The best accommodation in this journey

So, by the time I stepped into the apartment, it was very late. But what greeted me was a sight for sore eyes (in the positive sense).

Living room with two sofa beds

Of course, I'd already seen photos of the apartment before I booked it, but sometimes, the real picture doesn't match the official photos, but this time, they do; perhaps the reality is even better.

As you can see from the photos, it's a modern apartment, very elegantly decorated, clean and spacious. The two sofas double as beds - no need for cumbersome pull-outs here (I hate those because they're almost always so awkward that once they're pulled out, they stay that way, eating up the living space); just remove the covers, and the sofas are ready to be used as beds. The sheets underneath the covers were black. Cool.

Lighting was soft, but sufficiently bright. During the day, there are two large windows (to the left of the photo above), letting in daylight and looking out to the rooftops of Santiago. You can catch a glimpse of the Cathedral, which is a mere 3-minute walk away.

Rooftops of Santiago

There's a cabinet along one wall, with wines, pretty serviettes, etc, should you decide to have a little dinner party! Beside one of the sofas, there's a stack of four ornamental antique-looking suitcases. I didn't open them so I don't know if they hold some secret belongings!

Stored secrets...

The kitchen and the bathroom are fully equipped with just about everything you would need for a comfortable stay, including candles! The Spanish being coffee drinkers, once again, a kettle and teapot were sorely missed. Sorry, but I don't have any photos of neither the kitchen nor the bathroom.

The bedroom is large, with ample storage for your clothes, but do be careful with the bed, especially if you're as clumsy as I am! The bed is wider than the mattress and the covers drape over the whole bed, so, if you're orientating yourself to the mattress, you may get an unpleasant surprise - walk around it carefully!

All tastefully decorated.

The inclined roof reminds you that you're in an attic, but otherwise, you won't notice it as the roof is quite high. The window prevents any claustrophobic feeling you may get, but it leads to an empty space whose floor is, I believe, the roof of a similar room in the apartment below. There's no light coming in through here, but there is a plant. If you look carefully above the window, what you see is actually a pull-out washing line. Shame that there's no sunlight here, but there is a superduper techno fan, which I had to use to dry our clothes.

Jesús and Mark live on the 2nd floor - the apartment is on the 3rd - so if you have any problems, they can be reached quickly. We didn't have any, really. There was a slight one, actually. Mark came to check that we had everything we needed and I told him that there were two bottles of shower gel, but no shampoo. He brought one up immediately.

Everything about the apartment is fabulous. It may get a little noisy, but close the windows and you won't hear a thing. Internet connection is powerful, and there are plenty of sockets. Location is perfect, smack in the heart of the old city. It's really a home away from home and if I went back, this would definitely be on top of my list.

Jesús's apartment is listed on AirBnB. If you're not registered with them, use this link
www.airbnb.com/c/cpang26 to get $25 off your first booking.

Page on AirBnB: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3214046

El Mirador del Oso, Proaza, Asturias - review

As I mentioned in the last post, we arrived very late. Toño (short for Antonio) was waiting for us at the petrol station, Estación De Servicio Valle De Trubia, which also happens to sell the cheapest petrol in Asturias, or so Toño claimed! Certainly from what we'd seen, he wasn't lying.

The apartment was very close to the petrol station, up a slight slope off the main road. Parking was no problem, one of the advantages of lodging in rural accommodation. We were staying in Asturias for four nights, and I had been looking at a lot of places, including in Oviedo and Gijón. For one reason or another, they had all been rejected, until I found Toño's residence.

It's a big house, converted into six apartments over three floors. We were given the top one. Three floors to lug the suitcases up! Toño, a strong man, kindly helped us. Each of the apartment had been given a name - much more romantic than a number! Ours was Xardón.

Of course, I'd already seen the photos of the house. I'd already liked what I saw from the outside, even in the dark night. I liked it even more when Toño opened the door for us. It was exactly identical to what I'd seen in the photos.

