We took an 11:30 bus that got us into San Sebastian in a little over an hour. We has researched some things to do, but didn't really know where to begin... We decided we were all starved (story of our lives) and wanted to find lunch. After wandering around El Parte Viejo (literally translated, The Old Part) we finally found a small and inexpensive place to eat. San Sebastian is known for their pintxos (also commonly known as tapas). Which are tiny sandwiches with fish or meat or some kind of topping on top of bread or a little baguette. We were told to go "tapas bar hopping." (When I first heard this I thought I was hearing "topless bar hopping".. ha!) But we decided to have a big lunch and do that a little later. We got an awesome meal for under seven euro that included steak, salad, and french fries so I was very pleased.
(In front of San Sebastian Town Hall)
After that we wandered some more to the Plaza de la Constitucion and we saw the town hall that was right on the edge of the water. The beach was even more gorgeous than Algorta. La Playa de la Concha wrapped around the coast of the city and from behind town hall you could see Monte Urgull, a ruined 16th century fortress of Santa Cruz de la Mota. And at the top of the fortress there was a statue of Christ, also known as the Sacrado Corazon (Sacred Heart). We wanted to find our way up to the ruins to get an even better view of the city.
(The castle we climbed to the top of)
We found some stairs that we though would take us up to the top of the "mountain," but we did not realize how many stairs we would actually end up walking up! But it was well worth it, the view was absolutely breath-taking. We could see the blue water crashing up on the coast and there was a perfect bird's eye view of the whole city. The fortress was really amazing too. There were old cannons and stonework that was unbelievable and the statue of Christ was even bigger than I imagined. I was a little frustrated that it was so beautiful the day before in Algorta and so rainy the day we were at a prettier location, but I still enjoyed everything I saw.
(Statue of Christ)
After heading back down we were all craving something sweet. We found a little cafe where I finally got to try churros con chocolate! I had tried churros in the states, but these were freshly made with real sugar on them and you get to dip them into this hot chocolate-like drink, but the chocolate is almost too thick and rich to drink by itself. Muy delicioso! We walked around some more.... But it was raining harder. I went into a few shops and Kate and I found Bilbao Athletic Club (Bilbao's futbol team) scarves to wear to the next game we go see and we attempted to find the aquarium. But when my group found out it was eight euros no one wanted to go in anymore!
We met up with a few more people and headed back to the Town Hall and by now it was dark out. We all decided to ride the carousel (I'll always be a child at heart) and Kate and I rode the dolphins! We still had not gotten any pintxos, but because of the churros a little earlier I wasn't hungry and didn't get one with everyone else. I definitely regretted that later on, first because I needed to eat before we left, and second because I missed out on the best pintxos in Spain! I ended up getting a Turkish gyro from a place near the bus station and actually wasn't disappointed. People make fun of me here because I call them "jai-rohs," when they're actually supposed to be called "gee-rohs." Oh well, it was still delicious and I will just get a pintxo the next time we go back to San Sebastian because we are definitely coming back when it's beach weather!!
After getting home, none of us were actually too tired, so we decided to go to a discoteca called "DaVinci." It was really fun and they played both American and Spanish music. Ashley and I met an aupair from England who approached us when she heard us speaking English and we chatted with some Spanish girls while waiting in line at the bathroom. They wanted to practice their English, but we wanted to practice our Spanish! Kate and I took a breather outside where we got to practice our Spanish with some locals though, so that was actually pretty funny. I haven't mentioned this yet, but the most popular hairstyle for men around here is hideous. It's a mullet with the long hair in the back turned into dreads. I have never seen anything so unattractive in my life... But I brought this up because one of the locals we talked to was rocking this haircut! We ended up losing track of time and didn't get back to our dorm until 5:30 am! I had been up for almost 24 hours so it's no wonder I am getting sick. I took all of Sunday to rest... But if this cold doesn't get better anytime soon I think I'm headed to the clinic for some antibiotics.
And I think I'm pretty caught up by now...
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