Spain (Pamplona, San Sebastian): Thursday, May 1st

After leaving Barcelona we headed to Pamplona, Spain.  As we exited the big city we entered an enchanting area of green fields, hills, and vineyards.  The landscape is so elegantly planned.  The vineyards created a patchwork of vines with fields planted in circles, squares, and rectangles.  As we drove along the country roads we saw small towns built on the lush green hillsides, each one with church steeples and houses made with brick.  It was quite a lovely site.

As we left Pamplona and drove toward the coast and San Sebastian, Spain, the terrain became more mountainous.  The landscape was extraordinarily green with thousands of tiny yellow flowers creating a mosaic of color.  Houses with bright red roofs were nestled into the hillsides and sheep grazed in the fields.  It was raining as we drove through these mountains so we limited our photo stops but the scenery was spectacular.  The huge circular shaped tunnels, which were carved through the mountains to accommodate automobile traffic, blended into the countryside quite gracefully.

San Sebastian is a beautiful coastal town which appears to be heavily influenced by its French neighbor.  The architecture and landscape designs appear more French than Spanish.  Boulevards which run along the seashore were lined with trees which overhung the streets.  Houses were built in the French Normandy style with graceful, delicate lines.  The beach was lovely but since it was raining we continued to drive towards our destination for the night.