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.

Spain

Since we have now reached our fifth country - Andorra - it's time to write about Spain...

We left a grey and windy France and it felt like the weather improved as soon as we crossed the border to Spain. We spent about three days in a place called Llanca, which had a nice beach/yacht-harbour, two great playgrounds for Yana and a cheap, but completely acceptable, camping ground. The weather was great during our stay. We got to do a bit of sun-bathing, Lindsay went for a 4 hour run/tramp while Kerstin went to the beach with Yana and Kerstin went for a shorter run the next day.

The coast by Llanca

The beach/yacht-harbour of Llanca

Our next stop was Girona, a city with a nice colourful row of houses along the river, an impressive cathedral, cute narrow streets, but a slightly dodgy looking carpark that we were glad to leave behind.

Girona's colourful houses

The next few days we spent in a camping ground just north of Barcelona, near a town called Mataro. From there we took the train into Barcelona for two days. In Barcelona we bought a two-day tourist bus pass, which was a great way to see the city and learn about all the sights. We were able to hop on and off the bus as many times as we wanted. On the first day, a slightly rainy day unfortunately, we did the Southern route that took us to the Olympic stadium and the harbour. And on the second day, a nice and sunny day, we did the Northern route that took us to a couple of creative houses, the impressive Sagrada Familia and the colourful Park Güell - all designed by Gaudi.

The Sagrada Familia from the outside...

...and from the inside

Inside Park Güell - it was hard to get this photo without anyone posing in it.

More from Park Güell - again very hard to not get anyone in the ph

A very very unique looking building... anyone else get cravings for gherkins???

The first part of our drive to Andorra was not very exciting. Last night, however, we stayed in a really cool spot by a gorge here in the pyrenees and the drive today was really spectacular as well. After we've done some duty-free shopping tomorrow, we will try to experience the pyrenees from a hiker's perspective.