San Sebastian

This city is absolutely breathtaking. As a Californian, the only reason I could have for not wanting to live here is that it rains a lot and the breeze from the Atlantic can be quite cold. I can learn to deal with it though! I can, I can!

The people in the North of Spain are very proud to be a part of their community, and there is a longstanding disagreement of their inclusion as a province of Spain. Without getting too much into the details, basically some of them feel strongly that they should be completely independent of Spain as its own country. It is unfortunate because in this area (widely speaking) there is a group, called ETA, that supports this cause with terrorist acts. For many Spaniards this is a difficult topic to discuss and as you can imagine, political views range across a wide spectrum. Now that I have scared you, onto the cool stuff.

My top 5 for San Sebastian:
1. The balconies were so beautiful. The horizon of the city is varied with beautiful coppolas, french-style balconies, and large intricately carved wooden doors.
2. The food. Oh man, the food. If I could just replicate some of the plates we were served, I would be that much happier.
3. The bay. Walking by the bay is really nice. I have to say in many ways it made me miss San Francisco.
4. Chillida open air museum. I like to call this the "rocks and metal in the ocean". What is best about it is the symbolism that these "rocks and metal" are windcombs, literally combing the wind that comes through. But my favorite part was the windholes that you can stand on. Once a wave hits, hold on tight because it's a strong wind!
5. Casco Viejo. Most cities in Spain have a "casco viejo", which is the old part of town. San Sebastian's casco viejo has tiny cobblestone streets with millions of tapas bars. It's just nice to walk around, pick and choose which bars to enter and of course, people watch!