Motorhomers on Tour : San Sebastian

Leaving Oñati we took the winding road over the mountain. They had signs nearly all the way up giving you a speed limit of either 20kms or 30kms depending on the bends. We were lucky if poor old Sonny, the motorhome could reach those speeds as he chugged his way up.

Sat-Nav showing the winding road going over the mountains

View over Oñati and the mountains half-way up

We eventually joined up with the free motorway that took us into San Sebastian. The last time we were in San Sebastian was 5 years ago and it poured down with rain and we never got chance to have a good look around the city. We have attempted to stop twice more since then, as we have driven past on our way through Spain, but again on both occasions it was pouring with rain again so we never bothered. So, this time having checked the weather before setting off it was showing part sun/cloud with no rain expected until late evening. True to its word, when we arrived the sun was shining – result!
The Aire (N43.30811 W2.01451) is about 4.5kms from the town and the only one with motorhome facilities. It cost €7.60 for the night, in what is basically a car park with the usual water and dumping facilities.

The walk in to the town took us along the sea front and along the La Concha Beach – voted as one of the top best urban beach in the world for its seascape, environment and fine white sand.

Mount Urgull, seen from La Concha Beach

Time for a quick bit of history folks! At the foot of Mount Urgull there used to be a small community of fishermen who became world-famous for whaling and cod fishing. In 1808 Napoleon’s troops captured the city and in 1813 the Anglo-Portuguese troops raided it killing most of its inhabitants. They then destroyed it burning all its buildings. Those who survived decided to rebuild the city and today it has a population of approx. 190,000. Wow, these people were so resilient in those days. The city is known as either Donastia (Basque name) or San Sebastian (Spanish name) and both mean Saint Sebastian.

Town Hall – opened in July 1897 and was the venue of the Great Casino until it was closed in 1924 due to illegalisation of gambling. It reopened January 1947 as the current Town Hall.

Plaza de la Constitución – at the top of the windows there are numbers (1-147) from its past when the square was used as a bullring and the spectators hired out the balconies. The central building used to be the City Hall.

Santa María Basilica - wedged in among the bars and high apartments of the narrow streets

Sculpture of La Piedad by Oteiza on the side of San Vicente Gothic Church. Apparently, represents Jesus dead in the arms of his mother, Mary - you draw your own conclusions!

San Sebastian is well known for its pintxos. We have read that the best way to eat and drink in San Sebastian is to walk around the many bars/cafes that they have, sampling 2/3 different Pintxos in each one along the way and of course a few drinks with it to wash it all down!

Pintxos laid out on the bar - they give you a plate and you help yourself to as much as you want and pay at the end.

We decided to pace ourselves and started off with 3 hot and 3 cold. It's not cheap but was really tasty, this little lot cost us 21 Euros.

After that it was time for a little walk before we got some more food and drink. From the old port it is about 1.5km to the top of Mount Urgull, where you get a great panoramic view across the city.

Panoramic view from the top of Mount Urgull

Isla Santa Clara in the middle of the sea - you can get a boat out to it from the port.

At the top there is a museum at the top but unfortunately it is all in Spanish so no good for us when we can only string a few Spanish words together! There are stairs in the museum, where you can climb to the top of La Mota Fortress, which has been declared an Historical Artistic Monument.

Palacio Miramar – English style palace built by the Spanish Royal Family

Puente María Cristina with its 18m tall obelisks, opened in 1905

By the time we got back from San Sebastian, the Aire was full, mostly French and Brits and we were all packed in like sardines! We had planned to stop another day but woke up to more rain, so it was time to move on into France.

The quickest and best way to get out of San Sebastian and across the Pyrénées is to take the motorway, most of which are paying ones. It wasn't too expensive though, we ended up on 4 at a cost of €15, travelling just over 110kms. Once into France the weather changed completely, temperatures rose and the sun came out. Our first stop was at a little town called St Paul-les-Dax, beside a lake and well known for its thermal springs.

The Aire turned out to be a disappointment as it was in the middle of woods, very muddy and surrounded by high trees – no good when temperatures were soaring to 27°C and we needed to get some sunrays! Luckily, we had stopped off earlier in the town to do some laundry and had spotted about 10 French motorhomes parked up. They had created their own Aire in an open space, near to the lake and we went and joined them, chairs came out and barbeque lit!

St Paul-les-Dax

From St Paul-les-Dax we moved further north to a little village called La Sauvetat du Dropt. I hadn’t done much driving at all over the last 4 months, as we have only been travelling short distances. But the roads in France are nice and wide for motorhomes, mostly straight and tree lined and the French drivers are not too erratic - so Mel let me get behind the wheel!

The Aire takes 4 motorhomes, on the side of the river (N44.64733 E000.34181). Not much in the town but a nice place to relax for the afternoon/evening.

Old mill house just across from the Aire

BBQ time!

Moving on this morning, we have just come up the road 17 miles (27 kms) and are parked up on a vineyard, Domain de La Lande in a village called Montbazillac (N44.78818 E0.49681). It's a France Passion site but also an Aire for motorhomes. We were France Passion members in 2013 and 2014 when we used to come to France a lot and stay on vineyards and know they are all very welcoming places to stop on. The owner welcomed us and gave us access to all the free facilities - water, toilet, etc. We are surrounded by vineyards and you have your own seating area and even an area for barbecuing. What a perfect spot.

Sonny, the motorhome nestled in among the vines

Since coming into France a couple of days ago, all we have seen on the road and Aires are French motorhomes, as they are not really touristy areas that we have been travelling through/stopping at. However, pulling up on the vineyard there is 1 Brit and 3 Irish motorhomes. The 3 Irish are travelling around together and like us, all 4 are making their way north.

Wine tasting starts at 6pm – looking forward to that! Then it’s England’s first match in the World Cup, and Mel has managed to pick up English TV on our Satellite Dish so he is a happy chappy – come on England!

Quick weather check shows that the temperatures from tomorrow are going to soar to 30°C around the Dordogne and so we are going to head to a campsite we stayed on a couple of years ago, kick of our shoes and lie in the sun.

Sally x

UPDATED - photos added from wine tasting. Jean, our host only spoke French and we were 9 English people but between us we managed to translate what he was saying!