Otro sabor de la vida española [Another taste of the Spanish life]

Last Friday I jumped on a plane to meet Keegan (in from Barcelona) in the small summer-resort town of San Sebastián, on the northern coast of Spain in the Basque region, or Pais Vasco, as we say en español. Although the weather when I left Madrid was misty and gray and somewhat cool, the weather in the north was warm. In fact, it was downright balmy, with the wind from the ocean blowing warm air. We flew in under blue skies so I had spectacular views of the mountains on our descent into the airport. When we landed, it looked like we were almost going to land right on the water. (In fact, the five year old a couple rows in front of me was quite sure of it). I met Keegan in the airport and we decided to take a taxi (although more expensive) so we wouldn't have to wander around aimlessly once we arrived. Turns out we only slightly helped ourselves out – the main part of the old city is unreachable by car, so our taxi driver let us out as close as possible and pointed us in the right direction. Nevertheless, we weren’t exactly clear on where we were going and the map that I so preparedly printed from google maps seemed to be unaware that instead of 4, there are actually about 20 streets in this section. It was a good way to see almost the entire section of the city though, and we did finally find our hotel. We watched the sunset on the boardwalk, and I just kept marveling at how beautiful it was. I’m surprised Keegan didn’t get sick of me right then and there. We capped off the night by sampling pintxos, the local food that the region is famous for – mini tostada/sandwich/seafood/ or skewer concoctions that are sold for about 1-2€ apiece. We tried to do it as the natives do, stopping in at 4 different places and having a drink and a bit to eat at each. And there were so many! We probably sampled a total of maybe 10 places and there had to be over 50 to choose from right within walking distance.

Saturday, we began our morning with a quest for coffee. For the record, not as easy as one might think! I also do miss the lack of “breakfast places” in Europe, it’s kind of a problem. Eventually we found this random hole-in-the-wall kiosk looking café that turned out to have the best cappuccinos. First of all, they were cheap (about 1.40€ each), and they were topped with a little bit of chocolate and cinnamon, Probably the most delicious coffee I’ve had here in a while, and the slight sweetness was a nice touch. Then we walked around a lot again, down the entire sections of beach that line the city’s coast, and also did some exploration of el centro. It was grey, almost downright muggy, and so eventually in the mid-afternoon the clouds did let some water down, but not too much. I never even used my umbrella. That night we tried to find a proper restaurant online (using the very unsteady wifi connection and Keegan’s laptop – all a race against time because Keegan hadn’t brought her charger), when I stumbled upon an Asian fusion restaurant. Okay, not exactly Basque, but I’ve found that I treat most Asian restaurants in Spain as “questionable” and this one looked delicious, not to mention that we were both craving it. So we went there, had a nice bottle of white wine from Spain, and left there to try out a few more of the bars (and yes, tapas). We actually ended up wandering upon an outdoor concert! – Though only for the last two songs.

Sunday was equally gray, and a little colder, and also a little bit sad when I realized that there was a casualty from the night before - my sweatshirt! But note how warm it must have been, because I had been carrying in on my arm all night – it was far too warm to wear and apparently warm enough to forget it without noticing. Oh well. We did a little more poking around and headed to the airport around 3p. It was the perfect break because, most importantly, it followed right after midterms, but also because San Sebastián is the type of place that you get the most out of just by wandering around, sightseeing whatever is on hand, and enjoying the food and the city. It was so nice to be in a town where there wasn’t this pressure to see all there is to see, especially since I know my next 11 days, starting Friday, will be go go go.

Also we had another gorgeous day in Madrid yesterday – it was beautiful and warm and all the trees are budding and the flowering ones smell amazing! A few of us went to the main park – Parque de Retiro – yesterday and wandered around and rented a rowboat. We also had lunch at this “vegetarian-friendly” restaurant nearby (quite rare for Spain), and the waiter significantly comped our bill! (All good.) More good: my laundry is finally finally finally being done! I might even have clothing to wear tomorrow! (Walking naked around Madrid is slightly frowned upon, I’ve found…)