Is Spain on your bucket list?
It was for us too. We were very fortunate to be able to travel to Spain in February last year for the very first time. On that previous trip we visited the region of Andalucia: Seville, Cadiz, Ronda and Grenada.
As you can imagine, we fell in love. The people, the culture, the towns, the weather, the scenery. We were all in … except for one thing. We didn’t love the food.
Gasp, I know. Who doesn’t love Spanish food? We learned later that while Spain is renowned for its cuisine, Andalucia is not the best representation of that.
Fast forward to this year. While searching for another February locale to get us out of town over mid-winter break, Spain flight deals popped up. Less than $500 round trip to fly right into Bilbao from Seattle? Even though February weather in northern Spain is iffy at best, we booked it.
I never dreamed I would be creating a Basque country itinerary for my family … but thanks to a lucky flight deal, there I was.
Creating our Basque Country Itinerary
To be honest, I did not know much about this area of Spain before planning this trip. The ONE thing I did know, however, is that this region in particular is widely praised for its top-notch restaurants and unique cuisine.
(Fun fact: As a Dietitian I have become aware that Northern Spain and Portugul now have a new name assigned to their unique dietary preferences: The Atlantic Diet.)
Forming an area known as the Southern Basque Country, where, in fact, the Basque language is still spoken by many, this region within Spain has three main historical territories: Bilbao, San Sebastian and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
The Northern Basque region is separate but connected and lies within France. You can easily reach this area by car or train from Spain if you want the full Basque experience.
We chose to stay entirely within Spain, mostly because there was so much to see and do in a quick one-week trip!
The Route We Planned
While initially I wished to pop over into France, I quickly realized there is just so much diversity and culture within Spain that we would have to drop something in order to make it all work.
The Rioja wine region, just south of Bilbao and San Sebastian, seemed very intriguing and I thought it would be a shame to miss. So we decided to make a loop of sorts to make the most of our limited time.
First, flying into Bilbao would allow us to take in a few sites on the 2-hour road trip over to San Sebastian. I planned 3 full days in San Sebastian (this would end up being two when we actually arrived; more on that in the full trip details), then we would start hopping around to see a few cities in Navarra/Rioja area, before heading back up towards Bilbao for our flight home.
I planned the final day to explore Bilbao, leaving that busy and bustling city for last.
I should also let you know that we are small town people. Whenever given the chance, we opt for smaller towns and more intimate experiences over large, bustling cities.
You will notice we did not visit Pamplona, for example. If the bulls were running and the stadium was open for tours, sure, we probably would have stopped. But as it was February, we opted to head south and visit smaller villages for a different experience. Pamplona will be there next time.
Another note is that every time we travel for mid-winter break, we end up traveling on my older son’s birthday. That affects my planning as well, as naturally I want to make that day super fun and super special. 🙂
Building the Itinerary
With all these pieces in mind, I got to work.
First things first, I always build a spreadsheet. Spatially, this helps wrap my head around what I want this trip to look like and how to space things out.
I know people have all sorts of ways of planning trips, but my spreadsheet tends to look something like this:
Sorry it’s so tiny, but you can basically see that I jot down confirmed plans, ideas, and general flight/transportation details.
Some of these ideas never happened, but I typically leave them on there in case plans change and suddenly these wishes may actually come to life.
And here is what we ultimately came up with. Proof you can do northern Spain in a week or so, but I’d recommend more time if you can!
Our One-Week Basque Country Itinerary
Day 1 (Friday): Flight day, arrive next day
Day 2 (Saturday): Arrive Frankfurt 8am, make connecting flight to Bilbao. Drive 2 hours to San Sebastian, seeing sights along the way
Day 3 (Sunday): San Sebastian
Day 4 (Monday): San Sebastian
Day 5 (Tuesday): San Sebastian
Day 6 (Wednesday): Soren’s birthday! Drive to Olite for castle and Escape Room.
Day 7 (Thursday): Drive to Logrono and other small towns in Rioja
Day 8 (Friday): Drive to Haro, visit wineries
Day 9 (Saturday): Drive back to Bilbao, spend afternoon in the city
Day 10 (Sunday): Fly home
Once the skeleton framework was in place, I spent the next several months slowly researching accommodations, restaurants, and top sights. Read on if you wish to get a day-by-day account of how our trip actually went, with links to our Airbnb stops and favorite restaurant finds, and then get ready to plan your own Basque country itinerary!
Day-By-Day of our Basque Country Itinerary
Day 1 & 2 – Flight Day!
