Restaurants near Biblao

Before Randy joined us in June, four nights a week dinner consisted of crackers and cream cheese for Rita, and Oscar Meyer cheese hot dogs for me. We would eat late in the evening, sitting at the small table in the little kitchen and talking about the day. But Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we went out. I ate langouastine (they look like overgrown shrimp), Jamón Jabugo (an excellent cured ham), large white asparagus (served with thick mayonnaise). I tried squid served in it’s own ink, and discovered that “pan duro” is day-old bread. We started using "duro" as a synonym for "stale", and everywhere bread is very "duro". We always needed to ask for butter, because they won’t offer it voluntarily. I needed to ask for ice, too, and then would only get one single ice cube. Beer was never cold but white asparagus always was. And despite what Rita told us, some places did understand the “doggy bag” concept. Sometimes our dinner out was for business, like when the American bosses came to town; on those occasions we always ate at expensive restaurants because the bosses loved to spend  the company's money. After Randy joined us, we went somewhere every weekend. We seldom knew the name of the places where we ate, but we created our own nicknames for our favorite local ones.

"Our" restaurant: On the hillside above our apartment was a humble but good restaurant. It seemed to be a family business, set up in what looked like a closed-in pavilion. They had a menu chalked up in front of the counter where we ordered before we went into the seating area, which had long tables and benches. This place had the quickest, best service we found in Spain. The waiter looked like a teenager but he was unusually quick, efficient and congenial. The food was basic fare but very good, and more than enough. Lomos con potatoes was one of their best. Desserts were sherbets, frozen into the rind of whatever flavor you ordered, such as orange sherbet in half an orange rind. And they had foil bags for take-home food.

Eroski: The super-grocery store had a restaurant which served a daily menu plate and quick sandwiches, like ham and cheese. It was a good place for when we wanted a quick and reasonably priced lunch. 

El Cortes Ingles: It was the retail biggest store we went to, several stories tall, and had a few restaurants on the upper level, most of which served sandwiches. We didn't eat there often because there were so many other places to choose, but it was nice in a pinch and, like Eroski, it's main asset was that it very quick. Mealtimes are very leisurely in Spain but sometimes we wanted to grab a bite to eat so we could keep moving and see more stuff.

Pincho bars: Pincho bars were sort of like Spain's  fast food but they were much better. Each bar had a selection of pinchos (finger food), usually fish or potato-based snacks to be dipped into the thick home-made mayonnaise that we spooned out of cups on the bar. At first I was wary of eating mayonnaise that had been sitting out for who-knows-how-long, but we never had any ill effects from it. Pincho morunos, served like shish-kabobs on thin wooden skewers, were spicy and very good. The bars only had a few small tables, so most customers ate standing at or near the bar. Customers ate whatever they chose, either snacking from platefuls of pinchos set on the bar or asking the bartender for specifics. When they were ready to pay, the bartender asked they ate and charged accordingly. Although pinchos were quick and tasty, they were not cheap. For Spaniards out in the evening, the custom was to go to several bars, snacking and drinking at each one. 

Mario’s 4 star: Downtown Bilbao, close to Mario’s hotel, there was a restaurant which was supposed to be one of the best. Mario took us to dinner there one night. Randy, who likes the good things in life, wanted steak and lobster. The restaurant had a steak dinner and a lobster dinner, but not a combination of the two. Mario spent about 5 minutes trying to explain that he wanted the staff to serve Randy those two meats on the same plate. He spoke Spanish very well, but the concept seemed to be totally beyond our waiter's comprehension. Eventually he brought out two separate dinners for Randy, who enjoyed it all, although the lobster was not as good as a New England lobster. That meal cost in excess of $400 for the three of us. 

Old Farmhouse: Somewhere between Asua and Sopalana, an old farmhouse had been converted into a very fine restaurant. It was expensive and required a reservation to get a table. They did not accept any reservation before 9 pm, and dinner was not actually served until at least 9:30. Most of the tables were upstairs. They had excellent food and some of the best pâté we ever ate. We had dinner there when Kris Walters and his wife from Belgium were in town; they had driven an Audi down, which was to be rented by one of the company's big shots. This was also where we had my farewell dinner.

