San Sebastian: the beach

After Bilbao, I took the bus to San Sebastian, a beach resort in Basque Country. I walked from the bus station into town, passing the cathedral and a lot of ritzy shopping streets. Because San Sebastian is close to the French border, it has had a lot of tourism for a long time. It's got beaches, but they're mostly concrete beaches - they have sand and tons of hotels lining the promenade. The first thing I did was walk that promenade to the other end of the cove. I took a funicular up to the top of a hill to see the view of the city from above. Luckily it didn't rain while I was walking over there and on top of the hill. From up there, I could see the entire city, which isn't that large, and the green mountains off in the distance.

Back at the hostel, I made some rice for dinner and ate an asparagus omelet with it. I chatted with the other guests before showering and getting some sleep.

Friday morning I woke up to sunshine. I gathered my stuff and ate breakfast. By the time I was ready to leave, it was raining again. I walked around the old part of the city trying to find a museum, which was closed (the building was under construction). I walked by the water and would have kept walking except the rain was coming down harder than I had expected. So, I headed to the underground market. This market was quite interesting because it was under a glass structure and at the entrance to a supermarket. I wandered around taking pictures of seafood (more goose barnacles!) and stopping at a health-food store to stock up on soy milk.

When I went back upstairs, the sun had come out. I crossed the river and walked to a beach where I dipped my hand into the Bay of Biscay. The water wasn't too cold, but I was not about to go for a swim (it was windy and damp).

For lunch I went to a bar and had some pintxos. These are the Basque version of tapas. They're smaller and come on a piece of toasted bread (which I did not eat). I chose a place recommended by the New York Times. I had crab salad (basically crab, mayo and paprika) and a large sardine with blue-berry jam. The blueberry one was surprisingly good. I had not thought combining fish with fruit jam could taste good together, but they do. Then, I went to the market again and got some veggies and fruit for a snack.

Walking from the hostel to the bus station, I passed at least three or four health-food stores, which is a lot for such a small city. I guess it's the tourist and surfer/hippy influence, but I certainly appreciated their presence.