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Pintxos, Txakoli, Modern Art And The Beach. What To Do In Bilbao And San Sebastian

I love Spain. The moment I arrive, I find myself relaxing into the laid back, low-key attitude that makes it so different from the UK.

I also return again and again for creative inspiration — Spanish cities have appeared in a number of my ARKANE thrillers — and of course, the food is some of the best in the world, but they don’t shout about it so you need to do your research to avoid the more touristy places. I almost moved here in the late 1990s but headed for Australia instead. It would have been a different life indeed …

Author JFPenn outside the Guggenheim, Bilbao. Photo credit: Jonathan Bleier

For this trip in early February 2020, I went with my husband (and photographer/business partner). We had four days in San Sebastian and Bilbao — a taste of the Basque country. In this article, I’ll share some of the cultural and culinary highlights in case you’d like to visit.

What is Basque?
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
Maman by Louise Bourgeois, Anselm Kiefer, and more of the art within
Promenade by the bay in San Sebastian and climb Mount Urgull
Enjoy pintxos and txakoli … plus Michelin star dining
Where to stay and how to get there
Recommended books about Basque culture or set in the region

Walking The Camino De Santiago With Ashlee Cowles

Walking

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“Solvitur ambulando: It is solved by walking.” St Augustine

We live in a mostly sedentary world, with our days seated at a computer working, and our evenings in front of streaming entertainment. This life shows in our physical and mental health, but since much of our modern malaise can be solved by regular walking in nature, how much more could walking hundreds of kilometers solve?

The Camino de Santiago, or The Way of St James, is a Catholic pilgrimage with a number of routes across Spain from southern France, southern Spain, and Portugal. The most famous is the Camino Francés, the French way, and in today’s episode, Ashlee Cowles talks about her background growing up in a military family and how that has shaped her transitory moves, why the Camino is like the Hero’s Journey and how that shaped the way she wrote her novel, as well as why embracing the pilgrim’s spirit and letting go of detailed planning was one of the most challenging aspects of walking several hundred kilometers. We also talked about the idea of pilgrimage when you are not religious — I consider myself spiritual but I don’t subscribe to any particular religion. The Camino is a Catholic pilgrimage but you certainly don’t need to be Catholic to do it. Any long walk is going to break you down in so many ways and everyone seems to be transformed by the Way.

Ashlee Cowles is the award-winning author of YA novels Beneath Wandering Stars and Below Northern Lights as well as Wisdom for The Way: A Camino de Santiago Guidebook for the Pilgrim’s Soul.

Growing up on military bases and moving a lot
On the Camino de Santiago and it’s history
How Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey is built into the geography of the Camino
On the different routes within the Camino experience
Beautiful historical sites just off the beaten path
Tips for dealing with the physical and mental challenges
The difference between a long walk and a pilgrimage
Recommended books about the Camino and pilgrimage

You can find Ashlee Cowles at AshleeCowles.com.

My book, Pilgrimage, Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways, is out now.

Pilgrimage Kickstarter Banner4 — My book, Pilgrimage, Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways, is out now

8 Unusual Things To See On Mallorca

Unusual Places

Mallorca (also known as Majorca) is the largest of the Balearic Islands off the east coast of Spain in the Mediterranean. It’s better known for its beaches and nightlife with party destination Magaluf and the home of the TV show, Love Island.

But beneath the tourist surface lies another Mallorca. Gothic cathedrals, medieval architecture, quiet coves, fascinating museums and a history that impacts the founding of modern USA.

If you’d like to explore this Mallorca, add these unusual things to your bucket list.

9 Amazing Galleries And Museums in Barcelona

Unusual Places

Barcelona is one of the cultural hubs of Spain, full of fantastic art, architecture, music, and history.

You can wander the streets of the central city and marvel at Gaudi’s unusual architecture, shop on the famous La Rambla avenue, or stop for churros and hot chocolate at one of the many street cafes.

Churros (fried doughnut) and hot chocolate, Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Jo Frances Penn

It’s easy to forget the dark days of the city. The military uprising in July 1936 helped start the Spanish Civil War. A series of air strikes in March 1938 killed almost 1,300 people. And you can see Catalan independence flags throughout the city. The artistic and cultural side of the city masks these wounds, though they’re never far from the surface.

If you’re a culture fiend, you’ve got no shortage of galleries and museums to choose from. But with so many options, it’s hard to plan a visit. To get started, here are nine amazing cultural destinations for your list. They’re great for art lovers, chocolate fans, and even dark tourists.

Adventure, Walking, And My Midsummer Morning With Alastair Humphreys

Travel Memoir

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How does a book inspire a journey a generation later? How does an adventurer who loves to travel alone reconcile himself to a life more ordinary?

In today’s interview, I talk to Alastair Humphreys about his walk across Spain in homage to Laurie Lee.

Alastair Humphreys is an adventurer, author, and motivational speaker named as National Geographic adventurer of the year in 2012. He has cycled around the world, walked across India, and The Empty Quarter desert, rowed the Atlantic, and run the Marathon Des Sables, as well as going on many other micro-adventures. His latest book is My Midsummer Morning: Rediscovering a Life of Adventure.

Show Notes

The necessary element of vulnerability in an adventure

The uniqueness of travel when walking

The difference between type-1 and type-2 fun

Which adventures are chosen to be shared as books, and which are not

How photographs and film change the dynamic of a trip

What is ‘truth’ when writing a travel memoir?

Micro-adventures and living adventurously close to home

Finding adventure in seemingly mundane places

You can find Alastair Humphreys at AlastairHumphreys.com and on Instagram @al_humphreys

14 Weird And Wonderful Places To See In Spain

Unusual Places

Spain is one of my favorite places, somewhere I return to over and over again. I particularly love the Sagrada Familia and the beachside tapas of Barcelona, the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, the chilled vibe of Malaga, and the cultural heritage of Granada and Cordoba.

But Spain has a darker side.

Bloody religious statues and relics fill the Catholic churches, resonant with the history of the Inquisition and the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, who forced the Jews to convert, leave, or die. Their empire took the faith to Latin America in search of gold and converts … at any cost.

Much later, Spain suffered during the Spanish Civil War with torture, killings, and mob violence. The fight against fascism characterizes memorials around the country and still scars many of those left behind.

The deep religious and cultural history brings beauty in the strange and wonderful places that you can still visit and many writers find inspiration there. My ARKANE thriller, Gates of Hell, delves into sites related to Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, while Dan Brown’s novel, Origin, has scenes in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Bilbao.

So which of Spain’s strange places should you visit?

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