dogs

San Sebastian/Donostia

It wasn’t the first, nor the longest stop on our holiday but it just might have been our favourite. I didn’t know a lot about it when I chose it as a stop off, and it doesn’t have masses of “must see” sights*, it’s simply a lovely place to be. It was quite astoundingly beautiful, surrounded by mountains, full of attractive buildings and fringed by golden beaches.

It might have been the gorgeous weather, or relief at having parked the car after a fairly relentless drive. You might equate Biarritz with Belle-Epoque splendour and surfer hip but to me it’s a mass of giant lorries hurtling their cargo to Spain and Portugal. Obviously we didn’t actually visit Biarritz, or Bayonne, or straddling the border Irun; but their names flashed past as I gripped the wheel and followed the SatNav. Then when we reached San Sebastian a road close to our hotel was closed forcing us to navigate old school style. I was so pleased to have arrived that I didn’t even baulk at driving into the underground garage. Well not that much.

after a quick wash and brush up at our hotel this was our lunchtime view

The previous few days in France MrS had been recovering from a lurgy so it was lovely to sit, soak up the sun, relax and enjoy lunch.

our starters at La Perla

Two important lessons from that first lunch: one, Spanish restaurants are not generally dog friendly, and two, some “menu del dia” include a bottle rather than a glass of wine*.* Actually the last one could be a northern thing as I’ve never come across it on other visits.

We did find one dog friendly*** restaurant in San Sebastian, Kaxilda was a few blocks inland from our hotel and a little hard to find but very friendly and with some nice vegetarian options.

With all that eating we had lots of calories to walk off, luckily San Sebastian is perfect for that, we walked along the paseo de la concha, headed east through the fringes of the old town and were amazed by the waves on the Rio Urumea, surfers rode even bigger ones on Playa de Zurriola.

Next day we had a slightly more strenuous walk up to Monte Urgull

looking down from the top

and a little light refreshment

while DogS did some serious sun puddling

You can see from the pictures that there’s something for everyone, gorgeous sandy beaches, including one for surfers, grand shopping streets, the old town crowded around the port and delicious food. We didn’t get to try out any of San Sebastian’s Michelin stars and with DogS it was hard to fully experience the pinxtos bars but we ate very well.

this little dog taking advantage of the spillages

meanwhile it’s all zzz from Dog S, must have been a good walk

At the western continuation of Playa de la Concha, (Playa de Ondaretta) you can board the funicular which climbs up Monte Igueldo

view from the funicular

There’s a small funfair at the top, which was closed for the season. As well as the roundabouts and dodgems there was a wooden roller which on first glance seemed very tame, but then I looked at how closely it hugged the cliff and decided I was glad it was shut. There’s not a lot else up at the top but the views are gorgeous and it’s a popular spot in the early evening.

We took the beach back into town, in the evening dogs are allowed to run free.

“it’s my ball”

And after that, it was time for a sundowner.

Salud! Osasun!

Until next time

Marina x

*there are good museums and cultural centres, just not as well known as the Guggenheim, Bilbao.

**we actually started to avoid “drinks included” menus

***by dog friendly I mean places where dogs can join their owners indoors, most places allowed dogs on the terrace.

Keeping track…..

What will I write in my diary tonight?

Last Thursday in Deauville was mostly about food!

Breakfast at Eric Kayser*, Deauville

It might have been a tad chilly outdoors but this was our favourite cafe and we didn’t want to leave @southfieldchat (aka B) behind. That would have added insult to injury. Thursday was “le vet” day, she had to go for her mandatory examination and worm treatment before travelling back to the UK.

Place Morny from the cafe (not as cold as it looks, that’s fake snow on the trees)

After breakfast we had a little urban walk,

made a note to buy our Gallette du Roi, and stopped for another coffee.

View from Le Cyrano**

After that it was time for “le vet”. Now we’ve been to France twice before with B and had two very different experiences at the vets. First time in Ile de Re was great with a nice young vet who did a very thorough examination and was kind and gentle; second time around in Bergerac, mmm a little less so, the vet had a blood spattered tunic and did a strange “flip” manoeuvre to check B’s bones. She was very much less than impressed. Happily Mme le Vet. in Deauville was lovely and certainly came top in B’s book. She hid the tablet in cheese! B would have stayed there all day.

