San Sebastian

Yesterday, I went on an excursion for international students to San Sebastian for the day! San Sebastian is a city on the northern coast of Spain, about an hour by bus from Pamplona. There is a small gulf of turquoise colored water that a good part of the city sits on called La Concha (the seashell, pictured below). It was a fun day :)

We left the University at 9:30 a.m. and arrived in San Sebastian around 11:00 a.m. We started out with a brief walking tour of the city and then broke up into smaller groups to do more specific activities, like eating, shopping, hiking, etc. I chose to go with the group that went up a small mountain on the far end of La Concha. First, we went to a small cafe to get a snack, and then we walked along the entire length of the beach to get to our destination. The beach around La Concha is beautiful and when we walked by, there were kids playing soccer on the yellow sand, people and dogs walking along near where the big ocean waves were washing up onto the sand, and in the middle saw a spa that sits right on the beach and is one of the most expensive spas in the world! (La Perla) Once we got to the end of the beach we took about an hour to relax and look at the ocean and the city.  It was so amazing! It was about 60 degees, windy, and smelled like fresh ocean air :) There were some interesting rocks to look at, and the stone dock that we were standing on was next to a steep rock wall of the mountain that we were about to ascend. There was a marching band in uniform that included small children posing while we waited, for some sort of celebration specific to the area. After enjoying the view, we took a gondola up to the top, where we saw breathtaking views of the city and beach! There was an old fashioned kids' amusement park at the top (closed due to the season), so it was interesting to see the old rides and buildings as well. After absorbing the fantastic views, we walked down the mountain, back past La Concha, and to Casco Viejo (the old part of the city) to find some pinchos. San Sebastian is famous for pinchos (called tapas in other parts of Spain) and supposedly has the best in Spain! Pinchos are "little bites" of food that can be found at bars, and include items such as small sandwiches (many with jamón ibérico, a thin cured ham similar to prosciutto, and a personal favorite of mine!), tortilla de patata on bread (Spanish omelet), meats, seafoods, additional delicacies, and various other foods. The rest of the day was spend exploring, shopping, eating, and visiting a cathedral (La Catedral del Buen Pastor, aka "The Good Shepard Cathedral"). Most of the day was walking, so I was exhausted by the end! Unfortunately, it was raining for the second half of the day. Overall though, it was fun :)

Well, it's time for me to get ready to go to the local outdoor market! (And after, to a restaurant the my family frequents every Sunday, and then to meet a Concordia grad at Café Iruña where the famous American author Ernest Hemingway used to drink coffee!!)

No suitcase still, but I was able to borrow some pictures from friends for my post today. Enjoy!