It is my last day here in San Sebastian, and I am winding down and relaxing after 4 days of intense sightseeing. It's a great city for walking, fairly flat, with many pedestrian only streets in the old town, and a 2-mile long sidewalk along the the "Playa de la Concha", known as one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe. My first day here was fairly warm, so I dared to bare my white and flabby body and take a little dip in the ocean. It was a little chilly, but still felt nice. The weather since has changed, and it feels more like fall. Today I even had to pull out my fleece jacket when I sipped my morning café con leche in the plaza.
The beach is flanked on one end by Monte Igeldo, where a funicular takes you to the top for some amazing views (see picture #2); and on the other end by Monte Urgull, with an old fortress capped by a big statue of Christ, overlooking the old town below. The 2nd hill is covered with walking trails, which I have walked up every morning for some great veiws of the ocean and town, and a respite from the incessant cigarette smoke. Ok, sorry, I will try not to be one of those whining Amercians who always complains about cigarettes, because you already know how I feel about them, but Spain surely is smoker heaven. Here a smoke, there a smoke, everywhere a smoke-smoke. I am fairly sure they pass out packs of both cigarettes and crayons in Kindergarten. Ok, that's the last time I will bitch about the smoke, I promise.
The old part of town is full of winding streets lined with bars and restaurants serving Tapas, or pinxtos, as they are called in Basque. Every night, they line up trays of little munchies and people go from bar to bar, drinking wine or beer and sampling little plates of goodness. It's pretty inexpensive, and very tasty. I esp. like the little fried potato dumplings and the 'bocadillo' sandwhiches, filled with omlette, mmm-mmm good. I could definetly get used to eating like this, except for the fact that they don't eat dinner until around 10 pm. This part I will never get used to.
Yesterday I took a bus to Bilbao, the largest city in the Basque region of Spain, and home to the Guggenheim museum. The art was only so-so, as I am not really into modern art, but the building itself was pretty cool. I spent the day walking around the city, which is undergoing a huge renovation. It's not as quaint as San Sebastian, but worth a visit, if for nothing else than a visit to the museum and the ride through the countryside, which was beautiful. Very green and dotted with little stone houses that look more Swiss than Spanish. |
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