San Sebastian - Our Stay
San Sebastián Sunday Feb 1 - Saturday Feb 7
We flew into Bilboa on Sunday afternoon and were escorted to our Tesla by our wonderful driver. It was a nice ride to San Sebastián. Our Airbnb is in a pedestrian area, but he was able to drive us right to our door which was great considering we have to very heavy bags plus our backpacks.
Our host met us a few minutes later and showed us our temporary living space. It was a small but sufficient apartment in the lower level. We had a bedroom and a spare room for Bill to use as an office. I used the small kitchen table for my office. It was getting close to 7pm so we explored the old city briefly and had a bite to eat before crashing.
We spend our mornings and early afternoon exploring the city and having pintxos (pinchos) for lunch. Sometimes we would pop out around 6pm or noon ET and grab a small snack and then continue working. Then we would finish up between 10 & 11 pm and find a spot that was open to have more pintxos and a drink - beer or Txakoli (Chocoli) a crisp and lightly sparkling white wine.
City Highlights:
Saint Vincent Church - beautiful altar, first constructed in 1507, it was part of the fortification of the city at various points in history, it is the oldest building in the city because the Portuguese and English burnt the rest of the city down in 1813.
Outside the church and nearby museum we always saw and heard children playing. We even saw a mini street parade one day with an accordion player with kids and adults walking around with long wooden sticks?!
We paid to visit Basilica of Saint Mary Chorus began construction in 1743. I bought a Mary charm for Mary! The outside was very beautiful and we saw it often because it was a couple of blocks from our place. We would occasionally hear the church bells too. The exterior was beautifully decorated with Mary, other saints, the city crest - all churches have nautical themes. Their small museum had old and modern church artwork. There was a special exhibit of paintings by one artist upstairs.
Town Hall used to be the grand casino with a merry go round by the promenade with flower gardens and grass (don’t see a lot of it here) - all along La Concha Bay. The bay is lined with walking paths and a white painted iron fence. It is always busy with people walking, jogging or riding bikes. We saw lots of fit adults jogging (all ages) and many old people struggling or strutting along! Lots of roaming dogs were having fun on the beach - sprinting along or digging and digging and digging! We saw lots of oldies (mostly ladies) out for their daily dip in the water, a few surfers, and a couple of brave paddle boarders. On the beach there was always a guy making a large scale sand sketch - it would only last a day! Along the water we saw a Purple Sandpiper. We even saw one young exhausted seal taking a nap on the beach (seals ya later)!
Across the Bay we could see a big patch of lawn. It was the Miramar Palace - became a hotspot for aristocrats in the 19th century. Queen Maria Christiana built the palace in a British Tudor style - very “international”. We were able to walk around the lawn and gardens but it was closed for touring the interior.
We conquered Mount Urgull! We saw lots of old forts that have protected the city for many centuries. There is a statue of Jesus on top of the hilltop church inside an old fort - Sacred Heart. It was build in 1950 - 55. I enjoyed our hike it was green and lush - saw a Great Tit, European Robin, Eurasian Black Bird, Eurasian Blue Tit. We heard the Short-toed Treecreeper. By the shore, along the New Promenade we saw the statue called Empty Construction.
On the other side of La Concha Bay we saw the Comb of the Wind trio of statues. I have to admit, I saw image and video of this prior to going and I was not impressed - but in person, I really loved it. The view was wonderful with the waves crashing around. I would highly recommend checking it out!
Saint Sebastian Cathedral had lots of beautiful stained glass windows, beautiful altars, and an interesting statue on the alter of Jesus as a the good shepherd (normally he’s on the cross up there). The tall Gothic Revival spires can be spotted all around the city. I had to learn more about the baby stew Saint - St Nicolas of Myra. Turns out that he was super generous and is the precursor to Santa Claus!
San Telmo museum was great. It is located in a former 16th century Dominican monastery at the base of Mount Urgull. It depicts historical and modern Basque culture. I liked the collection of Basque steles - grave markers (ancient religious ones have suns, Christian ones have crosses). There were also some wooden boards with candles wrapped around them that women would burn in the church to commemorate their deceased loved ones. I am sure they must have been responsible for burning a lot of churches down!
The massive canvases by Josep Maria Sert on the church walls are spectacular - I really enjoyed these! They really capture the prominent themes of the Basque experience. It prompted me to learn that Saint Sebastian was martyred twice - first he was shot by arrows and survived, then he was beaten to death (for being a Christian). Quite the story! Also learned that Saint Elmo is the patron saint of sailors and abdominal ailments - maybe I need to bring him along when I am on a boat - will keep me protected AND prevent me from getting sea sick!
The Amazon exhibit was very good, but most of the descriptions were not in English and there was no audio guide, so it was not as interesting for us.
Off to Valencia via the train for 7 hours!!