Friday, February 16 – Saturday February 17
First time flying Lufthansa! Our flight plan included a direct hop over to Frankfurt, then a “quick” connection to Bilbao. Easy peasy.
I just want to point out before diving into Day 1 drama that first, I’ve never been to Germany, and second, did you know how big little ol’ Frankfurt airport is? Holy moly, do not underestimate this place. It looks simple on a map, but when you get there, you realize it’s a frickin’ maze.
And the worst part is there is no efficient shuttle system between gates. To reach one side of the airport from the other, you have to take elevators or stairs down several floors, literally walk under the runways, and then pop over to the other side and repeat back up. And THEN you walk what feels like a mile further to reach your actual gate.
Why does this matter? Because Lufthansa sold us a ticket with a 1-hr connection window. This is not a lot of time in any airport, especially overseas, but practical me thought, they wouldn’t sell me this flight itinerary if they thought we could’t make it, right? The connection gates must be close. Insert laugh emoji.
So combined with us landing 10 minutes late, then parking our plane out in timbuktoo and having to wait for a shuttle to take our entire flight to the terminal, that ate up well over half of that time.
I started sweating. I always sweat in airports.
Once our feet reached the terminal, we started running. We are not “running in airports” kinda people, mind you.
It’s now 1am PST and our poor, confused (and sweaty) bodies are running through Frankfurt airport.
Friends, I will make a long story short. We were not successful. At some point we decided it was a better bet to let Jason sprint ahead, and so we grabbed his bags and hoped for the best.
As we finally come trudging up to the gate, feeling like we just ran a 10k with weights at midnight, there was Jason, shaking his head in disappointment. We were sadly turned away. German efficiency. They would not wait.
Thankfully they had already re-booked us on the evening flight. All was not lost, but it did leave about 10 hours to kill. AND, more importantly, this really screwed up my all important itinerary!
Changing Plans – A Day in Germany
In typical VenHuizen style, within minutes we came up with a new plan. We would spend the day in lovely Frankfurt, stay the night in Bilbao once we arrived late that evening (instead of driving straight to San Sebastian) and basically shift our itinerary by a day.
While the kids sat in the terminal somewhat pale faced and dazed after airport sprinting, I immediately got online and booked us at the Holiday Inn, less than a mile from the Bilbao airport.
Btw, shout out to Holiday Inn, one of the FEW hotels that will let all 4 of us stay in ONE room. And it was clean, beautiful and totally affordable. If you find yourself near the Bilbao airport, I highly recommend.
At the same time, Jason immediately got to work revamping our car booking.
And then I informed our Airbnb host that sadly we would not be showing up that day as expected, but that we would be arriving just a day late.
Phew.
Frankfurt
While I did envision this scenario happening to be honest, I had done zero research on anything related to Frankfurt. I had NO idea how to fill the day, let alone even how we get ourselves into town.
Aren’t we all thankful for smart phones in cases like this?
BUT, to help matters more, Lufthansa kindly let us check our bags for the flight early … and for free, and the seemingly grumpy desk lady, understanding our predicament, started writing down how to take the train into town, where to get off, and what to see.
Wow, don’t mistake the German seriousness as unfriendliness. They are extremely helpful … and efficient. Although figure out your airport Frankfurt. I understand your general love for long treks, but maybe a shuttle?
Despite operating on almost no sleep, the bright, overcast day kept us going. As many of you already know, the best remedy for jet lag is to get outside. We strangely felt “ok” most of the day.
After a few hours of walking we trained it back the airport. Honestly, not much to see in Frankfurt apart from the old town, so we returned early and let the boys grab a nap in the Priority Pass lounge.
With much less fanfare we successfully made our 8pm flight and arrived to Bilbao, finally, just shy of midnight.
Just to add more adventure to the day, the last hotel shuttle for the night had just departed, so, being the cheapskates we are, we chose to walk rather than grab a taxi.
Poor kids. 20-some hours of travel, only to arrive in Spain, horribly jet lagged, and now basically backpacking a mile via road margins and the ditch, then down a grassy knoll, with our gaze set on the shimmering sign of the Holiday Inn. It was a sight.
Wanna vacation with us?
Day 3: Coastal Drive and Arrival to San Sebastian
Sunday, February 18
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
Trust me friends, things get better. This was us, a little bit bleary eyed on our drive to San Sebastian, making a quick stop at San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. 100% worth a stop on your road trip over. Apparently this was used in a scene from Game of Thrones?
