24-29 Mar-2015.
It seems that Spain has it truly sorted here - maybe I am under an illusion - I have a lot of Spain yet to visit.
On the downside there are beggars tucked away in the car parking buildings or around an unexpected corner, which makes me realise things aren't completely sweet.
We stayed in the Parte Vieja (Old Town), the traditional core area of the city. Not an easy apartment to access with the one way street system. I thought we would be 'OK' because our street was one of the few that a car could access. But there was no chance to stop and unload bags, certainly not to park - the police officers were a very present force. Not stopping we just had to make do with the nearest car parking building we could find and lug our luggage, wheels rigging over the cobbles to the apartment.
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| Apartment location in the Old Town. |
All worth while because the apartment and it's location was incredible. We were on the sixth floor with views to the ocean and over the old town we were part of. The 'Statue of Christ' on Mount Urgull looked down on us.
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| View from the apartment. |
On one side on us there was 'Zurriola Beach'- waves, surf and youth. Huge seawalls held back the sea spray breaking over onto the footpaths. On the other side, 'La Concha Beach', also known as the 'Pearl of the Cantabrian Sea' and considered one of the most beautiful urban beaches in all of Europe.
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| Zurriola Beach |
After my first walk I returned to rave endlessly to Chris about the fascinations outside. Off he went for a run and came back saying much the same.
I had walked some of the 5km pedestrian promenade alongside La Concha Beach, admiring the white railings(symbol of the city), admiring the beauty of its monuments and the streets in Belle-Époque.
The buildings are slightly more flamboyant then you would expect. Even the modern buildings have a quirkiness to them, they blend well but can be differentiated from the surrounding historic ones. The scale of the city has been well preserved. there is a modern city council building, built into the wharf - dramatic and slightly brutal(very appropriate for the ruggedness/storm of the coastal site) yet sympathetic in scale and material.
Even the shops all present something unique. There is only one McDonalds , only one mall(comprising of maybe a dozen shops). The shops are so inviting - very little is 'normal'. I have yet to see a supermarket. I have bought food from the most intriguing food shops - full of a wonder of cured meats which I don't understand at all, cheese, breads and preserved food(obviously a great passion here - especially preserved fish). The fruit and vegetables are displayed outside in the most beautiful displays.
The topic of food in San Sebastian is a big one. I must leave this place if I don't wish to become very large. You need incredible self-restraint here, the food is overwhelmingly appealing - little mouthfuls of amazing gorgeousness everywhere - who can resist? If you peer sideways on your wanders you see into a multitude of places selling tempting morsels on counters. San Sebastian has accumulated 16 Michelin stars , the highest number accumulated per square metre than any other place in the world.
Parte Vieja (Old Town), where we were staying, contains more bars per square metre than anywhere else on Earth. During the day the bars are calm morning-coffee hang-outs, but at night they transform into to pintxo-laden delights before finally transforming into noisy bars. Days in San Sebastian start late, confusingly shops usually open at 10am to then shut for a midday or early afternoon siesta of 2 hours and then often another closure late afternoon too before reopening early evening to perhaps 8 or 10pm.
Nights in San Sebastian start late and go until well into the wee hours, we were grateful to have an apartment up high on the 5th floor escaping the noise.
San Sebastians have their own version of tapas, which are smaller than other regions -they call them "pinxtos". They are one of the gastronomic treasures of San Sebastian, which are small bites, from sliced bread with toppings to small creations of high quality Basque cooking. It is considered an art form.
We decided for dinner tonight, just Chris and I, to do the done thing and to hop from bar to bar in the historic centre. In the end we couldn't bring ourselves to move from our delicious spot. Just like the city and its eccentricity, anything went - fabulous to not feel out of place looking like obvious novice tourists who did not know how to order let alone how to eat things, we blended with all types of people. We choose carefully from the small pieces of bread upon which towering creations were constructed, often melded with flavoursome mayonnaise and then pinned in place by large toothpicks e.g . skewered bread, pickled aubergine, cheese, cured meat, mayonnaise and basil. I sampled my first, and best, salted cod, grilled with cheese upon bread. Another delicious 'two mouthful' of pepper stuffed with tuna and topped with preserved chilli. None of this can be eaten with any sense of decorum. The wine is good too and so well priced, perhaps a third of the price as a glass in NZ. I demolished the three euro crème brulee - a deep vanilla bean crème with a thin crispy shell and a scoop of cinnamon sorbet on top. If I was not so full from dinner I would have quite happily eaten my way through the entire dessert menu.
Another night we took the boys for tapas. The hospitality towards children was wonderful. Patatas bravas and Spanish Omelette were no-brainer choices. Ollie opted for more elaborate creations, as you would expect.
Unfortunately we didn't have the best of weather in San Sebastian. a high of 11C and a lot of rain.
So heading for the cover of the aquarium with the boys, we passed through the 'Plaza de la Constitución', the heart of the historic zone. This central building was the San Sebastian Town Hall up until the 1940s. It was previously a bullring, the numbers above the doors(areas were people could watch from) remain. Later I walked past and witnessed some sort of balloon festival - the plaza is now often used for local celebrations.
The aquarium was a great respite from the rain. There was a great display of very 'odd' looking fish. The walk-through tunnel (sharks over and under you) was a hit.
Returning from the aquarium the 'Basilica of Santa Maria' had now re-opened from it's siesta.
The Basilica of Santa Maria, built between 1743 and 1774, is a striking 18th Century baroque work. The typical tourist photo, viewed from Nagusia street, is of it's baroque façade with Churrigueresque (artistic movement relating to the work of José Benito de Churriguera) differences.
Because the weather wasn't good we chose the best day(second to last) to walk to the top of 'Mount Urgull', located at the tip of town. Now a public park it had been a military fort in the 12th Century, falling into the hands of the French in 1719. We walked up past the surrounding low castle walls that circle a grand statue of Christ on the very top. It was s very peaceful, the views so very breathtaking.
Such a spectacular location. There was a small museum at the top within the small castle(La Mota Castle). The castle guide was curious about Lachlan, "he should be on television or perhaps a politician" he commented. This was of course in reference to Lachlan being heard talking loudly and non-stop .
Hopefully this will not be my last visit to San Sebastian.
