Tenerife ~ Bilbao ~ San Sebastián
Spectacular setting
The Canary islands have a temperate climate, so in April you’re relying on a bit of sun for it to be warm – luckily a bit of sun was just what we got, after the previous two weeks having mixed weather.
Tenerife is quite like Hawaii in its landscapes, not surprising given both are volcanic islands. Lots of jagged black lava everywhere, lush forests where it rains, and desert landscapes in between.
The hotel setting beside the water was amazing and just the ticket for relaxation and distraction.
Lots of fun exploring the sprawling hotel site with its red plaster walls and myriad of twists and turns:
Great views out over the ocean…
The smiles of parents who are staying at a hotel with a kids club…
Getting relaxed
Kids (and adults) straight into their rhythm at the pool…
… or just relaxing at the bar 🙂
Aisling enjoying breakfast a la española, and getting her dancing shoes on.
With plenty of catching up on rest all around.
The early verdict was a thumbs up on Tenerife:
Getting active
Not too hot, sunny weather was perfect for sharpening our games. Charles and Simon headed out to the golf course for a bit of practice:
And the whole family decided it was time to polish our ground strokes, with the French open not that far away…
Even the gym had a spectacular setting. Equal parts inspiring and distracting perhaps, but either way a great place to work out.
Reach the beach
The beach is a public one though most of the people there were staying at the hotel. Reached by an impressive funicular line down a sharp rock face:
Kids delighted playing in the waves, building sandcastles and chasing dad ragged while mum caught forty winks on a lounger.
Lunch, anyone?
Heading back to the hotel caught the little kids train / tractor up the snaking road to our cliff-top hotel.
A beach and sunny weather the perfect recipe for family fun anywhere in the world.
Seaside dining
One of the big drawcards of the hotel we were in is its food.
Impressive variety of great restaurants, including this one looking over the ocean from the top of the cliffs.
Niamh looking very excited for her Spanish paella and Aisling also giving it the enthusiastic thumbs up:
All topped off with a beautiful sunset to end the meal and the day…
Kids’ club
The first morning we were there (Sunday) we headed down to the kids club for a visit. We were reminded of the children’s song “you’re in for a big surprise”.
The theme of the day appeared to be Lord of the Flies, with exhausted and overrun staff completely overpowered by a sea of ~70 children racing in every direction, jumping, throwing and yelling at full power. It was quite impressive!
We beat a hasty retreat before we were captured by any of the roaming gangs :-).
The staff subsequently told us that this was in fact the last day of two weeks of UK school holidays, and that no fewer than 700 UK guests were checking out later that day. We were politely encouraged to check back the next morning instead.
And they were true to their word. Here is a picture of the entire kids club class by the middle of the week.
Seven happy, relaxed kids (including two of our own) playing games out on the lawn.
Happy days for kids and parents alike. Also very pleased we hadn’t come a week earlier…
Spa time
Kids safely in a calmer kids club, parents off for a relax in the spa :-).
Beautiful setting with the usual confusing array of European water jet options
This one even comes with multiple options for self-inflicted torture, including the cold water bucket dunk and the minus 3 cold room. All we needed for thinking we were in Norway was some birch saplings for smacking yourself with!
(Beyond) Gourmet dining
Did we mention good food?
Now that elBulli has shut down, the hotel boasts a restaurant by Spain’s currently most celebrated chef.
You know you’re in a serious restaurant when the wine list comes in 4 volumes, one of which is entirely dedicated to champagne and other sparking wine…
Despite our failure of endurance the last time we tried a tasting menu down in the Loire, we fired in again, since it seemed the only thing to do in this environment.
The chef wasn’t sure what type of butter to serve with the bread, so sent out 9 different choices just to cover the bases.
Similar indecision led to a multi-layered attack of amuse-bouches…
Niamh losing it just a little as we were served an oyster on a faux seaside rock, complete with fresh seaweed and filled with liquid nitrogen so it gave off a sea mist!
An amazing meal from start to finish, with incredible attention to detail, from fake olives with hair-thin shells and olive flavoured liquid inside, to curry chocolate in a swirling porcelain bowl, and a two-phase attack of the petits fours!
Volcano
Niamh unfortunately wasn’t feeling great, but was intent on exploring a bit of Tenerife, so we rented a car and set off to explore the island – which can only mean a trip up the side of the volcano and down to the other coast.
An amazingly varied set of terrains on the way up, from desolate lava flows to lush pine forests and everything in between, including red desert sands.
Easy to see why planet of the apes was filmed here – a very other-worldly set of landscapes!
The cable car up the side of the volcano was closed due to (very!) high winds, but from anywhere in the vicinity the vistas were already amazing in every direction.
Wild coastlines
Descending down the other side of the volcano brings you to the wilder northern coastline of the island, where waves crash into the black rocks formed from cooled lava.
While you and I might see an inhospitable foaming sea battering sharp jagged rocks, the locals here see … a perfect place for a quick dip. Just bung in a little ladder and off you go! Last one in’s a rotten egg…
We stopped for an ice block and to look at the views.
