolls around the town to find some good bars to enjoy the local speciality-cider. This speciality is all the more special because of the way it's poured-check out this YouTube clip to see what I mean.





After a short hop back to the UK (Yep, Spain one hour, London the next), we had some last minute family and farm time, soaking up the country atmosphere and enjoying the benefits of staying with family i.e. home cooked meals, unlimited access to a washing machine, amongst other things of course!

Taking a little stroll around the farm

We then spent our two final nights in the Motherland in London doing all last minute things needed to be done when moving countries including, but not limited to, drinks and shopping!

Lego!  (Except the small child)

Our final port of call before returning to Sydney was two nights in Hong Kong where we tired our fingers with constant use of chop sticks for tasty food and tired our legs with lots of exploring the streets, the markets and the islands.

 

 Here is the link to some more photos of our final days away

 

That's it for the Move to the Motherland-our year abroad has come and gone and we're now settling back into life in the land of Oz but watch this space for the next adventure...

Barcelona and the Basque Country

Barcelona 28^th-30^th August, 2012

We couldn’t visit Barcelona for a second time and not go to La Sagrada Familia.  Three years ago the queues were horrendous and the interior not complete but this time round we arrived early to avoid the queues (not entirely possible, we still waited for 30 minutes) but at least the interior had no scaffolding and at a glance, seemed complete.  Just to see the sheer enormity of Gaudi’s project close up was worth the wait.

A spot of shopping (Danielle empty handed, Julz, an entire new outfit) and some tasty tapas made for a well-rounded trip.

San Sebastian-Donosita 30th August-2^nd September 2012

We loved, loved, loved San Sebastian!  It rose above all expectations as a hectic tourist haven for English holiday makers and instead was a beautiful old city with a lovely, long promenade along a golden sandy beach, two great green headlands and countless little bars offering ‘pintxos’, the tapas like snacks for which the region is famous.

Not having perfect beach weather, we took the opportunity to hire some bikes and explore the area a bit more including one of the headlands.  We were a little too adventurous, choosing to ride up the hill of said headland rather than take the funicular-more than one rest break was necessary! 

We were also able to spend loads of time wandering the narrow lanes of the old town, crossing the river to admire the surf beach and enjoy gelato and explore the other headland and its castle ruins.

Vitoria-Gasteiz 2^nd-4^th September, 2012

Quaint, classy and quiet is how one might describe Vitoria-certainly our time here suited the description, especially arriving on a Sunday!

 We filled our days wandering the medieval town, admiring the restoration of the old city walls and of course, sampling more pintxos and local wines.

This turned out to be a great R & R spot with the relaxed pace of life in the provincial capital of the Basque country (not to mention European green capital 2012!)

Bilbao 4^th-6^th September, 2012

For the final stop in our Basque country tour we hit the big one, Bilbao.

Its prized possession, the Guggenheim Museum was at the top of our list and took up the bulk of our time in Bilbao.  The galleries and their contents were interesting but the structure itself was most impressive!

The obligatory wander of the old town provided some picture postcard moments as well as some more opportunities for pintxos and the trip up the funicular to a hilltop location gave us a chance to see just how big the city is.

 

Here are some more photos of these parts of Spain.