Hey y'all. I'm back. It's time to talk about the amazing Pili now! I already talked about meeting her, but the story doesn't end there. We met up with her the following day because she generously offered to drive us to Osses (the Lekumberry family has relatives there), and we were planning on meeting them and spending a night there before heading to Barcelona. Well, we didn't end up making it to Osses, but that didn't make our adventure any less enjoyable.
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| On our Pili Adventure! |
Pili picked us up from the hotel, and that's when the real fun began. Our trip wasn't about efficiency; it was about leisure and fun, thanks to Pili. After a few hilarious traffic light mishaps, we stopped at a gorgeous castle near the Spain/France border with incredible views of the ocean and of the surrounding towns. But we couldn't just walk around it once. Pili insisted that we walk around it one way and then around it the other way-- you always see things differently from a new viewpoint she said. And she was right. This is a lesson that will be dear to my heart from this trip because taking time to enjoy and to really take in all of the sights made our time spent together even more special.
We then ventured to St. Jean de Luz, which is a small French port town. The sun had finally overpowered the rainclouds that seemed to have been following us, and we spent a pleasant afternoon wandering the streets of this little town. Another great Pili lesson: light a candle and make a wish in every church you come across. This is another one of my favorite Pili moments because although I can't do it justice with words, it was magical. Just do it someday- you'll know what I mean.
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| Yummmm! |
At this point, we found out that the Osses trip wasn't going to work out due to logistics one way or another, so we headed back to San Sebastian. After Pili helped us find a new hotel, we called it a night and planned to meet up again the next day. Winging it at it's finest. Surprise, surprise: the next day brought rain, but once again, we didn't let this dampen our spirit for adventure. Pili invited us to share a lunch at her gastronomic club, which is basically a really nice kitchen to use at the disposal of a club member. And oh my, this lunch ended up being some of the best food that we ate on our trip. Pili treated us to some local delicacies, and I'm pretty sure that my dad was in heaven with all of the cooking power available at his fingertips. When we emerged from the club, contented and full once again, the weather had cleared up, and we were well-equipped (we thought) for another Pili adventure.
Somehow we ened up walking all the way to the other side of the bay, and then we took this cute little tram thingy called the Funicular up to Mount Igueldo, which is the area on the peak of the other side of the bay. After numerous photo opportunities, a round of bumper cars, and the realization that everything else was closed, we made our descent on foot all the way to the other side of the bay. Even though this was a really long walk, it went by super fast as we shared in great conversations. Pili's daughters asked me all about American high schools since they have seen images in movies and hope that maybe one day they will attend a high school in the US. So of course we talked about the hot topic with high school-aged girls: prom. It was a kick!
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One of my favorites:
The group looking at the view from the top of Mount Igueldo. |
Then, after a few more rounds of tapas and drinks, it came time for the bittersweet goodbye. We had shared a few phenomenal days together, and it was sad to realize that it was coming to a close. But the good news: Pili was already planning to visit Gardnerville in August. So even though it was goodbye for now, it wasn't goodbye for an indefinite amount of time. I honestly can't imagine what our time in San Sebastian would have been like without Pili, our guide and now good friend.
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