San Juan de Gazteglugatxe is about a half hour drive from the airport and does lengthen the overall drive time to San Sebastian, so take that into consideration.
Normally you are allowed to walk up the narrow, stair-studded path to the small chapel, however the path was closed for maintenance the time we arrived. Bummer! But still, stunning scenery and a great day to be out on the coast.
Lekeitio
Next stop on our coastal tour was the small town of Lekeitio. Many reports described it as a quaint fishing village with expansive views and good food. The family agreed it was worth a lunch stop.
Lekeitio is just over an hour’s drive from San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.
While we were eating, we noticed three crosses looming in the hillside behind us. If you look just up to the right and squint real hard, you can faintly see what I’m talking about.
Jason spies them too and says, somewhat joking, “You wanna see if we can go up there?”
Me: “Yes, please.”
After lunch we explored and indeed found a trail. If you stop in Lekeito, I highly recommend this post-meal hike. It only takes about 15 minutes and there are crosses dotting the path the entire way up. Look for the path and the crosses starting behind the church.
With lunch and another hike done, we were ready to head to San Sebastian, another hour more past Lekeito.
Airbnb – Gros
First stop in San Sebastian was our Airbnb.
There are many popular areas to stay in San Sebastian. The city is divided by a river, with the Old Town and center on the one side, and the quieter and more residential Gros on the other. Most travel sites are going to tell you to stay near Old Town. While convenient for pinxto bars, I’ve already had my fair share of “central” Airbnbs that are noisy and expensive.
For us, Gros seemed like the better option. Airbnbs were slightly cheaper, and I even found one with free parking. It you bring a car along, budget for about $30/day for the local overnight parking garages. Our Airbnb choice clearly saved us some $$.
Plus, you are basically right in front of Zurriola Beach which is a fun place to watch surfers, even in winter, and convenient to many local walking paths, including the coastal hike we would take the following day.
Once our easy check-in was complete, we hit the town for exploring and pinxto bars.
So much good food! Compared to our experience in Andalucia last year, THIS was the food we were waiting for. Interesting flavor and texture profiles, lots of seafood, and a noticeable lack of pale, fried foods.
And since I already had a list of delectable restaurants to choose from, thanks to hours of research, pretty much everywhere we went was spot on.
Pinxto Bars in San Sebastian
If you are just starting your own San Sebastian research, here are a few of the spots we visited and loved. You literally cannot go wrong with any of these. Even if crowded, every time the servers were lovely and somehow people always made room for us.
Bar Sport, Bar Txepetxa, Bar Espiga, Bar Espiga, Casa Valles, Casa Urola, Bar Nestor
And a few we had on our list but did not have time to visit:
Casa Valles, Bar Ciamboga, Ssua, Ormabazal (was closed during our visit), Bar Antonio, La Vina (famous for Basque cheesecake) was closed during our visit)
And by the way, the reason I’m not specifically linking to most of these restaurants it that many of them don’t have official websites. Just search for them in Google Maps to find menus, reviews and directions.
Just a few of the amazing pinxtos from our time in San Sebastian:
Day 4 – A Chill Day in San Sebastian
Monday, February 19
Mt. Urgull
Given the craziness we had over the previous 48 hours, our first full day in San Sebastian was a chill day. We spent the morning wandering the town, finding the best coffee, and walking up Mt. Urgull to catch the overcast views.
Coffee
Best coffee, you say? Well nothing in Europe is quite like Seattle, sad to say, but here are my recommendations. The first is more American style, with prices to match, and the second is more classic Italian and probably the least expensive cortado I’ve ever had.
Lunch was at Bar Sport, which the kids absolutely loved. We also found a great wine store on our walk home, with an interesting assortment of Spanish wines, which made for easy happy hours at our adorable Airbnb.
The evening consisted of more pinxto hopping, of course, and a night walk around Mt. Urgull.
Day 5 – A Jam-Packed Day in San Sebastian
Go For a Run
Tuesday, February 20
Jason and I started our day with a sunny run along the water. If you are runners, here was our route:
Starting in Gros, we ran alongside the Zurriola Beach path, across the bridge towards Old Town, and then around Mt. Urgull on the easy-to-find walk/run/bike path. After coming all the way around, keep following the roads/paths to the neighboring beach, La Concha Beach. Follow that path as long as you like, then turn around to retrace your steps or weave yourself back home a different way.
Bar Nestor
So this pinxto bar deserves a category all of its own. For lunch, we decided to attempt a reservation at the renowned Bar Nestor, famously known for its potato/egg tortilla.
