Beautiful day yesterday, and we decided to take a day trip to see Picos de Europa. LLD loves a scenic drive, and this was well worth the dramamine drowsiness it cost me.
Last night was our only dinner reservation of the trip. We were already pretty tired (and not very hungry after pintxos) but we dragged ourselves out to Al Margen. We were both a little grumpy about it, so our thoughts should be taken with a grain of salt. They really wanted us to do the tasting menu, and we really didn’t have it in us. We shared 2 starters: leeks in hollandaise and charred broccoli with lime. Both pleasant. He got steak, which he liked a lot; I got turbot. I liked it but no way could I finish the whole fish. It was boiling hot in the room and the lights were very bright, and we were over it. The people sitting next to us were from Asheville, NC, which was fun, as we live about 3 hours away in Chapel Hill.
Scenic drive so much better than the dinner! I could have eaten at most about 1/4 of the turbot…my capacity issue, and a big piece of leftover fish isn’t something to take back to a hotel room.
Things are getting happily sloppy here. We’re exhausted but have loved every minute of this trip. Yesterday we spent lazy hours at the Guggenheim and were wowed but how fun and thought provoking it was. Spent the rest of the day eating and drinking our way back to the hotel.
Drove from Bilbao to Madrid today, then stops at old favorites, Dolores and Cervezia Cervantes. We are a little fatter and yet feeling a little more in love after the last week. Highly recommend this trip.
One final post. We spent a couple hours at Mercato San Miguel, which was extremely busy with football fans. We had a great time, great food and lots of cava. Back in our hotel room and ready for our separate flights tomorrow.
Hi LulusMom1,
Thanks so much for your report and those great photos! I thought you might have stayed at the Doubletree, as we have in the past, since my husband’s favorite watering holes nearby are Cervantes and La Dolores!
Glad you were able to experience La Cuchara de San Telmo. We’re off tomorrow to Donostia, then to Laguardia, and will remember to get to La Cuchara 15 minutes before opening too!
Laguardia is indeed such a special place and I too loved the shot of the opened gate. Yes, it is the back gate that leads off from Calle Páganos. Also glad you liked the Hospedería and the backroads drive to Laguardia. The photo off the church of San Vicente de la Sierra taken from the road from Briones is also lovely. That Briones to San Vicente drive is a stunner!
And kuddos to you for making that drive down to Picos from Bilbao with the reward of beautiful weather, unlike the fog we had there in August. Those too are great photos!
Ziggy,
An Indian summer seems to have arrived here but don´t know how long it will last. Just prepare for any weather in the Basque Country! The scenery in the Rioja Alavesa should be stunning when you´re there. We´ll be in the Laguardia area on October 9, 10, 11.
I´m very late to this great thread because I´ve been wandering in Piemonte / Emilia Romagna, trying to hit up all your favorite dining spots. More about that on another thread.
Again, thanks, LululusMom for this very fine report and so happy you had such a nice family journey to this beautiful land.