The views stayed with us, but the ice blocks didn’t, with both kids coming down with a poorly timed case of the stomach bug that Niamh had previously enjoyed, on the winding roads back to the hotel.
Several emergency pit stops required. Thank goodness for Niamh’s books on tape to the rescue!
All told, a great day of exploration before we sadly say goodbye to Tenerife.
Tenerife to Bilbao
It was goodbye to Tenerife, but not goodbye to Spain, as we were off to San Sebastián, via Bilbao. Both are cities none of us had been to before.
At Tenerife airport we were distracted by an impressively large display that seemed to be either an ad for a local theme park; a warning about giant giraffes that could stampede over the building at any moment; or a promotion for tours to Africa, so we went to take a look.
No points for us in the quiz. In fact, it is a giant advertising installation for … a nearby cosmetic dental surgery. You too can have the teeth of the giraffe!
Particularly impressive to us was the fake tourist with his roller bag on the left who looks like he’s stopped to consider whether some realignment of his teeth might not be a great idea while he waits for his flight connection. They thought to add a mannequin to draw in other wheelie bag tourists to the water hole!
Brilliant.
Bilbao of course is famous in part for its Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim museum, so we stopped by for a look.
Museum having to compete with the nearby wildflowers for Aisling’s attention…
Outside the museum, two buskers hidden under bird-like outfits and making inscrutable clicking noises had Aisling half terrified, half fascinated, but eventually succeeded in luring her over for some friendly pecks.
The main attraction however was the enormous spring flower dog out the front of the museum that had us running for joy. Two of our favourite things combined into one. Happy days.
The energy quickly ran out however, from the travel and being a bit under the weather, so it was back into the car for the 1 hour drive to San Sebastián. Hola, books on tape!
Bilbao to San Sebastián
The countryside in the north eastern coast of Spain is spectacular, with rolling green hills all around. We could easily have imagined ourselves in Ireland as we wound our way through the hills in the afternoon sun.
We arrived at our cosy hotel in San Sebastián in the late afternoon. Niamh went for a snooze while Simon and the kids fired out for a short explore and to find some dinner.
San Sebastián is a beautiful city and it was a lovely sunny evening as we walked across the river, stopping to wave at the passing rowers
We made our way over to the old town with its narrow streets and teeming pintxo (tapas) bars.
San Sebastián is a gourmet mecca, with multiple Michelin starred restaurants and a seemingly endless array of pintxo bars to choose from.
We settled into some chairs overlooking the beautiful main square of the old town and enjoyed some people watching and small plates as the sun went down on what had been a busy Friday.
Chocolate lollipops on the way home, quick check in with the fishermen on the bridge then time for big sleeps all round.
San Sebastián Exploring
After a big sleep we were all ready to fire out and explore, and San Sebastián served up a warm sunny day 🙂
Back over the bridge towards the old town we headed.
Through the narrow streets to the old square where there were acapella singers and more great people watching.
Ducked into the duck shop for some lower brow distraction…
Then time to stop off for some pintxos for lunch.
Kids trying their best to be adventurous in tasting new stuff 🙂
The Theme Park on High
At the far end of the beach in San Sebastián is an old funicular train that lifts you to the top of the hill overlooking the town and ocean, where there’s an antique fun park.
We were soon flying around the edge of the hilltop in our little boats…
… enjoying the view and having a little game of pooh sticks on the side.
Charles braved the haunted house.
Simon and kids braved the ancient roller coaster 🙂
And we all admired the sweeping views over San Sebastián:
Even the kids getting in on the act, polishing up their photo skills with mum and dad as guinea pigs…
Birds!
Perched on top of the theme park was a little rooftop where there was a raptor exhibition, which was being ignored by most of those enjoying the rides below, so we wandered up for a look.
An impressive selection of hawks (like this Harris’s hawk at right), eagles and owls, with the falconers eager to show off their birds and explain how they live and feed.
Aisling’s favourite bird by far is the owl, so the large owls in residence were a particular favourite.
They have soft wing edges and dark feathers so they are both silent and invisible at night.
The trainer takes them out for some free flying in the hills at night and has to fix little bells to their feet so she can hear when they are coming in to land.
Luckily for us, Aisling is an expert at speaking owlish, so she immediately struck up a conversation with her favourite owl. She was absolutely delighted, a highlight of the day.
Beaches and Boardwalks
Then it was time for a walk and play on the beach before heading home. There is a long boardwalk where we found some swings that Aisling was quick to test out:
It wasn’t long before some expert sandcastle and tunnel building was underway…
… while out on the beach there were two guys zipping around on electric surfboards
A new sensation coming to a beach near you!
We got a bit lost on the way back, accidentally taking the bus in the wrong direction for a while.
But even that had a silver lining as it took us about 15 minutes up into the beautiful rolling green hills above the town.
Very Irish feeling!
A beautiful afternoon in a stunning spot.
Charles contemplating putting down roots …
Once the beach fun was done for today, just time for a few more quick pintxos in a popular bar where we miraculously scored (pintxed?) a table (with very tired children!), and then off to the hotel to crash.
A big week, and more to come.