After the big Dune we went to a lovely seaside town called Moliets where we did a little surfing (and I discovered my new flippers seem to lack the capacity to make me into a super surf pro!) and then later in the day whilst cycling (again!) my rear tyre suffered a catastrophic blow out!! This was a near death experience for me (well, not really but it felt like it). Any way this changed our plans a little as we now had to find a shop who sells Brompton rear tyres............
Next day.......... in Anglet, just a couple of miles North of Biarritz we stayed at an Aire near the surf beach, did a little bit more surfing (even more scary this time!) and contacted Brompton in the UK to discover that the nearest dealer to us was in Spain!!!
Next day...........yup, we drove to San Sebastian to buy a new rear tyre. As it happens we were always intending to go to San Sebastian anyway so we just brought forward our trip. Once we had walked nearly 3 miles into town from the Aire we found the shop..........HOORAH! only to discover that they had NO tyres in stock! I think the look of dissapointment on our faces (or was it our open display of crying and falling to the floor?) convinced the man in the shop to remove a tyre from one of the bikes in the showroom and sell us that one......HOORAH!!
Two hours later we were zooming around San Sebastian on our bikes like it had never happened!
San Sebastian is beautiful, especially the old quarter. The beaches are stunning and provide for safe swimming on one and scary surfing on the other. The old town is full of bars and restaurants that sell (allegedly) the best Tapas (Pintxos in Basque) in Spain. We had some and it was divine! (but at around €3 a pop so it should be).
We ended the day having walked around 6 miles in the morning, cycling around 10 in the afternoon, then walking another 5 in the evening to go to the Tapas bars!!..............Phew!
I have failed to mention that the traffic and roads in this part of Spain are HORRENDOUS.......... with confusing, last minute turns, lights, roundabouts, crazy kids on mopeds, crazy taxi drivers and just busy busy busy! The drive into San Sebastian is through a massive industrial area and compared to France the driving is just plain horrible.
We left San Sebastian this morning to make our way to Col d'Ibardin where we are now. It is a lovely place about 1000ft up in the Pyrenees directly on the France/Spain border. The views are beautiful and the shops sell loads of yummy Basque food. After a couple of days here to recuperate from the stress and strain of city life (haha) we will begin our journey further South along the foothills of the Pyrenees.
Oh, before I finish with a few photos, I must just mention the weather................FANTASTIC! it is still hot and sunny, around 25c and blue skies!
Our 'Night Stop on Moliets Plage
Kates first 'Foon' (you can see she lacks my grace and elegance!)
San Sebastian Bay
The harbour in San Sebastian
Me and Kate (Ah!)
Just me (hehe)
Old Town
A San Sebastian Foon
The view from our van today!
The Aire in Col d'Ibardin
A Pyrenean foon (seriously, what did you expect?)
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