Thelma and Louise Part 2 - San Sebastian

Well, after the road trip of Portugal and the south, Mum was hoping to see some of the north of Spain. It was starting to look like the flights were too expensive, so we were researching other options, like Segovia and Seguenzia etc - both respectable, interesting, old towns close to Madrid, but really, deep down, it was the Basque country on the northern coast that held the most appeal.

So at the eleventh hour, we looked at the el-cheapo airline webistes and found a budget flight for the next day!!! woo hoo!! The flight there was 3 euros (+ taxes of course) and all up it was only 80 euros eachr return!! Pretty good.

Ruben was hired to help us book a room for the weekend - I mean, I could do it, but what would take me an hour, he can manage in 5 minutes....... After a few calls he decided that he liked the sound of a little old lady who called him "son" - so we were to stay with deaf, old Josephina for the weekend....

So we set off on Sat morning, checked in to our pension close to the beach and went straight to the old town to try the world famous pinxos of San Sebastian.

A litle history to start with:

San Sebastian is a coast town in the Basque region of Spain. The Basque´s dont think of themselves as Spanish, they have their own language, their own cultures and customs and they are fiercely patriotic to their region. ETA is the terrorist group that originate in the Basque region and the region has been fighting for autonomy from Spain for a long long long time....

The Basques have also been credited with "inventing" the pinxo style of tapas (slices of bread stick with a vast variety of toppings) and they are world famous for their innovative chefs etc....

So that brings mum and I to one of the many bars in the old town, eating pinxos and sipping a beer for breakfast (well, it was after 12!!) A big part of the pinxo (pronounced Pin-Cho) experience is the presentation... They look amazing - piles of food of a variety of colours loaded onto the bar ready for you to peruse at your leisure... you don´t order pinxos, you get a plate and take whichever ones you like.... you pay at the end by telling the waiter how many you had in a kind of honour system. The waiters have eyes like hawks - they seem to see every morsel on every plate in a very very crowded bar.... But there is little reason to cheat the system - its not too expensive and a few will be filling enough for the afternoon. These bars ahve an amazing atmosphere and the locals seem to enjoy this wonderful afternoon tradition.

Mum became a fan of the ham croquettes and I couldn´t stop choosing the crab salad one... hmmmmm, yummo! For the first day, we were just walking into every bar to see how much more exotic the selection could become. We had a number of bars now that had to be tried this weekend, and also a committment that this weekend was about eating and enjoying and we could deal with the exercising next week...



As we walked in the cobble stoned streets we heard a choir singing in one of the streets and we followed the echoing voices til we found about 100 people blocking one the tiny streets, except for one little area where pedestrians could squeeze through to continue with their day... I was certain that we had come across either some zealous religious folk or, perhaps even a politically motivated group, but either way, it was really beautiful - 100 voices singing with gusto and in harmony...... We stayed til they moved on to the next street and I asked if they were part of the church (they had a certain believers glow on their faces...) but in fact "no - we are proud Basque people who love our language and we love to sing and every third saturday we sing in the streets..." So perhaps a little political, but non-violent and really enjoyable. We saw them again later in the night, when their number had dropped to about 20 people, and people spilled out of bars with a drink in their hand (us included) to enjoy the free concert.

So, it warmed up a little and we took a walk along the beach, La Concha! The beach here is really beautiful - looking out ot the bay, on your right is the old town, and the old fortressed hill with the prominent statue of Jesus on top. To your right is the old summer palace and the funicular to the amusement park on top of the hill. Directly in front is a turtle shaped island like a dot in the middle of the bay. In summer pontoons are set up in the bay with slides and trampolines etc and you need to take a reasonable swim to get to them. Its still out of season, but a decent number of people were soaking up the early spring rays.




That evening we had a "proper" (ie not more tapas!!) meal in a restaurant - ok, not one with a world famous chef, but a really cute place with a nice chatty waiter and had a really nice meal. The walk home was lovely as the evening mists had rolled in giving the bay a really etherial look with the high tide and the lights along the promenade.

On day 2 we bought some fruit and took a walk up the hill to visit Jesus and get a view down over the bay and old town. A lovely day and finally out of the fleeces and jeans that we had come to despise over the last 3 weeks!!



When we were passing through the old town we heard some music and mums ears pricked..... "hey, thats Argentine Tango music!!" We followed the sound to the main squre to find about 80 people from the Friends of Tango group doing a display. They were fantastic and I decided that this would be a very cool dance to learn. When they finished we had a beer in the sun before setting off for the other side of the bay to see what there was to see.



We found an old Funikular that we took to the top where we then found a fun park for kids.... The first ride we saw were little boats going round a little path - designed for kids but we really wanted a go so as I was mum´s child, we used that technicality to justify it. We got some funny looks from the other adults, but I think they were a little jealous because they wanted a go too!!



It was on the walk home, as the evening promenade started that we realised that we were literally surrounded by strollers and babies - LITERALLY!! Mum thought that there was a baby-bonus here because it was a crazy amount of kids for one small town!


We saw everyone with an icecream, so of course, we wanted one too.... then we saw everyone with a white bag, eating something with a shell, so we followed them to find a seafood shop selling sea snails....... when i was young, we used to go to Bulli beach and get Baboushi shells, pop would cook them and we would eat them in their kitchen..... So, for old times sake, we bought a bag and ate them on the edge of harbour, surrounded by fishing boats.

On our last day (after a hurry on from our now-not-so-friendly host Josephina) we wandered the streets with our suitcases to find a suitable bar to haunt til our airport bus came. We found a good spot in the shade near the harbour and I watched these ladies mending the fishing nets in the hot hot sun. They worked together really well, telling stories and passing around a bottle of water to stay cool. I was thinking of the Stitch and Bitch group that I had with friends at home and decided to go over for a chat. My spanish is basic but they told me that they do this every month or so, or as needed, and that it takes all day - so there is no avoiding the worst of the heat. I donñt know if they ar the fishermans wives or family or if they are only employees, but regardless, its a tough job.


So that brings us to the end of our weekend escape. We caught the plane home, got back to the flat and crashed for the night. I have developed a pregnant looking belly from all those pinchos and pastries and icecream and beers, but it was worth it..... Ill just have to take the stairs a bit more this week ;-()