San Sebastián (Donostia)

Today has been a day of mooching and it has been wonderful. Taking in the sights and sounds of San Sebastián, resting weary legs, and sampling some its famed culinary culture.

It was a grey, overcast day to begin, and we set off in search of a laundromat to give our clothes a decent wash. It rained most of the morning but, undeterred, we found our first breakfast, a second hand bookshop (with an English language section for supplying Sarah’s reading on the plane home!) and a newsagent for a notebook. We learnt from the woman running the news agency that her  daughter is a champion trail runner and won a major race in Brisbane two years ago! Such are the conversations that unfold. We then found the most stupendous cake shop we’ve ever seen in Spain (indeed, in the world!!).

The beginning of the autumn prune of the plane trees is done here on an industrial scale (unlike at home with Pat, the plane tree in our back courtyard!).

Here’s the end result - sculptural masterpieces.

Then it was time for pintxos - here’s Sarah ordering in her new Basque beret.

And then happily consuming (not the beret!).

This isn’t the Cathedral but one of at least three huge churches in the central part of San Sebastián.

The portal to one of the bridges across the river.

Later in the afternoon the sun came out. We walked along the beach promenade along with hundreds of others. It’s the international film festival this week in Donostia, but apart from a few stretches of red carpet outside restaurants and the odd traffic re-routing, things seem pretty calm.

We’ve had a really lovely relaxed day. We both feel some fatigue but also a sense of resting and enjoying these precious days. We are anticipating another day of rest, and perhaps just one or two more pintxos!! 

🌶️ 🐟 🧡 ☔️ 🌞