five ladies in san sebastián

In the beginning of June I met some of my main ladies in San Sebastián, Spain for five days.  Lauren and Adrienne started their Euro adventure visiting me in England for several days, then went on to Berlin, then met up with our friends Rosalin and Sarah in Barcelona, and then all four of them trained it to San Sebastián where I met up.

We rented a top floor apartment with a wrap around terrace almost as large as the apartment itself - great choice Lauren!  With five overflowing ladies' suitcases packed into an apartment, we spent mornings and pre dinner cocktails/tapas, out on that terrace taking in the city views.

We spent each morning at a café around the corner slowly coming off the wine and sun from the day before.  Spanish coffee, free Wi-Fi, and fresh tortilla Española bocadillos - we were in heaven.  Then we would stroll back to the apartment (passing Massimo Dutti where Lauren would fawn over a leather jacket in the window), put on our bathing suits, round up the glass empties to dispose of in the APPROPRIATE glass container on the street (Don't put them in the paper container - accidentally - an old lady with a cane will let you hear it!), and then head to the beach. 

We were lucky to have perfect weather most of the trip which made for long and lazy days lounging on our new cheap beach towels.  With both Rosalin and I living overseas so far from family and friends and surviving on imessage, it was so great for us to hear our friends laughs, see their judgey facial expressions, and chat / gossip face to face.

On our walks home from the beach we would discuss our night's looks, what restaurants we wanted to check out that night, pass and comment about the Massimo Dutti jacket, and pop into the market to pick up pre-dinner snacks and wine.

Each night we would head to the old quarter, Parte Vieja, where there are hundreds of Pintxos bars and restaurants.  We ate and drank like kings, trying a little bit of everything.  After dinner we would wander the cobblestone pedestrian streets and find the next bar.  We may or may not have returned to one certain bar two nights in a row because the Spanish Jason Schwartzman owner found our rowdy American girl swagger to be hilarious (shots on the house) and maybe endearing?

It was rainy on our last day so we did some shopping (Massimo Dutti leather jacket!) and returned to a pastry shop we found the night before. 

Well traveled Marco has always talked about how fond he is of San Sebastian, but this trip far exceeded my expectations.  It was one of the best gastronomic cities I have ever been to, if not the best.  Add to that a beautiful city, great beaches, and time with some of my main ladies.......it was perfect.     

the twins in england part II

Part II of Abigail and Brooke's trip was spent showing them around our local favorites in the East Midlands, Cambridge, and a day trip to the Cotswolds.

We took a morning walk on one of my favorite footpaths that passes through neighboring village, Achurch, crossing the River Nene to the next village, Wadenhoe.  This was the first time of the season that we saw the cattle out in the fields but thought nothing of them as they just stayed along the river's edge watching us cross the field and go up over the bridge. 

Ten minutes later, another woman and her darting-through-the-field whippet were not so lucky.  Seriously I wish I had video, we watched this woman's walk quickly turn to a mad dash for her life while keeping her eyes on the cattle charging at her and her poor clueless dog.  Thankfully they were able to make it through the footpath gate before the cattle reached them.  Stunned by what we witnessed, we thought better of walking the other (5 mile longer) route home and instead just gave the pregnant lady a good head start through the scary cattle field :) Scary cattle pictured in the photos below.

 

While Marco had to work one afternoon, the girls and I decided to head to Cambridge for some punting and shopping.  With our many trips to Cambridge, Marco and I had yet to go punting. 

Brooke and I loaded up on some BYOB at a Cambridge wine shop, Abigail picked up a European hot chocolate, and we hopped on a punt.  Since it was a weekday, we were lucky enough to have a private punt and guide.

Many of the Colleges within the University of Cambridge are closed to tourists (or charge a hefty tour fee) so you rarely get a peek into their stunning historic quads and grounds.  But the way they are situated, backing up to the public property of the River Cam, punting is the best way to see the Colleges - as well as learn a thing or two from a charming and knowledgeable tour guide!

We learned about the history of the University, the architecture, notable scholars and famous alumni, deeply routed rivalries between the Colleges , and silly anecdotes aplenty.  Apparently Prince Charles' bodyguard sat for final exams along with Charles and scored higher.  Magdalene College was the last to admit women, holding out until 1988 and it was still protested by male students!  King's College Chapel of King's College has become a climber's goal and the stories and legends go on. Traffic cones and Santa hats have been placed on the four spires.  It is said that Trinity College is England's third or fourth wealthiest land owner and one could walk from Cambridge to Oxford solely on land owned by Trinity.

Our day in the Cotswolds was spent driving through or stopping and wandering it's picturesque villages.  Henry joined us on the day trip adventure and learned that swans can be vicious. 

It was a day filled of playing my favorite game of home envy with two girls that happen to appreciate the pastime as much as I do.  It was a typical chilly stop-at-a-boutique-and-purchase-some-tights English day and some of the first few villages we stopped through were littered with geriatric filled tour buses.  But as the day went on the sun came out and each sleepy village we stumbled upon was prettier than the last. 

We pub lunched, asked Marco to take photos of us girls with stunning movie worthy backdrops, and chatted about what stars have homes in what villages.  We ended the day at a riverside pub frequented by a few footballers that Marco, Brooke, and Ab are on first name basis with and then the rest of the car indulged me with a stop through Little Farrington where were found the church that Kate Moss and Jamie Hince got married.  (I may or may not be an expert on the VOGUE spread of that wedding.) 

 

We ended their trip with a nice meal out at our favorite local pub, The King's Head in Wadenhoe, and a pint in the pub's garden. 

Ladies, a big THANK YOU for coming to see The Westbrook's in our new little countryside life.  We miss you both so much, it was so special to show you around our favorite haunts.  May your 20 questions continue in email form until we see you when we visit the states in the fall.  xo