Saturday, September 21, 2024
Today was a busy last day of our stay in Basque country. Our tour bus departed for the hour-long southwesterly trip to Tolosa at 8:30 am. After disembarking in Tolosa, we walked across Oria River on a bridge to meet our local guide in front of the tourism center. Our guide, with brightly dyed red hair, told us that Tolosa was once an island (but no longer) and was the region’s only entrance into, and exit from, the Kingdom of Navarra. Because of this, there is a history of markets in Tolosa three of which we visited on our walking tour.
—— Tolosa and the Oria River ——
—— Town Hall Square ——
After departing Town Hall Square, we stopped as our guide discussed the history of the Gothic style Church of Saint Mary surrounded by colorful residences.
—— Church of Saint Mary and Neighborhood ——
We then walked to the Plaza de la Verdura, or the vegetable market, then down a street lined with various businesses.
—— Vegetable Market and Clothing Shop ——
From there, we passed through a gate into another section of town that was built upon a small river. Here, we walked around the outdoor General Market where all sorts of household goods, clothing, reading material, etc., were for sale.
—— General Market ——
From the General Market, we walked to the Food Market. Normally, this is held in a chic glass and metal building which we toured. But, during our visit, this building was prepped for a beer festival which wouldn’t start until this evening (sigh). However, we walked through a gate across the street and were able to intermingle with shoppers at the temporary outdoor site of the market. We were impressed by the fresh seasonal wild mushrooms, paprika, peppers, and other food on sale.
After viewing our third outdoor market, we walked back over the Oria River, boarded the bus and rode for another 45 minutes to our next destination, Loiola.
—— Food Market ——
Loiola (or Loyola) is the birthplace of St. Ignatius, the founder of the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. The town lies along the Urola River and is dominated by the Basilica of Loyola whose walls contain the childhood home of St. Ignatius. Another local guide led us through the ornate Basilica but our time there was limited due to an impending wedding ceremony that we watched progress during our visit. Next, we walked through the enshrined home of St Ignatius learning about his life and the founding of the Jesuit Society. As we exited, the wedding crowd was waiting along the Basilica steps for the newlyweds to emerge.
—— Sanctuary of Loyola ——
We ate a nice lunch at Kiruri Restaurant of Tolosa (black) bean soup with cabbage, meats (I abstained), peppers, and a delicious vanilla ice cream cake drizzled with chocolate for dessert. Jane and I very much enjoyed sampling the Tolosa black beans that we had been hearing about during our stay in Basque country. After lunch, we headed back to the Parador in Hondarribia.
—— Lunch in Loiola at Kiuri ——
Late in the afternoon while in our room, I heard beautiful singing voices. I followed the music downstairs to the bar where a group of locals were singing together, some seated at the bar tables, some standing, while being accompanied by a pianist. The music was excellent and reverberated nicely around the stone castle walls. After the singing ended, we congregated in the Social Salon for drinks and some farewell comments from Paula and Cameron then went outside the Parador for a group picture.
We walked to the Marina section of town to the Biondar for our farewell dinner together. We ate fish soup, grilled tuna, and apple pastries. Paula sat at the same table as our group of four and so we talked about travel including quizzing her about some of our future Iberian destinations. After dinner, we walked back to the Parador, packed up, prepared for an early departure tomorrow, and went to bed for a final sleep in our cozy castle on the hill.
—— Group Picture and Farewell Dinner Venue ——