Little White Houses: Along the shore in Las Tamarises there was an area with several little whitewashed houses, some of which had been converted into fish restaurants. 
The fish in these was always good, mostly local fish like monkfish. They were served whole, with the tail attached and the eyes rolling in their sockets. Someone said this was to assure the customer that they were getting the exact type of fish they ordered. This was one of Rita’s favorite area to eat. Once when we went there with Steffon and the others, Steff ordered an after-diner liqueur that was truly wicked, sort of like a 200-proof cough service. 
Fondue: There was a very good cheese and meat fondue place nearby, but they took a really long time to serve it. We could never figure out what took so long, since they didn't have to cook anything! They served 4 different kinds of sauces with the beef fondue, and they had excellent salads, with Belgium endive and walnuts. We went there several times; once with the gang from work; that time we made Jon pay because we figured accountants have access to the cash.
Hotel on the beach: A newly opened hotel in Las Tamarises had an excellent restaurant. We dined there once with Tom McRaven and Jeff Pruitt. The dinner was very good, and Tom kept ordering more food and drinks for everyone. Tom had a quiet, confident manner, but then, he was the money man. The waiter kept pouring strong scotch into Randy’s coffee, which made him a little sick later. 

Miscellaneous London

We went to London so many times that I lost count, and there was something wonderful to see each time. On one visit we got a look at the museum ship HMS Belfast.
Royal Guards were visible around town, and everyone wanted to take a picture with them. I was more interested in posing with the horse than with the guard!
I loved this entrance. Why make something simple when this is possible?
Tower Bridge at night - one of the best sights!
I really like the name of this church - it's the Church of All Hallows by the Tower. This is reported to be the oldest church in the City of London.  Makes sense, it was founded in 675. Of course not all of it is that old, but they do have some bits of the original church. 
I am not much of a drinker, but I really enjoyed the picturesque pubs.

Sock money

I got to be pretty good at doing quick, rough currency conversions in my head. Spanish pesos, French francs, English pounds and Belgium francs - each had it’s own conversion rate to US dollars. I kept different currency in different socks. When we went to any country, I would just grab the appropriate sock. 

Tall Ships at the Thames Barrier

One weekend we drove to Milestone (Concord’s London office) then walked over to the River Thames to watch the tall ships sail in. This was the last year this route could be used for this event because a bridge was to be built across the river soon. We stood on the banks with Ian, Diane, Mike and Martina to watch the show. Ian was set up to take some great pictures. 
We were near the Thames Barrier; it's got a really unique design.
Ships came from Ireland, Russia and other lands. We couldn't tell them apart, but they were fascinating.

6/24/89 Biarritz, France

Another weekend, another trip! This time Rita drove me, Randy and Mike K. on a 90 mile trip, crossing the border into France. Just a little across the border, to the seaside town of Biarritz. The part we drove through was very pretty and well-maintained. 
We didn't stop in town, but I think maybe we should have stopped to see the Sainte Eugenie Cathedral
It was clean everywhere. And here was the first (and possibly only) place I saw a bathroom for dogs. I's called a caninet - a street corner dog toilet. Not sure how they got the first dog to use it, but after that there should be no problem!
Biarritz, like all of the French and Spanish seaside towns we visited, sits on the Bay of Biscay, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. And they make the most of their location.
It's a lovely place to relax with someone you love. Fortunately, I brought my "someone" with me! By now he was blonder than I was, thanks to all that time in the sun.
It was clean and beautiful, without being overrun with tourist stuff. Like most beaches in France, this one was top-optional. Randy and I were used to this, but Mike embarrassed us.
So I didn't take pictures of the beach; instead I took pictures of the surrounding area. 
We stayed long enough to have dinner in one of the nearby restaurants. I ordered crab, which came another tiny little crab as a garnish. Cute and good!





Portugalete, Spain

Portugalete was northwest of Bilbao. It was actually closer to our Sopelana apartment, except that it was on the other side of the Biscay Bay tributary, right across from Las Arenas. 
One of the bridges that crossed the water was an old transporter bridge that we called the Eiffel Tower Bridge. That wasn't its real name, but it was designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel, so that's how we knew it. 
Occasionally we would find our way over there, not by the bridge which wasn't used for people or cars, but by road from Bilbao. It's a pretty town to walk through, with several lovely old buildings, such as the Town Hall.
We could see the top of a gothic church, with a slender cross on top. 
This was a great place to people-watch. In towns like this, walking was the sensible way to do shopping, and it was not unusual for the plazas and sidewalks to be full.
My favorite group was this company of young men. We couldn't communicate much beyond my request for a photo, but I think they were soccer enthusiasts with a couple of Basque flags. Their love of team and country comes through loud and clear!

