Hola from Nola!

It is said that, what you do on the first day of the year sets the tone for the rest of the year – so, despite a global pandemic, and widespread weather warnings, we set off at 8am on 1 January 2021 to spend two weeks in Spain!

Escaping the depths of winter for the warmer climate of Spain sounded like a fabulous idea – and permitted for us Aussies, even during COVID-19, as long as we had accommodation reservations in hand.

So, keeping one eye on the ever-changing pandemic situation, and the other on the fickle weather warnings (especially the flood zone we would be skirting around), we drove the 6 hour/600kms to San Sebastian, Spain – choosing that route mainly to avoid the predicted snow and avalanches predicted across the Pyrenees.

As we headed south we were surprised to see the outside temperature drop below zero, and driving through thick fog as the sun rose was a little worrisome, but really beautiful at the same time.

Looking for somewhere interesting to stop and stretch our legs, without deviating from our route, we settled on Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire where we passed by the 11th century St. Mathias church, meandered through the old town area and stumbled on the 15th century castle. And of course, the obligatory visit to the local patisserie. Perfect for a quick COVID-safe visit.

With a sigh of relief that we encountered no flood waters, at our next stop: Biarritz, on the Basque coast of France, the wild weather kept us on high ground. We had just enough of a look around (before we felt we might be blown away, and scrambled back to the safety and warmth of the car) to know that we would love to visit this beach again one day… in summer! But this show of nature’s strength was definitely invigorating!

We quietly slipped over the border into Spain without incident, and arrived in the huge city of San Sebastian, which took me by surprise – I don’t know why I was expecting a sleepy little seaside town!

But unfamiliar big cities are always difficult to navigate, so we had a bit of an unguided tour, navigating one-way streets, lined with gorgeous architecture, before finally locating our hotel: NH Collection Aranzazu (with “Aranzazu” being the key word, we finally discovered).

After a very-COVID-conscious check-in (where even our passports got disinfected) we settled into our pristine room, freshened up and went for a walk before dark. Any thoughts of a sumptuous meal out in this city known for its gastronomy were dashed due to the newly introduced closing time of 6pm for restaurants, and so we satisfied ourselves with a walk down to the closest beach: Playa de Onderreta, for fantastic views of what appears to be 2 islands in the La Concha bay, but in reality was just one (Isla de Santa Clara) with the mainland curving back in around the bay.

The decorative white-painted wrought-iron fence along the promenade added to the beauty of the scene as we watched the waves rolling in…

before finally tearing ourselves away for a makeshift dinner of snacks back in our room, which felt like a party, and a fitting celebration of our arrival in Spain.