"Basquing" on the beach

For our very last leg in Europe, we returned to Spain to stay for a week in San Sebastián, an absolute gem in the Basque Region. The beaches were simply stunning. After spending 5 weeks exploring unknown languages and unpredictable weather, we arrived on a sunny warm day and hit the beach immediately. The first stop was La Concha, a beautiful long cove alongside old town, bustling with restaurants, a playground and a carousel. Unlike Valencia, the water was too cold for me to go in, but Presley and Tyler splashed around a bit in the tiny waves, kept calm by the natural break from Santa Clara island.

Just to the south of La Concha is Ondarreta beach, a smaller, more tranquil beach, but with the same beautiful sand and picturesque view of the island. They were hosting a rowing competition that weekend which was a kick to watch, especially because the finish line was on the sand, so the rowers would row straight on to the beach then jump out and sprint to the line.

The third day, the weather turned on us and it started to rain. We rented a car and drove north in to France to Biarritz. Rain or shine, this place is magical. Not only did we find more stunning beaches, amazing rock formations and tide pools, a beautiful old hotel for lunch, but best of all, we found a Halloween festival. Its our favorite holiday and Mom guilt was eating me inside for Presley missing trick or treating. Plus, the costume I ordered for her was stuck in Madrid. (More on that later). Suffice it to say, we would love to return and spend more time here.

Next, we went to Zumaia, a Unesco geopark made up of sedimentary rocks showing off over 60 million years of planetary history. Tyler and I nerded out on the crazy layers that display the various cataclysms/extinction events while Presley and Bohdi ran like mad across the beach. Fun fact - Game of Thrones filmed the scene where Daenarys meets John Snow for the first time here.

The sun came back out for our visit to Zarautz. To remind us that we should stop being in a hurry all the time, the Universe gifted us a very long and very mediocre lunch. Then we then took a nice long walk in the low tide.

So October 31 came, but Presley's costume didn't. I was devastated, but Presley ralied and was cheerful in her Elsa tutu and last minute tiara purchase. We hit the mall and found a few places doing "Truco o Trato" so she got her candy fix.

I ended up on a wild goose chase to track down the missing costume, and on November 2nd, I finally delivered her intended costume. And she was thrilled.

And with that, we said goodbye to Europe and boarded a plane to the other side of the world. Next post, Colombia!