Mother Nature's Magic Show!

It is our last day here in San Sebastian. Despite the presence of unpredictably inclement weather coming and going without warning ... we have really enjoyed this remarkable little city. We learned that it's proximity to France and it's position on the Road to Santiago drove the development of this coastal town because it was a strategic location during times of war.

Over the centuries, it has been subjected to numerous sieges and fires but the people of San Sebastian rebuilt it each time. Apparently, Queen Isabell II suffered from skin problems and her doctors prescribed bathing in the sea. And so, in 1845, she summered here and made San Sebastian quite fashionable. The community attracted many aristocrats during the summer months. At the start of the 20th Century, San Sebastian experienced the "Belle Epoche" making it the preferred tourist destination for the European Upper classes. You can sense the regal energy of the place ... even though the buildings are not nearly as ornate as Seville or Madrid. The beach is pure sand. It is deep and wide and goes on forever around the bay. So I can see it would be a drawing card for sure.

Although the forecast was for four days of rain when we arrived, I am happy to report that we actually enjoyed a fair bit of sunshine. I was hoping for more good weather for our last day today, but when I looked at the forecast first thing this morning, rain showers were expected for most of the day. By the time we had showered, eaten and were ready to go ... it showed sunshine for most of the day!

I was so DELIGHTED to see this because we had decided to walk over to the funicular today. This offers a beautiful one hour walk around the whole bay . I thought it would be better in sunshine! So off we went!

At one point we were so hot we were down to our shirts ... and then ... JUST LIKE MAGIC ... the sun was gone and the rain was making a mess of my glasses. We couldn't even see the culprit cloud that was delivering the drops ... but ... on again with the rain jackets. It didn't take long though, and the rain disappeared ... JUST LIKE MAGIC again. It would have been nice to have our umbrellas, but they were back at our flat in the lunch bag. 🥴

As Mother Nature waved her magic weather wand, we were not to be deterred. The funicular ride up to the top of Mount Igueldo was lovely ... even though we were a bit damp. There is a huge amusement park erected on the top of it ... although we are too early in the season and none of it was open yet. It had a roller coaster and house of horror and trampolines, and carousels and oodles of fun for the family.

We could see the sky turning dark, so we took cover inside the restaurant and enjoyed our first cortado of the day along with a couple of pintxos. The views were simply sensational! And even though it looked like it might rain for days ... the clouds moved away from us and we never even got a drop of rain while we were at the top.

The sun was shining beautifully upon us as we descended the funicular but by the time we were half way around the beach ... our rain jackets were on again. This magic weather show continued like this for the whole day.

We were hungry and hoping to find a place that might offer some nice options for me. Although the old boy is in his culinary heaven here in Spain .. it is really not the best for me. I much prefer a large plate full of things that I am familiar with ... something that sticks to your ribs, rather than little snacks that are fishy and made from parts of animals that I have trouble wrapping my head around.

Once again, the old boy devoured an entire plate of anchovies and three pintxos that he gobbled up with glee. I had one that was a spicy meat and it was good. I also tried a shrimp skewer. It was okay. I can say that I will be glad to get back to American food. The lack of salt and pepper and spice is also something that is a struggle for me.

Oh ... a fun thing happened in the restaurant. Apparently, until the 20th century, the main beverage in Donastia (the old town) was a cider made from apples. I guess back in the day, there were 100 cider houses in the Old Town alone! So, of course we had to try it. The old boy quite liked it. It was a bit too fizzy for me, but watching it been dispensed from the machine was entertaining! I caught a little video for you!

So, now, we are in the room. We must get our bags packed and ready for an early morning train ride. The old boy packed us some breakfast 'to go' for the morning because our train departs at 7:02am. We have a six hour ride to Barcelona. And then, we will continue on the Sitges (about 40 minutes south) for three nights. After that, we are back to Barcelona. We have one excursion to Montserrat and then we are coming home.

We are both ready to be home. A month is just too long for us at this age. However, our hearts have been filled with so many amazing sights and experiences. We have really enjoyed our time in Spain.

Sending warm hugs across the ocean, k&j ❤️Okumaya devam et