So what’s all the hype? The lure of the tortilla is not only reported to be the best in town, it is only prepared twice daily by the owner, and hence is in limited supply. Scarcity will increase the intrigue, am I right?
With no more than say 20 slices (some websites claim there are only 12 -16, but there sure seemed to be a little more than that), each tortilla slice must be reserved in advance. And IN PERSON only.
The procedure? Reservations begin at the Bar Nestor window at noon sharp. Arrive early to get your place in line. How early? Probably depends on the season. We arrived at 11:40am and were third in line, but mind you this was February. In other seasons some people arrive as early as 11am, so plan accordingly.
Once your name is handwritten on the list, return at 12:45 sharp when the tortilla is distributed. At that time you can order any of their other popular menu items that you like; it’s only the tortilla that requires this elaborate system.
Hike: San Sebastian –> Pasaia/Pasai Donibane
With our bellies full, next item on the agenda was a coastal hike that came highly recommended. Leaving Gros and heading east, it follows part of the Camino de Santiago, taking you to the towns of Pasaia and Pasai Donibane, or as others call it, Pasajes de San Juan. As long as you keep following the signs to Pasaia, you will be on the right path.
The hike winds its way over Mt. Ulia with incredible views of the coast. It’s not terribly difficult terrain but there is some elevation in certain parts. According to Strava we clocked in a little over 5 miles, which was longer than I expected!
Once you reach Pasaia or the pier of Pasai San Pedro, the real fun is taking the tiniest of boats across the narrow channel over to Pasai Donibane.
The ferry costs $1.10 euro each way. BRING CASH.
To get home, easily catch a bus to San Sebastian or, if time allows, hike your way back. It was getting late in the day for us so after a quick beverage stop in town, we quickly found the bus stop and took the easy way home. It dropped us off right in front of Zurriola Beach.
Day 6: San Sebastian to Olite
Happy birthday Soren!
Wednesday, February 21
We awoke to a beautiful day and sadly our last bit of time San Sebastian. I don’t think any of us wanted to leave. Would have been nice to have that one extra day we missed at the start, but alas, travel is like the tide. You just have to go with it.
But first, before heading out of town, we had to find a present for Soren! We are the worst sometimes. On past trips I’ve packed a small gift in tow, but this year … I had nothing. You try finding a gift for a 15-year old that doesn’t care for shoes, clothes, sports teams or music. I was at a loss.
The day before we had run across this special rubber duck store. While kinda corny, I thought maybe this was the ideal gift: something small, high quality and unique. The perfect way to remember his trip.
We ended up purchasing a matador duck (fitting, yes?), and after a final walk around town, with a pit stop for coffee and pastries, we were on the road to Olite. More birthday fun was in store.
The drive was mostly uneventful, just a short 90 minute drive. What was “eventful” was finding something for lunch. In the towns where we stopped, most things seemed to be closed. We couldn’t determine rhyme or reason. It was a Wednesday.
So, we pushed on to Olite and decided to find food there. After a quick meal from one of the few open restaurants just outside of town, we ventured to our accommodation, La Atalaya hotel.
La Atalaya B&B
This is a GREAT spot, and SO affordable (at least in February). It is located directly across from the fancy Parador del Olite (another great place to stay) and the incredible Royal Palace (aka, the castle) ; they basically share the same courtyard area.
The Parador is actually quite reasonably priced as well, but given it had a very strict cancellation policy and breakfast was not included, we opted for the more casual B&B option.
The owner was incredibly friendly and served us a wonderful breakfast at the restaurant just down the street the next morning. AND, our room overlooked the castle and the Parador! It was lovely.
If you are anywhere near Olite, add this hotel to your Basque country itinerary.
Olite Castle/Royal Palace
I’m not going to lie, this was the main draw of this quaint, little town. What better way to celebrate your son’s birthday than to explore a medieval castle? Teens are hard to please, but I figured this might do the trick.
It did not disappoint. We ran all over that castle, up and down stairs, and in every room possible. We climbed the highest turets and got a birds-eye view of the surrounding countryside.
You can check hours and ticket prices HERE.
Also, this is where we figured out the mysterious reason so many shops were closed. It was a local holiday! And in lieu of that, the castle entrance was free. FREE. I love free.
Olite Escape Room
Another draw for this particular town was the rare fact that it offered … wait for it … an Escape Room! And with an English option to boot. You bet I booked it. What teen doesn’t like an Escape Room?
If you end up in Olite, definitely look into the Olite Escape Room.