Bridges and restaurants of Las Arenas

Las Arenas is a nice waterfront town just north of Bilbao. The section we saw didn't have a beach but it was a pretty town. 
A fine place for a blond tourist to wander around.
There are some nice shops here. This is where I bought my red leather jacket; at the time it seemed to be a perfect jacket. The only picture I have of it was when I wore it on our trip to Castros.
The most common pets we were in Spain were German Shepherds, and every one of them was excellently trained. The dogs would follow their master without the need for a leash. I saw people bring their unleashed German Shepherds into stores and the dogs never left their master's side. Las Arenas was one of the few places where I saw another type of dog; this huge dog next to the baby stroller appealed to me.
Downtown there is a bridge which connects Las Arenas to Portugalete; this bridge was designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame. It’s supposed to be the oldest transporter bridge and it’s real name is the Vizcaya Bridge but everyone I knew called it the Eiffel Tower Bridge.
Near the bridge was a very good Italian restaurant. I never knew the name of the restaurant; everyone I knew just called it the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. They made a very excellent lasagna, served in a bowl with a heavy cream sauce all over it. They also made good sandwiches: our favorite was made with tomatoes, white asparagus, lettuce, etc, topped with an egg, stacked between 3 pieces of toast with a circle cut out of the top piece so the egg showed.

Belguim - Val St. Lambert Crystal and Ghent

We enjoyed visiting other countries on weekends, going whenever the company jet was headed, if we could get a couple of seats on it. Since the company owner was from Belgium, it often went there. 

One weekend when we flew to Belgium, we drove to the Val St. Lambert Crystal factory in Liege, where they make amazing crystal items. In the lobby is a huge, almost-as-big-as-me crystal vase, used to show off their technique and attention to detail. We were able to tour the factory, where I learned that their red crystal gets it ruby color from a bit of gold. I deeply regret not buying anything here.

Another day we went to a great street market in Ghent. Randy found a stall selling meats; the vendor appreciated Randy's enthusiasm and kept giving him samples and more samples. Together we bought a big paper cone of marshmallow treats and a beautiful old coffee mill. Over the market stands a dramatic statue of Jacob van Artevelde. He was a political guy but was also known as "The Brewer of Ghent", which is a pretty good reason to get a statue.
In Belgium you cannot drink the tap water, which is not that uncommon in Europe. The land is mostly flat, and where there are trees, they are usually tall, pine-like, with no branches on the lower 10 feet of the trunk. Biking is a common form of transportation here; in Spain it is just a sport, but here bicycles are used for work and shopping. The highway speed limit outside of town was usually 100k, and the police really care about the speed limit. To know if you are  speeding, police take your photo; all you see is a quick blue flash, and there is no argument. And if you are caught going 140k, you lose your license. 

Ria taught us a little Flemish. We asked how to say please: "alsjeblieft" pronounced al-stur-blif. Since she gave us directions in the car, we learned that "links" is left and "da rechts" (pronounced da rache) is right. And beautiful is "mooi" (pronounced moy); I learned that because I thought everything was "mooi". 

Ria was with us when we visited Ghent. The old buildings along Graslei Harbor are tourist attractions, based solely on their beautiful facades. They show the "corbie-step" roofline that is so common in historic Belgium. 
In the newer section of town, I loved this little house, very old and surrounded by new buildings but standing tall and proud.
St. Bavo's Cathedral is near the center of town, with it's tall, straight bell tower and apse supported by flying buttresses.
This cathedral has amazing details. I've been told that the great cathedrals used carvings to teach Bible stories and morality lessons to the mostly-illiterate parishioners.
Inside the apse is an altarpiece painting by the van Eyck brothers, called "the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb". Outside the apse is a big monument built to honor Hubert and Jan van Eyck, with statues of people bringing flowers and garlands to the brothers.
Nearby is the beautiful medieval belfry of Ghent, the tallest belfry in Belgium.  
One of my favorite castles, Gravensteen Castle, is in Ghent; I like it because it hasn't been restored or remodeled.
The Royal Dutch Theatre has a lovely mosaic over its door. 
The "Groot Vleeshuis" aka Butcher's Hall building dates back to the 14th century.
We went to a coffee house for coffee and soda. The coffee house was tucked between two larger buildings, and we had to walk through a fairly narrow hallway to get there, but it was a nice stop.  
We also took a boat ride through the canals, admiring the old buildings that had been there for centuries and were still in daily use.
We saw the Rabot Gate, an old-style hydraulic sluice gate from 1491.
We found the Prinsenhof, with its fine old entrance,  used by counts of Flanders since 1366. 
It was here, I think, that we saw an unusual copper sign about the layout of the Prinsenhof. 
We saw the archway of the Rue del l'Âne Avenge - a handsome, decorative arch which must have some history I don't know about. 
There were many sights we enjoyed, even though I can't recall the significance of all of them. Lovely Ghent.