North of Spain

After a day of duty-free shopping in Andorra, we headed back to Spain. We had a very scenic drive through the pyrenees and stayed in some really nice spots. The best spot was right by a lake. Lindsay went for a bike ride and a swim, while Kerstin did some painting.

The lake we stayed at.

We never got around to doing a proper hike, but we did a walk to an old castle ruin in the small town of Bonabarre. On the castle grounds it was the first time that Yana stood up by herself and did a few steps. Previously she had just done a few steps out of the standing position when we called her to us.

The castle in Bonabarre.

We visited Pamplona, where the Encierro (running with the bulls) is held. Unfortunately it was raining for most of the time and we managed to get there during the siesta time (between 2pm and 5pm) when all the shops are closed and the streets are completely isolated. You could see the potential of the town, but couldn't be bothered waiting around to experience it.

The landscape in the pyrenees.

Our last stop in Spain was Bilbao. On the first day we managed to park right outside a shopping mall and get internet. Lindsay was surfing the web, while Kerstin did some clothes shopping. The next day Kerstin got to spend most of the day in the Guggenheim Museum, while Lindsay walked the streets of Bilbao with Yana. The Guggenheim Museum consists of an amazing building out of steel and glass that looks like a huge sculpture and is integrated really well into the surrounding area. Inside there are really interesting exhibitions, including a large one by Juan Munoz, and you can find out all the details via an audio guide.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

After a 30 hour ferry-ride from Bilbao to Portsmouth, we have now arrived in England and our trip around Europe is coming to an end. The ferry-ride went very smoothly, we just felt a little queezy at the beginning when we were sitting in our tiny room with no window and the boat was rocking back and forth. Later on it got less bumpy and we had a good nights' sleep. The boat was very luxurious with lots of restaurants, bars and pubs. Kerstin saw the film 'Mamma Mia' in the boat's cinema and Lindsay watched a boring, badly done video presentation on the whales and dolphins that had been spotted on the way over (he saw a whale in real life shortly after leaving Bilbao).

Bilbao.

Now we are looking around our future home - Swindon - and we are getting prepared for our next big trip to New Zealand in a week's time.