Andorra-Spain-France-Spain

I am in the Pyrenees. From Andorra, I wind through mountain roads all day, really getting a workout hauling the bike around all the turns. I stop only to eat and pee. An AdvRider advised me to go to the area around Pau, France - so that is my target. After a great ride in the mountains, I arrive in Pau and there is no there - there.  Pau has little to offer for me, and I feel I have ridden too far North into France when I really should have headed into Spain, but I did get to ride the mountains.

The next day I leave Pau, and head for San Sebastian via Pamplona. I don't spend any time in Pamplona - a much bigger city than I imagined, as I am aiming for San Sebastian, where I find a camp site in the hills that overlook the Atlantic Ocean. The campsite is geared to RV's - with small sites very close together. The family next to me (Dad, Mom and two teens) are German and the boy likes to play electronic music on his computer - I want to kill him.

The facilities are terrific - hot showers, and a laundry, a bar and restaurant where I get a burger and beer for dinner. The washing machine takes two hours to wash my clothes. I had to take the time as my fancy Rukka pants were really stinky. Euro 5 for wash, Euro 2 for dryer - and the pants were still wet.

I have perfected the technique of strapping my wet laundry on the back of the bike to air dry as I ride. Very scenic.

Next day I head for Bilbao, site of the Guggenheim museum. I have an expensive lunch at a cafe (exquisite food) and take a room at an IBIS hotel with underground parking. That evening, out of food in my room and wanting to see some people, I wander out to a nearby square, and see that the place is really alive, lots of families hanging out at cafe's with kids running and screaming. Everyone is having red wine and tapas on the street. I find a place that sells roasted chicken, and try to order, but lost in translation I end up with a whole roast chicken to take back to my room. I am able to eat half, and the rest is wasted. Worse, I realize that this isolation behavior is not healthy. There is a lot of activity out there, and I am not participating by hiding in my room. I feel self conscious eating alone, and the language barrier is real for me. My actual experiences with Europeans while limited, have been OK.