rohan and ainslie: tales of surburbia: holiday? what holiday.

it hasnt ceased to amaze me this week just how quickly all that good feeling generated from a three month holiday can dissapear back in the reality of london. to be fair, it isnt entirely london's fault...alot of the holiday vibe was lost on the hideous 'cruise' from bilbao back to england (think wetherspoons (or an rsl) + associated clientele on high seas) i felt sick for all sorts of reasons.

we shouldnt complain too much either because for our first week back, rob and amy very kindly offered us their spacious, lovely room while they are in oz so we have been saved from staying in some overpriced, rat infested hovel (we owe you guys big time)... and the weather hasnt been too bad, in fact, on our drive down to EG last week, autumn was putting on a show that was as stunning as anything we have seen in the last 3 months.

but still, finding somewhere more permanent to live, looking for work, the tube, pre-made sandwiches and darkness at 4pm is not making me the most relaxed and happy person on the planet. so i am going to finish off posting the last of our holiday pics to try to bring back that holiday feeling :)

hmmm...i think we were in portugal...and it would be remiss of me not to mention the pasties de nata (aka portuguese tarts (in australia anyway)- rohan tried to order a 'portuguese tart' once we had crossed the border but they had no idea what he was talking about) which were amazingly good... we had to restrain ourselves.

but anyway, we left porto in the rain and headed east towards basque country.
we stopped briefly in leon and stayed at one of the better budget hotels of the trip because it was freezing! that was a bit sad because 1) i had finally got my legs waxed in porto and was ready for some warm weather and 2) we realised that it was unlikely that we would camp again on the trip and we hadnt properly said goodbye to our tent - our home for the last 3 months - or goodbye to the earwig family that had also set up home in the tent too and travelled through europe with us....i guess they are setting up home in the car now...hmmm

after leon we drove through the basque country -gorgeous country with rolling green hills down to the coast that actually reminded us alot of ireland - to biarritz in france (we would come back through spain to catch the boat). biarritz was a bit fancy for us but it was nice. although we countered any fanciness by staying in the youth hostel.

rohan putting on his new favourite jumper (had you noticed?) i think at hossegor

surf...i think again at hossegor...it was pretty nice to watch and we did alot of watching - rohan reckons it was only around 15 mins but i'd say closer to an hour. i made rohan pick the photos to post from the 100rds he took.

we then headed to donostia-san sebastian & got a great room right in the heart of the old city.

me on the tidal defence in donostia-san sebastian (yes it was cold)

urban drainage?

more surf

sun setting over La Concha (Donostia-San Sebastian)

we awoke (late) to this magical bay (La Concha because of its shape) and sunday morning soccer

another view

we managed to spend the whole day walking around the bay and took the old funicular up to this vantage point. at the top it was a bit magic mountain but the view was great.

sculpture on the headlands

natural art

unfortunately not our private pool

one for ray and marg

skim boarding (easy to kill a coupla hours watching this ;)
if you're rohan.

translucent cube of a building

the waves were a major part of our visit to northern spain - here crashing into the breakwater

what shadows do when you're not looking...

we spent the last couple of day in bilbo/bilbao famous of course for Frank Gehry's awesome sculpture of a Guggenheim...easily the most amazing building i have laid eyes on.

the titanium waves of bilbao's guggenheim

we spent most of the day wondering in and around the museum...the temporary exhibition was of the history of american art which was a bit strange to see in spain. the pop art section was great though.

we didnt actually do much more than the guggenheim in bilbao...it was cold and rainy and i had holes in the soles of my shoes. although we did eat some great food...

then it was time to head home...via the 'Pride (I very much doubt this) of Bilbao' : Halloween version (joy).

dont think this guy made it - (police raiding a car about to board the ferry)

I'm not going to say much about the trip...I spent most of it lying down with my eyes closed trying desperately not to think of the scone i ate for lunch which kept trying to resurface. by dinner i thought i might be able to handle a fruit salad, but even that was not a good idea.