San Sebastian

On Thursday we caught the train from Barcelona to San Sebastian. It took almost six hours, but was a nice relaxing way to see the country-side, snooze and read.

When we arrived in San Sebastian, it was cool, but sunny, so we went for a wander along the beach and had some lunch at Gerald's Bar. He also has a bar in Melbourne, so it was nice to chat to someone from back home who also knows the local area. He gave us some good tips of where to go and how we must respect the siesta. Not at all hard to do!

San Sebastian is much smaller than Barcelona and has a more relaxed, seaside feel. It's almost like being in the Mornington Peninsula, but with buildings and castles that are hundreds of years old!

Over the past few days we have done lots of walking and had some amazing food.

The tapas and pintxos, little plates of food or bites on a piece of bread, are fantastic. Being by the sea, fish and seafood are common. Anchovies, prawns, crab, octopus and various other fish are so fresh.

Yesterday we walked about 5km to the next village, which is a small fishing town. We caught the ferry across the bay to a restaurant called Casa Camara. It was an adventure in its own right.

In the restaurant, we sat next to the cage that is raised from the water underneath the restaurant and is full of fresh lobster and crayfish. The food was simply amazing. I don't think we've ever had better seafood before! Ella and Angus, we would love to bring you to such an amazing restaurant when you are older. 

Mum had a massive plate of seafood, which consisted of clawed lobster, crab, langoustine (like a big prawn with crab claws), prawns, mussels and razor clams. Razor clams are very different to anything back home, and are thin like a pencil, but delicious. Dad had a fish called Hake cooked in a green sauce made of butter and parsley. It was also very good.

Today the weather wasn't so nice and was raining on and off. We wanted to visit the market and buy food for a picnic to take up to the old castle on the hill. We decided to borrow an umbrella from the hotel and go anyway. We stocked up on bread, cheese, jamon (what they call their special ham in Spain) and olives and trekked up the hill. Despite the rain, the view was amazing!

It only rained a little bit, so we stood under our umbrella and ate and drank. Happy days! It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

It was a bit too cold and wet to walk along the beach, so we did some shopping instead! Clint and I both bought enough to last us at least the next 12 months. And it wasn't too painful! We may have even bought a present for some little people back home.

We had a coffee in a small bakery that made yummy croissants and biscuits. They also decorate cakes, like this one with puppies. We thought you might like it.

Now for a siesta before we head out for another nice dinner at a local restaurant recommended to us by Gerald.

Life is hard, but someone has to do it!