We had a hilarious time! While I sadly have zero pictures from our experience, trust me, it was the best. The owner/operator was a hoot, and we got just enough clues to help us solve the puzzle and save the day.
Dinner at the Parador de Olite
To conclude my son’s big day, I booked us dinner reservations at the fancy Parador de Olite. There are not a ton of restaurant options in town, so I thought going a bit high-end for his special day was the best choice.
I rarely have negative things to say about places we’ve been, but I’m sad to report our food experience was not ideal. Both Soren and Jason, who ordered the same thing, said their meals were, and I quote, “the worst meals we’ve ever had.” I felt so bad!
My meal was fine, and Theron reported no issues as well. While disappointing in the moment, these events always make great memories later.
Every once in awhile I will say to Soren, with a chuckle, “Remember that fancy meal you had on your 15th birthday?” And after a quick pause, he will give me the most disgusted facial expression. #memories
After a much more appealing dessert, we ended the birthday festivities with a good night’s sleep.
Happy birthday Soren!
Day 7 – Olite to Logroño
Thursday, February 22
Adios Olite! Next stop, La Rioja. And the heart of La Rioja is Logroño.
Parking note: If coming to Logroño by car, there is a free parking lot called Parking de Revellin. It will probably pop up as “parking gratuito” in Google maps. It gets REALLY full, even on a weekday in winter, but keep circling and something will probably open up.
If patience runs thin, there is paid parking right across the street. You can always check back again later if needing overnight parking, like we did.
Logroño & Calle Laurel
The biggest city in La Rioja wine region, it is also widely known for its pinxtos/tapas scene. And the most famous street is Calle Laurel.
Even if you don’t stay in Logroño, Calle Laurel is a worthy stop on your Basque country itinerary. The whole street is nothing but tapas, and good ones at that. Each restaurant is known for a particular dish in particular, so the thing to do is stop in at several and ask for their specialty.
We checked into our adorable Airbnb and then hit the town for a good tapas crawl.
One of our favorites were the mushrooms (champiñon a la plancha) at Bar Angel. I regret not going there twice. It was so affordable and SO good.
But there are countless great places to choose from. Our Airbnb had a local pamphlet of all the top shops with a description about each one, so if you can, grab one of those and explore. Or honestly, just wander and let your nose guide you. You really can’t go wrong.
What else to do in and around Logroño? Here are a few other activities we enjoyed:
Laguardia
A quick visit up to the quaint hill town of Laguardia is well worth a stop. Only about 20 minutes outside of Logroño, the small, winding streets and sweeping views over the valley may just keep you there for hours.
Unfortunately for us, February is not the best month to get the full experience of Laguardia. Many shops were closed, and frankly it was rather cold and windy during out visit. It was lovely nonetheless. We would love to come back in the summer to see the town and its wineries in full swing.
Honestly though, I would tack this onto your Basque country itinerary any time of year, even if just for the views.
Olive Oil Tasting – Aceites Hejul
We actually did this tasting event on the final day of our trip, but I wanted to mention here as it is only about 25 minutes away from Logroño. I believe there were limited days for the tours, so we had to drive back from Haro for it, but it was still worth it.
The kids really enjoyed seeing the olive oil-making process from start to finish. Heck, even Jason and I learned a thing or two. What impressed me most was how absolutely clean the facility was. They take such great pride in their process and the quality of the oil.
And, each person on the tour comes home with a FULL bottle of olive oil. For $20/person, I’d get in on this soon before it becomes really popular and they realize what a bargain this is.
If in or near Logroño, this is worth a stop, especially with kids.
We booked the tour thru Airbnb here, but there may be other options online as well.
Other towns we thought of stopping by but which didn’t make the cut this time (not the best in winter), included Cenicero and Labastida.
In particular I was eyeing this apartment rental in Cenicero, so saving here for next time. This would be an awesome summer spot when the town is hopping.
There are so many small towns all around the area, so pick a few and explore!
Day 8: Logroño to Haro
Friday, February 23
Next stop on our Basque country itinerary, in the Rioja region, was Haro. While all the towns in this region have wineries, Haro is known as the wine capital of La Rioja. In fact, each June there is a giant wine festival where a wine battle ensues and everyone goes home soaked in fermented grapes. Sounds lovely!
You can read more about it here.
We were there during the slow season, however, but there still just enough to see and do. Haro is home to many of the older and larger wineries, and these usually stay open year round. And while wineries are the main draw, the town looked just cute enough that I knew the boys would love it.