“What? That was medicine?!?!?”

Wormed, passed fit and with all her papers signed (in all the right places ****) B was legal for re-entry to the UK and we were all free to enjoy the afternoon. So we a took little drive along the coast to Villerville where we popped into a Brocante and took B for a walk on the beach. Because that’s her favourite thing, home or away.

“C’mon you chaps”

And well, we might have had a spot of lunch……

Villerville was the location for the 1960s movie un Singe en Hiver (in English “A Monkey in Winter” or “It’s Hot in Hell”) and the Cabaret Normand is a restaurant still, but we ate galletes in the creperie across the road.

Now you might think that after all that we’d be done with food for the day, and you could be justified in thinking that. But you’d also be wrong. Very, very wrong.

This was our last evening after all!

We’d booked at one of Deauville’s Michelin starred restaurants***: Maximin Hellio.

I don’t have many photos of the food, we were too busy enjoying it.

We’d chosen our menu when we booked but hadn’t realised it would be at the “chef’s table”, actually a very comfortable banquette looking into the kitchen. Normally that wouldn’t be my choice but this was interesting, and as things got less busy M. Hellio chatted to us, well mostly to MrS. I’m fairly proficient at reading menus and know more food vocab. than any other type but struggle with anything more than basic conversation. But even with my poor language skills I could appreciate the care and pleasure he put into his craft.

We left clutching our loot, boxed up petit fours we were too full to eat and an autographed Michelin guide. Stopping off in the Place for one last look at the Christmas lights and then back to the hotel and our beds.

A Bientôt

Marina xx

*Eric Kayser, Place de Morny, Deauville

**Le Cyrano

***the other is L’Essentiel (more about that later)

****VERY IMPORTANT, we’ve seen dogs turned away at Calais even though they’d been to a vet but their passports had been stamped or signed in the wrong place.

Exploring

Two quite different short trips.

First off to Glasgow for an urban adventure (though we’ve been there lots before).

We took plenty of provisions and entertainment for the journey

Our bed for the night was new, both to us and Glasgow at the brand new Motel One ; they even had photos from the West Highland line to make us feel at home. It’s close to Central station and the shops and is very, very dog friendly.

“What’s next? I’ve finished my tea”

If you don’t know the Motel One brand they are well worth checking out. We’ve stayed at their Princes Street branch and they’re also in Newcastle and Manchester.

I couldn’t go to Glasgow without visiting the shops but it’s not quite as dog friendly as Edinburgh, possibly because a lot of my favourites (eg. Whistles, Space NK ) which are dog friendly there are inside malls in Glasgow. The massive Waterstones branch on Sauchiehall Street is dog friendly though, as is Anta and lots of lovely independents on and around Great Western Road. Luckily it was mostly sunny and MrS was happy to wait outside on Buchanan Street while I shopped, and of course Dog S loved all the attention from passers by.

It wasn’t all consumerism though, nor sitting about for DogS. We had a pretty extensive walkies, in fact I covered more steps than I do at home. I’ve walked all over Edinburgh and explored many overseas cities on foot but apart from shopping trips Glasgow on foot has been a path less travelled.

Glasgow is full of impressive buildings, also some haunting ruins. The city centre is full of memories of Glasgow’s time as “second city of empire” and those Victorians didn’t limit their exuberance to building for commerce; on a hill behind the Cathedral is the Necropolis.

It’s a good place for a walk with views over the whole city – and on a clear day up to the highlands.

Births, Marriages and Deaths though not necessarily in that order*

I thought back to our visit when I read this post today**.

And our second trip? Quite different, over the sea to ….. Tiree, the most westerly of the Inner Hebrides. Because of its westerly position it’s much sunnier and drier than many of the islands and also much windier! So windy in fact that it’s a hub for surfing and windsurfing, the Tiree Wave Classic had been held the weekend before our visit.

