After our unexpected overnight train ride to San Sebastian we arrived bright and early at 7.30am. After a brisk 20-minute walk we arrived at a new form of accommodation for us a Pensione; a very comfortable room in a type of small hotel in what was once a private home situated in the old city of San Sebastian.
Most people have probably never heard of San Sebastian and you may be wondering why we chose to stay here. During our planning sessions we realised that we had the time to go to Barcelona but the next question was “Where to next?” before our final destination in Europe; Paris. After examining the map and reading the guidebooks the beach city of San Sebastian seemed to be an attractive option.
San Sebastian has much to offer. It is situated on a shell-shaped bay surrounded by hills and mountains with a beautiful wrought iron lined promenade that runs the entire length of two of its adjoining beaches. This pretty town has been described as Spain’s most elegant and fashionable resort city and has been the summer retreat of the Spanish royal family for many years. We are so pleased to have found this wonderful place with its three beaches (one with real surf), a harbour, a classic ‘old town’ with narrow cobblestone streets and quaint little shops and some of the most fantastic food not only in Spain but the whole of Europe.
In an odd way it even reminds us of our favourite seaside town in Australia, South West Rocks. Sure it’s much larger than South West Rocks (population of 180,000 rather than 4,000) and sure it has a bit more history (it has a fort built in the 12th century rather than a gaol built in 1880) and it’s on the Atlantic Ocean not the Pacific Ocean but nevertheless with its sea wall, river, wonderful walking tracks, hills and beaches and also great bread shops there were some very real similarities.
One highlight of our day was a visit to a little coffee shop called La Vache (The Cow) for a very overdue breakfast at about 11am. After being attracted by the simple but homey decor we were delighted with hot chocolate and a little bread roll with prosciutto and capsicum and a chocolate croissant. Thinking life could not get any better we noticed that the CD playing was Madeline Peyroux one of our favourite contemporary jazz singers.
Finally we have to mention that the weather on Day 79 was cool! It was a very mild 24 degrees– wonderful after we had endured 13 days in a row of temperatures over 35 degrees!
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