We were so happy to be back in the Hotel Londres y Inglaterra in San Sebastián where we had stayed in August of 2019. The purpose of that cycling tour had been to remember my cousin Judy Bolton with some of her friends, and at that time all of us had loved the city, its spectacular beach and bay, and its Basque influences.
The hotel is old school elegance – there are definitely more expensive hotels in SS – but this one holds a special place in my heart. The staff were incredibly accommodating with the bike storage, getting us water, and doing laundry. (You can only handwash your jeans and BVDs in bathroom sinks for so long). We went for a long walk, found a pintxos cafe where we had dinner, and then came back to the room to research what we wanted to do when we reach the Loire valley next week. It’s high season in Château country, and you’re advised to pre-book tickets. Hotels, we’d already secured because this chiquita wants to know that she has some place to put her head at the end of a long day of riding, but I was damned if we were going to be in the Loire and miss seeing the motherlode: Chenonceau.
Tuesday morning, Election Day in the US, John found us a nice 30 km route to ride (and to distract us from thinking about you know who.) It had been a week since we’d been on the bikes, since we had been driving only while we had the van. It turned out the ride was ridiculously hilly but completely worth it because the view from the hotel on the point on the west end of SS is breathtaking. Back at the hotel, John did a little preventative maintenance on the bikes (oiled chains) then we swam in the ocean and enjoyed the late afternoon sunshine. Long shadows and a very cool breeze reminded us that it’s November.
For dinner we found the anchovies-only pintxos place I remembered from our trip five years previously. I was in heaven. See the photo. We watched the news coming from the US then called it a night.
Except… both of us at various times during the night were checking election results. And you know how all of that turned out.
Wednesday morning we had an absolutely glorious 66 km ride along the breathtakingly beautiful coastline from SS into France to Bayonne. It was definitely hilly – Biarritz surprised me – and it will remain as one of my favourite rides ever. At the Hotel Villa KOEGUI in Bayonne, John set up tech. (Bike batteries, walkie talkies and phone batteries into their chargers, etc.) and I found a Carrefour Express for a bottle of wine, some Coke for John and then a master baker in his patisserie where I bought some exquisite, very buttery (hullo, France) cookies for the birthday boy. For dinner we walked until we found a place that looked and smelled tantalizing. Pottolo Cuisine Artisanale et Gourmande. Suffice it to say, John had Baked Quail stuffed with Pork Cheeks. A meal to remember.
Thursday, we had an uneventful 60 km ride to Dax, a very small town. I’m catching up on the blog, deleting a million unwanted photos, and the birthday boy is listening to math and music-arranging software videos. (Of course.) I’m excited about tomorrow’s destination: Mont-de-Marsan. We were there in May but this time we have a reservation for their Michelin restaurant. Good thing we’ll have to pedal 70 km to get there. I hope there’s some gateau for the birthday boy.
A note from John about cycling in Europe. IT’S GREAT. Most of the time we’re either on dedicated bike lanes or paths, or on secondary roads with very little traffic. Occasonally we find ourselves on a busier road, but an ample paved shoulder allows traffic to pass fairly smoothly. Nobody gets mad. Over the thousands of kilometres we’ve cycled, we’ve perhaps received two impatient horn honks.
AND – the bike lanes and paths seem PERMANENT. White line markers, painted bicycle graphics, fantastic barriers, dedicated signalling, and well marked and safe curb cut crossings. In comparison, Toronto’s bike lanes always seem temporary – like they’re installed hastilly, with awful looking bollards, orange pylons and concrete curb slabs. The pavement within the path is usually broken up and full of tire piercing debris. Cyclists in Toronto have no protection from impatient drivers making right turns, and parked construction and delivery vehicles force dangerous diversions into traffic. There are exceptions (Queens Quay, Dundas East), but on the whole it’s a nightmare.
And now the Ford Government is hell-bent on removing our bike lanes and preventing the installation of new ones. Why does Toronto seem to move backward (bike lanes, Science Centre, Ontario Place) when the rest of the world embraces valuable and progressive things that enrich our lives?
Patti here again: I completely agree with John. How could it be that we cycled so many kilometres over the past two days, from one country to the next, 95% on bike paths that were well protected. And they were BEAUTIFUL
Because we returned Ann-the-Van one day early on account of our Valencia re-route, we had a credit with the car rental agency. Today we made a donation to the flood relief efforts for seniors in the flooded regions in southern Spain. From what I have been reading, people are frustrated and disappointed with the Spanish Red Cross, so the donation was to “Age in Spain”. They’re boots on the ground. You cannot believe the devastation wreaked by DANA. Our hearts are breaking.
One final note: I began this post by talking about my cousin Judy as the reason why we went back to San Sebastian. Judy was Canadian but spent her adult life as a professor, living and working in Chicago, her adopted city. She loved America and she would be absolutely livid and heartbroken with what just happened in American politics. Her spirit is with me.
