LA PETITE SOULAN

On the Bidasoa River, the small boat shuttles back and forth, slaloming between the fishing boats. We thus cross the border river where Paul Morand wrote "fishes have two countries". We can already see the silhouette of Fontarabie taking shape. The old town with its fortifications, its dark streets lined with noble houses with coats of arms converges towards the church of Santa Maria and the castle of Charles V. On Calle San Pedro and under the century-old plane trees, one can sit down at one of the taverns and enjoy a tapas dinner. That is why we come. To experience Spain.

Further on, the statue of Christ dominates the Bahia de la Concha. We are in San Sebastian where the posh and rich are cultivated without ostentation. The most beautiful illustration of this is the mythical Mariá Christina hotel where every Spanish aristocrat had to stay. On the other side, the Japanese lanterns of the Kursaal - two parallelepipeds of cedar and frosted glass that have been washed up. During the hours of the Paseo, the good Basque and Madrid society meets on the Concha. We can dine at both ends of the bay, tapas in the shelter of the wind with a view made flamboyant by the setting sun. Tuna on a piece of bread, bellota ham and anchovies with some hot pintxos displayed on the blackboard and a glass of full-bodied Rioja red wine. At one end of the bay, the Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida built El Peine del Viento. It is without a doubt the most exceptional work and one of the artist's best known.

Frank Gehry designed a bold and sculptural building in Bilbao. A series of interconnected volumes, some octagonal in shape, clad in limestone, others curved and twisted, dressed in a metallic titanium skin. This is why one comes to Bilbao, for the Guggenheim. But don't forget the Casco Viejo district, Bilbao's old town, paved with medieval calle where you can dine in a Pintxo as old as the Plaza Nueva, the Café del Victor Montes. When you have more time or when you come often, there is Alhóndiga, an old wine market hall with columns made by Philippe Starck: made of marble, bricks, Lecce stone, wood, steel, terracotta, cement bronze, or aluminum there are forty-three in total. Next door, Café Iruña is more than a century old. Already in 1937, a guide mentioned it as a place where activists and libertarians met. Its Mudejar decoration made of old tiles, finely decorated wooden panels, polychrome ceilings and tinted glass has not changed.

Going up towards the coast, it’s the opportunity to see the neo-Rustic style houses built by the rich Indianos, the Basques who left for Panama or Venezuela. In San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, eucalyptus, laurel, alder, chestnut, birch, pine, meadows and cultivated fields draw a monochrome of greens that combines with the blue of the sky. From the church perched high up there  resounds the sound of the bronze bell that runs over the ocean.