This is our third time to Spain: we visited the northern Atlantic coast in 2008, Donostia and Bilbao in 2013 and now back for more. we love the nature, the food and the people and are actually repeating some of the visits we did before, though this time we will also cross to the western Mediterranean coast to visit the region of Valencia.
we leave from home around 09.30. we have not quite finished packing, so it is a bit of a rush. we try to remember that we’re shifting to Spanish time, so we don’t want to be early at the B&B anyway, but it’s hard to shake the habit of early rising and early out of the house. we have supplies : bottles of water and M&M’s. we check if the cats have enough food, if dad has the key to the house, then we load up the bikes and we’re ready to leave.
it’s a long weekend, but a working day, so the traffic is light. no issues, easy drive until the B&B. we start listening to the MNM top 1000, saved offline on Spotify. we start at number one and we’ll see where it ends. we arrive at the B&B around six. friendly English couple. we get installed and do a little walk before dinner. takes about an hour through the countryside. we see a couple of big birds, but the small ones are more noticeable, since they make heaps of noise. the B&B recommends a restaurant, which turns out to be pretty nice, serving refined food. we have our first (of many) sparkling aperitif. during dinner I see a bird flying by, with a bright blue back and an orange or yellow belly. perhaps a kingfisher? I have never seen one before, although they are supposed to live in Belgium as well.
Febe writes 