Left the drizzly weather of San Sebastian early in the morning in search of the sun. But first, one more pintxo please…

Next stop…Santander, another beautiful, coastal city we love. The gorgeous, green 1.5 hour drive included spots of the ocean peeking out here and there. We passed through the colorful city of Bilbao and caught it’s magnificent centerpiece, the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. It was time for lunch and the sun was out, so we decided to stop. Outside the awe-inspiring building, we had a drink and a bocadillo as the kids marveled at Jeff Koons’, 40-foot tall, flower ‘Puppy’ that stands guard at the front of the museum. No time for a Guggenheim tour, unfortunately…the beach awaits (kids!).

We arrived in sunny Santander by 3pm and hit “la playa” for the rest of the day. Found some interesting rock outcroppings the kids could explore and jump off. Excellent beach outing. At dinner that night we discovered the coolest, most modern park we’ve seen, right next to the restaurant. Perfect…the kids could play while we enjoyed some vino. Then we returned to fireworks above the casino across the street from our hotel – celebrating the 100 year birthday of the Gran Casino Sardinero. Eventful day….kids zonked out as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

The next morning, we drove to the old town in search of churros con chocolat for breakfast. Success!…but just in time. Eating hours are a bit rigid in Spain – the churros were almost “finito” for the morning. That would have been a disappointment to travel worn kids. At any rate, the churros delivered…light and crunchy on the outside, doughy and moist on the inside, served with thick hot chocolate sauce.

Santander was lovely…but we were ready to get to Oviedo, Sean’s home for several months in 1989. Celso, Dora and kids were awaiting our arrival just one hour west. Vámonos!