We stayed at The Old Thatch in Scarinish, small and cosy just perfect for two people and one dog. A traditional two roomed cottage it would have housed a large family well into the 20th century.

view from the bath

Now Tiree’s built environment might be a tad less grandiose than Glasgow’s (though very attractive) but its beaches would be hard to beat.

And it was even warm and sunny enough for a picnic

Our lunch spot was close to the Ringing Stone an “Erratic” which landed on Tiree after a volcanic eruption. Don’t worry about getting hit on the head by flying rocks though, it happened millennia ago. Nearby basking seals jumped into the sea and swam close to get a good look at us.

the Ringing Stone

watching us watching them

It wasn’t all gorgeous natural beauty though, once again all too much plastic waste washed in by the tide. When the shells are sand the plastic will still be around.

the wreck of the schooner Mary Stewart at Scarininsh

and another old lady retired ashore

Two short but sweet breaks, each lovely in their own way.

Marina xx

PS. I’m just back from a shorter trip, just one night in Perth. A shout out to Gringos a lovely, lively bar, dog friendly of course with great food and friendly staff. Not the place for a quiet romantic night perhaps but well worth a visit. Another plus for Perth(shire), a selection of libraries have introduced dog friendly Fridays . No accommodation report because I like to post positive reviews, the only plus point being DogS could come too.

*The Necropolis, Glasgow Cathedral and Infirmary (in the background right).

** I was a bit delayed completing and posting this.

Islay

We’ve had another short break, this time to the slightly less balmy climes of Islay. Storm Callum had been raging, flooding our local shopping centre, cancelling ferries and generally causing mayhem (and very sadly loss of life) but luckily had subsided by the time we needed to travel. Still we stopped off to fortify and warm ourselves up with a hobbity second breakfast at the lovely Smiddy Bistro

Spicy beans and egg on toast

Then it was back on the road to Kennacraig to join the Finlaggan

We’ve travelled to Islay before but always as a means of visiting Jura and though we did make a quick trip over, this time it was all about Islay.

It’s probably best known as a distillery island and while we popped into the newest* one Kilchoman for some lunch (and picked up a bottle to take home) we were more interested in exploring some of Islay’s spectacular beaches.

And of course DogS approved of this option.

Even thought sun was shining I was not tempted to paddle, these beaches Machir and Saligo bays face out into the Atlantic and have dangerous rip tides and fierce waves. I didn’t want to risk DogS following me and getting swept away.

I found a piece of slate and made my mark

But was very aware of leaving no trace…

Unfortunately even on these wild and fairly remote beaches that wasn’t always the case

We couldn’t manage to take away this plastic but removed a few “poo bags” worth of sweetie wrappers, plastic bottles and cable ties. And then because I was looking for obvious litter I began to see the tiny ground up pieces of plastic which we’d have had to sieve the sand to remove.

trying to leave only footprints

Bleurgh!

MrS didn’t miss out on his history fix, as well as the distillery and gorgeous beaches Kilchoman is home to this ancient carved cross and a poignant military cemetery marking the loss of the Otranto in 1918.

And true to form good food and drink was enjoyed, though we couldn’t take advantage of the bar at the Bowmore hotel. (We were driving)

DogS didn’t miss out

A walk through Bridgend woods gave DogS some good sniffs

And she could sniff but didn’t see this fine guy at Islay Woollen Mill

Who’s that sitting in My mill?

And we got the shivers listening to the seal song at Portnahaven

Portnahaven, the seals were sitting out on the island. Singing.

A very short visit but great fun and still lots to return and explore

The Paps of Jura across Loch Indaal from the Bowmore – Bridgend road

And a few treats to take home.

sitting on an Islay wollen mill blanket

Until next time

*Kilchoman is the newest until Ardnahoe opens later this year.

We stayed at the very comfortable, dog (and people) friendly Bridgend Hotel and must give a special mention to the dog friendliness and sausages at our lunch stop The Bowmore Hotel

…walks with a little brown dog

I may have written this before but there are few things that can’t be brightened up by a little brown dog. Recently two much loved local dogs have died; I’ll miss seeing them about, though nowhere near as much as their people will and it’s made me specially glad to have B around.

