San Sebastián

We arrived in San Sebastián about an hour later than we would have if the whole journey had been by train......the bus section took longer as we had to go into the towns to pick up passengers at the various train stations that also were traveling to Hendaye. One benefit was we got a tour of towns we might not have seen. 

Interestingly the train stop in San Sebastián has been updated and modernized since I was here in 2013. At that time the station was called Donostia, it is now call Amana!, and it is still San Sebastián. A light rain was falling and it was a 12 minute walk to our hotel Silken which is a very modern high rise building.  I had wanted to stay in La Perla Pension but they had no rooms when we booked. La Perla was where the pilgrims four had stayed in 2013, not as grand and a whole lot less dineros, but much more central than the Silken. 

If wanting to stay in a pension in Europe it pays to book early as they are generally smaller, boutique style and the staff are personable and friendly, so popular with tourists and weekenders, not to mention pilgrims. The northern route to Santiago starts here, although we have not seen as many pilgrims as there were in St Jean Pied Port. 

After settling into our room we headed out to walk towards the beach, lunch and the old town. 

We had lunch in a tapas bar where I enjoyed salads mista .....just for old times sake, Jeff had something local with Serrano ham and Brie and San Miguel beer. We then walked on to the beach promenade which is a sight to see, the tide was way out and a lot of writing in the sand appeared to be in protest for something. We made another stop in a square for a few more tapas and a glass of vino. We plan to go to old town tonight.....Saturday, it will be bursting at the seams with people enjoying tapas, us included. San Sebastián is famous for its abundant and very fresh sea food....straight from the Atlantic Ocean which is right on its edge. 

 Note ....about the rest of my post which I had lost in cyber space...I found it briefly today before losing it again! I was on a French internet service which was sketchy and weak, the spanish service today seems stronger. 

I will post this before I lose it!