Apartment Xardón, El Mirador del Oso, Proaza

All the apartments had been painted in strong colours, but I loved them. The whole house had been tastefully decorated, both style and colours being appropriate for the rural setting.

The side window overlooked neighbouring houses and gardens. The double bed was large and fairly comfortable (I knew I wasn't going to get a firm mattress!), bedside tables and lamps on both sides, a full-length mirror adorning a side wall, and there was even a valet stand!

Don't forget that we arrived very late and had to have dinner first. These photos were taken well after midnight; I was depending on what lighting there was and so I didn't manage to take photos of everything in the apartment.

Sofa bed

The sofa bed folds out easily, and it's big enough for a couple, but you'd better ask Toño if there are four of you. Being on the top floor, we had a rooftop window, which was low enough for us to peek out at the fields (and the cows) and the mountains beyond, yet high enough not to bother us. Under this window, there's a small round table.

Toño practically runs this place all by himself, including the cleaning! It was immaculate, incidentally. He very kindly had a pear cake ready for us, but since we managed to have dinner, that accompanied us in the next couple of breakfasts. The cake was delicious!

The open kitchen is small, but sufficient for a short stay. We didn't need it except to boil water. A kettle would have been handy, Toño! I also found this part of the apartment a little dark, especially if you need to be cooking. 

The shower cubicle was a tad too small, and there weren't many places where you could put your toiletries and stuff. You can put them on top of one wall of the cubicle, but it isn't very convenient if you're short.

The one unfortunate aspect of this wonderful apartment is the free wifi internet connection. Being on the top floor, and the router being on the ground floor, the waves aren't strong enough to reach inside the apartment. Go out onto the landing, and you're ok. Rather inconvenient though. Having said that, the mobile network service works fine in the whole house. So, if you really need the free wifi, confirm that there's connection in the apartment you're being allocated.

Perhaps if Toño could relocate the router to the landing of the first floor, the connection might reach everyone?

Place: El Mirador del Oso

Booking: AirBnB 

If you're not registered with AirBnB, use this link and get €19 credit for your first booking!

Location: 

Verdict:  Highly recommended!

Hostal Isabella B&B, review

Continued from San Sebastian, Arrival

Our destination was Hostal Isabella B&B. To be fair from the onset, I'd chosen them because I couldn't find anywhere else that was within our budget. Besides, they had rather good reviews, but here's my frank opinion.

Their best point is possibly the view from our room. It wasn't bad...

Rooftops and Santa Clara

Mount Igueldo & Santa Clara

The location is a bit far off, about 30-40 minutes to the old town, walking along the promenade. It's close to the Ondarreta beach and to the Peine del Viento (more about this in a later post) and in a not so touristy district.

Isabella is basically a large flat (or perhaps two, I'm not sure, but I believe the family lives there) and has 4 rooms converted to let; two of these have en-suite bathrooms. The shower cubicle is small, so if you're biggish, you will have some problems. The decoration is somewhat quaint and quirky, kind of fortune-tellerish. I didn't find it displeasing, but would have preferred the parquet instead of a multitude of assorted rugs. No doubt, they're there to prevent guests from damaging the floor.

The room is small, the sort you'd expect in cities where house prices are sky-high. We were three, so there was hardly room to swing a cat. If there are only two of you, it may be a little better. I didn't even take any photos of the room, which is highly unusual, but I suppose it was because there wasn't even room for me to do it! LOL

The flat is on the sixth floor, served by two lifts. The second one is through another set of doors to the right of the main lift. If you've got suitcases, the main lift is better as the second leads to a step or three on the ground floor.

Isabella was welcoming enough. The "staff" was  helpful - if you ask them for something, if they can, they'll help - but not intrusive. The only negative tick I'd put on this was the way Isabella was rushing us off at checkout time.

Breakfast was a very basic affair - bread (there was a toaster), butter, jam, tea bags (there's a kettle in the room), milk, some cheap cakes and croissants off the supermarket shelf... No cereals, some cut watermelon, not much else. There was a large kitchen with a large table in the centre, which would have been perfectly usable for the guests. It brings back memories of the days when I was living in guest houses in Indonesia (especially) and breakfasts with the other guests were often the highlight of the day. But, sadly, no. The kitchen was out of bounds, like.