Part of the joy of walking with a dog is the pleasure they seem to get from their surroundings. B meanders from side to side, on “zombie pawtrol” as it’s known by her Twitter pals. I think she mostly “sees” through her nose but mine is a little further from the sniffs so I decided to look in the more conventional way.

It was a grey, drizzly morning which may accentuate the smells, it can bring sparkle to things you might overlook.

raindrops on spiderwebs

and on whiskers of kittens (well caterpillars)

There was an advertising campaign last year or so with the strapline “Be more dog”. I can’t remember what the product was but it’s not a bad way to be.

from little burns mighty oak trees grow (hmm, maybe that’s not the saying)

and here’s one which grew earlier

Autumn leaves fall, all things pass; sometimes I’m happy, sometimes I’m not. Sometimes I fret. But sometimes I can find my inner dog.

And who could resist that smile?

Marina x

Walking

I’ve walked at some pivotal points my life. When I first moved to Edinburgh my Saturday afternoons were often spent walking, exploring the pages of my street map. Yes I was really living the wild student life. I noticed that the houses preening from the hillside beyond Morningside road reminded me of home. Even though those ones were large detacheds in Fairmilehead rather than small terraces clinging on the valley. I plodded about the town, plotting my routes in coloured inks, searching in vain for Haymarket Ice Rink; that book was out of date several years before I found it. It paid off though, I got to know my adopted city beyond the student and tourist hubs.

It’s Edinburgh Jim, but not as you know it

Walking. Displacement activity, filling up the day before the 5pm Finals posting or later walking the night away through a break up and I just had to be away from the house.

Walking can be sociable, even when I’m on my own, my (almost) daily walk takes me past friends and gives me a chance to catch up on news. And walking with DogS never fails to make me smile.

And who could resist that smile?

We have a local walking group too where people and dogs can socialise and explore.

Even if sometimes our feet get so wet there’s no point avoiding the puddles! (The walk which went with the snowy photo). Walking helps me think, plan, calm down when I need to.

Three different types of walks and walkers have their left footprints recently.

The first, walking as art Alexander and Susan Maris’ The Well at the World’s End a journey from Schiehallion to Iona passed fairly close by, the second and third pilgrimages but of different kinds came even closer. Charles Compton walking around the British mainland coastline* raising money for The Mental Health Foundation arrived in the morning and then after lunch (and my own much shorter walk) the third group, actual pilgrims walked and waded nearby.

So today, I’ve done my 10,000 steps and been standing a while so I’m giving my stripily suntanned feet a rest.

Marina x

*including islands linked by bridges or non tidal causeways

The little things…..

Today I took my dog to the beach. Now that is not an unusual thing, but today I tried to do just that. No ‘phone, no photos, no posting. Just me’n’B, walking, watching , listening. Enjoying her pleasure at simply being there.

My dog smiles. Disclaimer, this is blatant anthropomorphism on my part. She’s a terrier, her mouth is just made like that and anyway she expresses delight from her other end. But her smiley face lifts my spirits.

So back to the beach and maybe at first little MissB is looking for something else too, but I’ve brought no balls so it’s just running and sniffing and maybe digging up some treasure. The tide is low today giving us a lot more beach than last time. More sand, more seaweed, more stones; so many different types of stone; slate, granite, quartz, smooth, crusted, hairy. The smooth ones are great for bowling along the sand, B in hot pursuit.

The splash and sift of the sea on the sand, children’s voices, the thunder of paws – for a small dog she can make quite a din. It’s a week day, a work day, the children are here on a trip from school, learning to climb the cliffs. Last time the sun shone, it was a holiday, I filled a big shopper full of rubbish as I walked. I’d found the shopper tucked into the rocks. A couple of tourists joined in, horrified by the mess. There’s a different couple today, taking pictures, enjoying the almost pristine beach, but all that plastic didn’t just end up in my bag. It’ll visit some other shore.

Just for a moment, banish that thought. Just for a moment, be in the moment.

Having fun, with my dog, on the beach.