BASQUE-ING

On days when the waves are lacking we have been exploring.  Yesterday's exploration took us down to explore the North of Spain. San Sebastian is just 35 'clicks' as Nate calls them (kilometers to the rest of us) away from our place in Bidart.  No worries. Of course we took the "scenic route" on the way there in hopes at stopping at a new boulangerie for croissaints for breakfast, which ended up taking an hour and a half as opposed to the 30 minutes getting back. Bad call on my part.  Oh well!

I visited San Sebastian when I was back packing ten years ago, but did not remember how beautiful it is.  The buildings have such character, the ocean radiates the most amazing turquoise blue you can imagine, and the beaches are flawless.  After finding parking our first stop was a walk through the Parte Vieja, the old quarter.  The cobblestone streets are lined with narrow buildings with balconies looking out to the street.  Many have window boxes filled with flowers which add to the charm and at the end of each street you can catch a glimpses of the lush green hills that surround the city or the occasional church.  The first story of most of many of the old buildings are tapas bars where you can sample the Basque cuisine.  We were getting a little hungry for lunch by the time we made it through the Old Quarter so we began to  look for a spot to eat our self-packed picnic lunch (Europe on a shoestring).

Alongside Playa de la Concha we found such the place - a great park bench right in front of a carousel, which of course we took for a ride.  It is so amazing seeing Annabelle light up when she sees something she loves.  In this case it was the carousel which she rocked out to the music and kept wanting to switch animals mid-ride.  After the carousel ride we hit up the aquarium - a great activity for all three of us.  They have great white sharks in a humungous tank with a glass tunnel going through it.  Sharks, rays, eels, and giant fish of some sort pass directly by you - not inches away!

After the aquarium we strolled back to the old quarter for a cold brew and some tapas.  Nathan is not quite sold on the idea of tapas.  To him it is mayonnaise-y, egg-y, oily bits thrown together into miniature bites.  I have to agree that much of the selection is exactly that.  I however, definitely enjoy sampling the local fair, and he was game so I carefully selected our tapas to be to both of our liking and believe I was fairly successful.  Not to mention it was very comforting to be able to order "dos cervezas por favor" with no hesitation.  Funny how just a mere 30 'clicks' away we are speaking a completely different language, which is SO much more comfortable for me.  Something else to love about the tapas bars: you order your drinks and a plate and then select your tapas of choice.  When you are ready to pay, you hand over the pate with all of toothpicks and tell the staff how much you have had.  It is completely on the honor system.  The perfect snack.  All in all, we loved our day trip and will likely be back.  Here are some pics from the day.  Cheers.