All the breakfast was laid out on a piece of furniture in the hallway, just outside the kitchen. You take what you want and bring it back to your room, where there isn't even a table. There is a bureau, so, ok, maybe two of you could squeeze your food on it, and sit on the bed (no chairs) and scoff it - the breakfast, I mean - down. I was usually up before the rest so I normally had my breakfast first, always packing away the laptop prior to that...

which brings me to their Internet. They'll turn it off at 11pm to avoid bad energy and electromagnetic waves affecting your health and good night's rest, haha. Where's the router anyway? In practice, they usually turn it off a little later than that. They don't turn it on again until 9 or so - depends on what time they get up and if someone remembers to turn it on. I guess.

All a bit of codswallop, if you ask me. They can't force their guests to turn off their smartphones, can they? Perhaps someone ought to tell them that routers consume very little electricity. Because my guess is they're trying to save a few cents off their power bills...

The revealing question, then. Would I return? Aka my verdict.

Yes, if I can't find anything else in the same price range. I've stayed in worse places, but frankly, a few little changes can make this "hostal" a far better place.

Ribera Market

Continued from Parque de los Patos

So, me, my camera and I set out on weary legs...

Along the banks of River Nervión, I walked again, southwards first and then back up northwards. And, again, I thought, how pretty some of these buildings are. They looked like apartments, but they may be offices, too. If you zoom in on these images, especially the one in the centre, the interior of some of them makes interesting guesswork.

It took me a while to find the name of this bridge, Puente de le Ribera. It's also known by the name of Puente de San Francisco because it connects the old quarters (Casco Viejo) with the district of San Francisco, which I never got to visit. In any case, this district receives a lot of bad publicity - many websites advise you against visiting it, especially after dark.

Puente de le Ribera

If these buildings lie in the district of San Francisco, they don't look bad at all, do they? Perhaps they are more upmarket, or do they belong to those who control the marginal groups living there...? I took more shots of these images because I found them very appealing. To see the rest, visit my Flickr page, the link of which can be found on the left column under "You might also like".

Turning my focus to the right bank, or left, if you're facing the picture above, stands what looks like a glossy new building, in stark contrast to the church (St Anton) behind it. This is, of course, the Ribera Market, completely renovated. This time, I could only admire it from the outside. The following day, I would come back for another visit.

Confusing reflections

Ribera Market and San Anton church

With that, I turned around, eyeing the alleyways of Casco Viejo, and walked back northwards, towards The Guggenheim again. Will I catch the sunset?

Arriaga

Andrés Isasi

Arriaga Suites, hall

Guggenheim behind us, we were soon to pass yet another icionic monster. This time, we could see La Catedral - the new Athlétic de Bilbao Football Club's new stadium - invaded by cranes, bulldozers, cement mixers, and other construction equipment as it undergoes its last phase to be ready in time for the coming season.

The bus station was just around the corner.

Oh-oh. They said it was easy. I wasn't so sure, by the looks of it. I got the impression that finding the tram would be more of a problem than finding the bus at the airport. So, I decided to ask the bus driver. He seemed a bit hesitant to explain how to get there! Anyway, he tried. The tram stop's on the other side of the building that's at the back of the station. 

Basically, as the bus comes in, you'll have to get off the bus and turn left. Go down the steps or escalators, follow the signs to EuskoTren, which will lead you up another escalator. Go up here. You'll see the stop. If you don't see it, you've gone the wrong way.

On retrospect, when I came back to the station, it didn't seem that difficult! Just go down a ramp, and the tram stop's there, depending on which direction you're headed. Look at the tram route map in Links. The driver might have sent me on a roundabout way.