LimeHome
Plus, we found the coolest place to stay: Limehome. This was our first experience with this booking platform, and it did not disappoint! It feel like a hotel-turned-apartment sort of deal, but incredibly cozy and impeccably remodeled.
Noted that everything is remote; there is no staff on-site. Thankfully we had no issues along the way. Overall it was very affordable with easy reservation changes/cancellation if needed.
Winery: CVNE
Now, for wine tasting, the main event. There are so many options! With kids in tow, we decided to just try one. And for that, we picked one of the biggest in town (which also had last minute tours still available), CVNE.
While the winery is technically called CVNE, standing for Compañia Vinicola del Norte de España, there was a misspelling on their bottles many years ago that more or less changed it to Cune, which you will now see on most of their bottles. According to the tour host, the misspelling sort of caught on and so they just went with it. Love it.
This is a great stop if you love not only wine but also history and family tradition. While it does feel a bit formal and polished, there’s so many interesting details in this winery’s story that it’s really not one to miss.
Plus, once you will come back home you might now notice a Cune or CVNE at your local wine store or restaurant.
I wish we had time to stop at some of the smaller wineries in the hills and explore a bit more, but that will have to wait for another time and warmer weather.
Like I mentioned, the town itself is adorable itself so we just wandered later in the day and took it all in.
Not pictured, but one of our most memorable stops was this random wine shop we ran across. Upon entering, we noticed immediately that this was not just any wine shop. It was almost a museum.
I conversed with the owner briefly to try and understand what we were seeing. He spoke very fast, but from what I understood, this was his own private collection of wines, dating back 50 years or more.
All of them were for sale, even bottles dating back to the 1950’s. While some were quite pricey, many bottles, even 30 years old or more, were under $50 (I kinda wonder if they were still good!). We chose a middle-of-road bottle to enjoy back at the apartment.
I wish I had written down where this shop exactly was, but rest assured it was not far from Limehome. If you run across it, you will know. Definitely venture in and have a browse. And buy a bottle for the adventure of it!
Day 9: Haro to Bilbao
Saturday, February 24
Our last full day of this Basque country itinerary! The day’s itinerary consisted mostly of traveling to Bilbao for our flight the next morning.
First stop, as I mentioned in the Logroño section, was olive oil stating at Hejul. It’s about 50 minutes from Haro, so better if you can sneak that in while closer to Logroño if possible.
After the tour we jetted right over to Bilbao, arriving mid-afternoon.
At first though you might wonder why we didn’t budget the full day for a big city like Bilbao. It certainly warrants at least that much, if not more.
But remember, we are not really big city people. For us, the fun of travel is experiencing the food, the culture and the people. Often that is easier in small towns where there is less commotion and a slower pace.
But that’s just us. Cities are fun too, you just have to budget the time and energy. Given Bilbao had to be our final stop for flying home, I figured we should at least explore their famous pinxto scene and sightseeing highlights.
Did we go to the Guggenheim? No … we aren’t art people. Although I will say at $18/person and kids under 18 free, it was tempting. Definitely appreciate the reasonable prices AND helping parents not break the bank taking kids to these museums. Mil gracias.
This was in contrast to the Vivanco Wine Museum in La Rioja that we entertained visiting, but with kids over 11 paying full price, we decided no. Do you think any kid WANTS to be at a wine museum? No.
The pinxto scene was definitely awesome, though. Decent prices and fun bites. I had not researched this part of the trip very well and so we simply pulled up a few blogs on our phones and mapped out a couple recommended spots. Did not disappoint.
This is another great place to simply walk and choose your own adventure. It’s hard to go wrong.
And just like that, we were back at the Holiday Inn, right outside the Bilbao airport, where our crazy adventure first began.
Jason and I sat downstairs with a giant glass of wine as the boys got themselves ready for bed, reflecting back on our trip.
From trudging in ditches with luggage in tow to driving across the Basque countryside, we fit a lot in! While things didn’t start off as planned, it was memorable. And I wouldn’t change a thing.
Day 10: Travel Home Day
Sunday, February 25
6:45am. Ugh. Fun times. It’s what you do for the cheap flights.
Another shout out to the Holiday Inn for being so affordable and so close to the airport. Thankfully the flight back thru Frankfurt was easy and uneventful.
Before we knew it, we were back in Seattle, doing laundry and cuddling our kitty.
Another incredible experience in the books. Thanks for joining us on this special Basque Country itinerary. It was a special trip. And super special thanks to my family for putting up with this crazy itinerary. We packed a lot in.
And to Spain, besos! Ojala que podamos verte de nuevo pronto.
