A day in the sun at San Sebastian

Thursday 3 October - San Sebastian
OK, I know you're gonna say 'what, only a day?!' but we just wanted to fit in a whistlestop tour before staying there for a few days early next year.  So we were up bright and early and aboard the coach for a 1 hour journey and, boy, was it worth it!

As ever, our indispensable Lonely Planet guide was spot on.  It really is a beautiful belle-epoque style city with a sublime, golden bay - Playa de la Concha.  It was a beautiful, sunny day - 30 degrees at its peak so we spent the morning paddling in the bay (we didn't think to bring our cozzies) along with the locals enjoying their first paseo of the day (the second one is in the evening).  Being cradled between two hills affords the bay some protection from the mighty Atlantic/Bay of Biscay - (i) Mount Urgulle topped with a statue of Christ in Brazil style; and (ii) Mount Igueldo, the summit of which you can reach by foot or, for a less taxing experience, by funicular railway.  You can see the gradient of the Mount Igueldo from the piccie - glad we didn't walk!

View of the gradient from the funicular 'station'

The view from atop is breathtaking.

View of Playa de la Concha from Mount Iguelde

For those of you that don't know, San Sebastian is a gastronomic city of note - especially for its pintxos but, nonetheless, Mick felt inclined to bring sandwiches which I think this stems from a profound fear of starvation!  I know our American friends Janet and Cathy will roar at that!

We were looking for two pintxo bars in particular - Bar Goiz-Argi - known for their superb gambas a la plancha (grilled prawns) and Mejillonera known for a mouthwatering range of mussels, calamare and lively patatas bravas.  But, on arrival, both were closed and not reopening 'til early evening!  So we ate in another bar which was lovely as you'd imagine here with a strong focus on seafood.  Just another reason to return - as if we need one!

We continued to walk around and came across a bronze of Don Quijote and his faithful servant, Sancho Panza.

Don Quijote and his trusty servant

We had planned to climb Mount Urgull but access was limited and, on such a beautiful day, we'd gone off the idea of the Naval Museum so we checked out the harbour instead (no way could we shoehorn "Reward" in there.  We continued to follow the bay around to the River Urumea (non-navigable). 

Mick, never happier than when near a boat!

So, with the sun going down on beautiful San Sebastian - and slightly sore feet from a full day's walk - we headed back to the bus station for our return  journey.  We will definitely return early next year and stay for a few days - it really is a fabulous place and we'd recommend it for a long weekend.  So, until the next post, hasta pronto!