The idea, initially, was to get a Barik card, but it wasn't available. Apparently, they're only available in the metro stations. so we bought tickets. €1.50 to Arriaga. You'd want to catch the tram going in the direction of Atxuri. The Suites were really close to the stop. Get out of the tram, turn left and then right and they're there, on your left. 

There are six rooms (5 "suites" and a double room), all of them on the 1st floor. The accomodation take its name from Juan Crisóstomo Jacobo Antonio de Arriaga y Balzola, a child prodigy and an accomplished composer, dubbed "the Spanish Mozart", and each of the rooms is assigned a Spanish musician's name.

As soon as you walked in through the door, you'll get good vibes. I did. As you walk up the stairs and enter the hallway, this feeling intensifies. Design is fresh and vibrant, without being sickly. Simple and elegant.

We were allocated Andrés Isasi. The French windows lead to a pedestrianised street, although vehicles, especially road cleaners, do pass by. It can get a little noisy, from people and from vehicles; it's not that far from Erribera Street either. However, close the windows and the sound is practically sealed off.

So, good points are:

• fab location, minutes from Casco Viejo and about 20 minutes from Guggenheim, depending on your pace. You can walk to all the main points of interest from here. Tram and metro stops are just around the corner.
• value for money, even in summer.
• clean. Daily cleaning service is provided, although we didn't get it on one day, but it could be because we didn't leave the room until the afternoon.
• smart, cheerful, arty design.
• abundant power sockets.
• necessities (shampoo, shower gel, toilet paper, hand soap) are provided.

The not so good:

• small. With the sofa bed opened up, little room is available, especially if the table is pulled out. It's fixed to the wall, which is rather unfortunate. Between the table and the pulled-out sofa bed, a slim person can walk through. Sideways. In any case, it's almost impossible to get space at burget prices if you're 3 or more guests.
• Wifi is not very fast.
• Although a fridge and a microwave is available, a kettle would be handy. It's not expensive to include one in the room.
• No reception. If you need attention, you'll have to ring them. The staff live nearby apparently.
• Mattress too soft. (A permanent complaint of mine everywhere I stay, so take no notice of it" ;) )

Will I return?

•  A resounding YES! Thanks to Claire for telling me about them.

Extra useful information:

• If you need to go out for breakfast, Bizvete Café in Plaza Santiago is a minute's walk away. They serve tea/coffee with your choice of milk - skimmed, soya, lactose-free... Decent prices too. Walk out of the suites, turn left, a minute later, you'll see the café on your right. There are a few others here, too. Better than walking out to the main road (Erribera Street).
• If you're going to the bus station, take the tram heading towards La Casilla. Walk out of the suites, turn right. Hitting Erribera Street, turn left. Cross the road. You'll want the tram heading right as you face the river, ie, towards Guggenheim.

Any questions, just post them in the forum!

Links

Accommodation

AirBnB - If you're new to them, use this link to join up and get a discount!

Getting Around

ALSA - supposedly the largest bus company in Spain
DBus - San Sebastian bus company
Donostia Movilidad - Moving around in San Sebastian
Donostia Turismo - How to get around etc, in San Sebastian
EuskoTren - Bilbao tram system
Las Palmas

• Global - Intercity services (including the airport)
• Guaguas Municipales - the capital's bus service

PESA - moving around in Basque Country (you can also purchase your tickets online; it's not easy to find the link. Here's the direct link)
Santiago - car parks in Santiago and other cities
Spain: types of roads
Spain: airport information service

Travel Guides

Bilbao - Guide to sights, shopping, eating, etc.
Galicia - Guide to Santiago and other towns. Quite comprehensive. Interesting read.
WikiTravel - everyone knows about Wikipedia, but its cousin is quite useful, too.

Bits and Pieces

• Bilbao
• Giltza Bat (A Key) - read about the mural under La Salve Bridge

• San Sebastian
• El Peine del Viento - read about this emblematic sculpture
• Todo Pintxos - current favourites

• UK (health issues)
• Citizens Advice on NHS charges for people from abroad
• NHS: Am I entitled to NHS treatment when I visit England?