Last Wednesday I returned to Spain to visit a part of the country I hadn't seen before: the Basque country. After a long journey from Bordeaux with plenty of lovely views along the way we arrived in San Sebastián at 8:00. We were happy to settle into our hostel, Umoreonabi Guest House, situated in the Parte Vieja (old town). By some odd chance we were staying at Umoreonabi at the same time as a group of 15 Australian boys, who were on vacation after graduating from the same high school in Sydney. It was fun getting to know some of them and talking about the differences between the Australian and American lingos. I picked up some new catch phrases, such as: "Neven" (Not even), "A ting" (A thing), and "Dead set" (Absolutely).
Right away we noticed the accessibility of San Sebastián -- everything we needed was within a one-mile radius, if that. We continued our food and coffee pilgrimage the next morning at Cafe Kantoi, a cafe one block away, where we bought breakfast for €4.50 each. Over the next few days, Cafe Kantoi became our headquarters for café con leche, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and bizcochos. The service was always great, and we enjoyed getting to know the three servers that worked at different times of the day.
Then we checked out one of San Seb's most popular and famous attractions: the beach. San Sebastián, or as the locals call it, Donostia, has two beaches: Playa de La Concha and Zurriola. Both are beautiful and perfect for swimming and relaxing, but Playa de La Concha is larger and better for people watching whereas Zurriola is smaller and better for sunbathing. Either way, you can find locals and tourists, young and old alike on the beaches of San Sebastián. A server at Cafe Kantoi told us that San Sebastián is a popular summer vacation destination for Spaniards, especially those from the south of the country. I don't see why more Americans don't know about San Seb, but personally I'm glad that this small city retains its local character and isn't totally overrun by tourists, as is the case in cities like Paris.
The next day we learned more about the history of beachgoing in San Seb. Spending leisure time on the beach was once a luxury reserved for only the aristocracy, and poorer people often never learned how to swim. A spot on the beach in the shade was expensive, not to mention any spot on the beach at all. And what's more, beachgoers were constantly threatened by the actual fashion police, who fined anyone they deemed to be indecently dressed. Men were required to wear shirts while swimming or could face a penalty. For women, bikinis were absolutely unheard of. Finding out about all of this made me appreciate visiting San Seb in the present day even more than I had before.
But even without knowing these things, the sheer awe of the views from Monte Urgell would have been enough to fully appreciate the paradise that is Donostia. It's moments and sights like this when I fully realize how lucky and happy I am to travel. San Seb has been my favorite city of the trip so far, but I'm ready to move on to the south of France!