TRIP TO BASQUE COUNTRY: San Sebastian (aka Donostia)

One of the most confusing thing about Basque country is its unic language. For example, I told you in my previous post that I went to a town called Vitoria. But some Basque could take offense about it and retort that I went actually to the town of Gasteiz. In the same idea, my new post is as much about the Spanish San Sebastian city as the Basque city of Donostia. So, don't get too confused about this double-naming... And welcome to Basque country (or Euskadi as they say!). 

This preliminary done, let's speak about the second leg of my Basque experience. I arrived on November 1st to San Sebastian bus station and was pretty inspired to have booked a bed in a hostel close to the bus station, just across the Bidassoa river, because San Sebastian is much bigger than Vitoria and the amount of walking I did in my first day was already exhausting. In case you wonder where is the bust station, it's just across this bridge with the massive sculptures!

So, I took it easy the first night, allowing myself a short walk in the city center and the old town to have some tapas (but more on that later). 

San Sebastian was nothing than than a fishing port during most of the Middle Age, with a military base and strong walls, thanks to its Bahia de la Concha, the wide and perfectly concave shape of its bay protecting it from the storms of the Atlantic Sea.  

However, during the XIXth century it became a fashionable destination for the high and famous (among them the queen of Spain and her court) who came here to play at casinos and/or cure some illness thanks to its pleasant weather and fresh air - hence the fabulous villas and houses you can see all along the seaside. 

The Concha Bay is delimited (as you can see on the photo above) on the West side by the Monte Igueldo, and on the East Side by the Monte Urgull. Between them, 2000 meters of sand divided between two beaches – the perfect promenade! Right in the middle of the bay, you can see the island of Santa Maria.  

                             

To ascend the Monte Igueldo, I suppose there is a walking path and a road, but I simply took the funicular (love the look of the dog on that picture). 

                            

From up there, the view is simply breathtaking! Nothing to add really. 

It's also incredibly windy! So, at the foot of the hill, you can find a trio of sculptures finished in 1976 by Eduardo Chilida, called the Peine del Viento (the Wind's Comb). Their distorted steel teeth are meant – I suppose – to show off the power of the wind and the natural forces over the artifical materials we, humans, try to throw at them. 

This visit done, it was high time to eat something. The Pais Vasco differs slightly from the rest of Spain in matter of "tapas" in that they are called "pinchos" (or "pintxos") and are displayed directly on the bar and you are invited to pick them, and pay directly. Careful: San Sebastian can be quite pricey! At least, more than the rest of Spain. 

                                        

                                   

That done, I headed to the Monte Urgull, the other hill, on the east side of the bay, at the foot of which the city of San Sebastian proper developped over time. As you can see, the view is as good as from the Igueldo hill.  

It's criss-crossed by military paths and fortifications, and topped by a military fort upon which stands a fairly decent-sized statue of Christ. Not Rio de Janeiro's style, but not bad either. 

A few more tapas, a few more walks in the city center – where I discovered that the Plaza de la Constitucion had all its windows and balconies numbered so that the townhall could rent it in old times to spectators in the square – and it was time to call it an end. 

And head to the next step: Bilbao!

!steemitworldmap 43.313188 lat -1.980801 long Trip to EUSKADI! d3scr