San Sebastian is a coastal city with a boardwalk and towering condos that look over the water. Behind them is the older city with its rock-paved charm. The working harbor is lined with seafood restaurants. Keeping watch over it all is Mt. Urgull and an old castillo.
Breakfast seems to be the hardest meal to find when traveling, especially because we tend to wake up earlier than most of the places we visit. We wandered the empty streets until we saw a man leaving a small patisserie shop with his daily bread. The wind was blowing hard, so we took our fruit juice, apple torte, and a sugary pretzel-shaped pastry to the relatively sheltered steps of the Santa Maria church. Other people came to the church as we ate. Some, like us, were just trying to get out of the wind. A group of women used the church as a meeting place then walked off to another part of the city.
While we waited for the city to awaken, we crossed the river and watched the waves as they crashed into the jetty and splashed violently over the seawall and onto the sidewalks. In Plaza de la Constitución flags fell from the balconies that looked out onto the square. Seat numbers painted on the balconies hearken back to a time when the plaza was used as for bull fights. The restaurants and cafes were began to open at 9 am so we ate a second breakfast at Santa Lucia’s, a 50's-style diner. The greasy-spoon diner would have fit right in to most midwest towns - except for the fresh-squeezed orange juice machine and the churros con chocolate.
While we waited for the city to awaken, we crossed the river and watched the waves as they crashed into the jetty and splashed violently over the seawall and onto the sidewalks. In Plaza de la Constitución flags fell from the balconies that looked out onto the square. Seat numbers painted on the balconies hearken back to a time when the plaza was used as for bull fights. The restaurants and cafes were began to open at 9 am so we ate a second breakfast at Santa Lucia’s, a 50's-style diner. The greasy-spoon diner would have fit right in to most midwest towns - except for the fresh-squeezed orange juice machine and the churros con chocolate.
Aquarium
The weather had not calmed down, so we fought the wind and rain and made our way to the aquarium on the harbor. The aquarium was surprisingly good and gave us a dry refuge from the rain that was now pouring down. Along with the standard fish displays they had a jellyfish tank, a walk-through tunnel with sharks, rays, and a sea turtle, and a touch pool. We learned about Basque sailing history and some facts about the city. In the new tropical wing, a diver picked up anemones that had fallen off the rocks, and cleaned the windows. We held creatures up for the smaller kids (whose moms weren’t going to get wet) at the touch pool and made smiley faces with the creatures. One little girl tried to practice her English with us.
Mt Urgull
Our pension was the only place we could find on the holiday weekend - even booking ahead. It was an older place, with crooked worn stairs, thin sheets, 100-grit towels, and only one shared bathroom per floor. Flor, the owner, ran the place like a strict girls’ school matron (one Trip Advisor reviewer refers to her as a "harpy"). She herself was pretty quirky with a list of strange rules posted on each door - like no using the other floor’s bathroom and quiet hour that started at 9:30 pm (in Spain this is really early). We wouldn't have minded so much except that we were paying high-season rates to stay there. Luckily, we only had to stay for one night. (See our Where We Stayed post for more information about lodging.)
We hiked part of the way up the fortified Mt. Urgull to see if we could find a small cafe for lunch. The cafe was closed, so we returned to the harbor and ate at an Italian restaurant (which didn't actually have any Italian food). Across from us, another English speaking couple provided entertainment. They didn’t speak a lick of Spanish and had a hard time communicating with the waiter. The man kept filling up her wine glass, without drinking much of his own wine. She struggled to stay classy.
The weather cleared while we were eating, and the sun was warm (even if the wind was still blowing), so we decided to finish our hike to the top of Mt. Urgull. The views over the city and bay were very good, and we admired them from a bench while we shared a Santiago torta that we had saved. On the bench next to us, a grandfather was using his “Basque magic” to stop his grandson from crying. The boy had hurt his finger. The grandfather placed his handkerchief over the finger, and waved his hand chanting a little song. The magic worked and the boy started smiling again.
The best views were actually part way down the mountain where we could look over both bays - one full of colorful boats, the other full of surfers.
We hiked part of the way up the fortified Mt. Urgull to see if we could find a small cafe for lunch. The cafe was closed, so we returned to the harbor and ate at an Italian restaurant (which didn't actually have any Italian food). Across from us, another English speaking couple provided entertainment. They didn’t speak a lick of Spanish and had a hard time communicating with the waiter. The man kept filling up her wine glass, without drinking much of his own wine. She struggled to stay classy.
The weather cleared while we were eating, and the sun was warm (even if the wind was still blowing), so we decided to finish our hike to the top of Mt. Urgull. The views over the city and bay were very good, and we admired them from a bench while we shared a Santiago torta that we had saved. On the bench next to us, a grandfather was using his “Basque magic” to stop his grandson from crying. The boy had hurt his finger. The grandfather placed his handkerchief over the finger, and waved his hand chanting a little song. The magic worked and the boy started smiling again.
The best views were actually part way down the mountain where we could look over both bays - one full of colorful boats, the other full of surfers.
Promenade
We took a walk along the promenade, which ran along a wide sandy beach. The weather was warm, the sun was shining, and the wind was calm. The promenade was busy now, as it was near sunset and the light was beautiful. The promenade had two levels, with a fancy white wrought iron fence, and large towering streetlights. Surfers were trying to catch waves in the still stormy waters, some of them obviously experienced and others just taking lessons. A kayaker some body surfers with a jet-ski fared better in the choppy water.
All along the shore dogs of every shape and size romped freely, destroying sand castles, peeing on things, digging, chasing the waves and barking like crazy. One little brown puppy ran around like a manic stuffed animal, relentlessly pestering an older dog, while the owners laughed at his antics.
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