mi euskadi adventure 2012 part II. Donostia

Previously, on senorbrightside:

Semana Santa, 2010, Pablo went to San Sebastián (Donostia) and Bilbao in País vasco and fell in love with the landscape, declaring Donostia his favourite place in the world due to the peace he felt there and the beauty that is Donostia.

Christmas, 2010. Pablo visits a friend in Bilbao, has a breakdown, finds peace in Sanse-Donostia.

2011: Pablo leaves his beloved Valencia and returns to living in Madrid.

27 April 2012, Pablo sojourns back to Bilbao. He was about to board a bus to Donostia on the 29th....

So I got to Donostia, checked into the pensión, whose owners are super nice and friendly. It's located right in the old part of the town, my favourite part. It's sunset time, so I hightail it to the beach to watch the sun set...I went for some pintxos, which I am getting sick of by now, then went to the other beach used mainly for surfing. I really want to try surfing, but classes are 52 Euros, and I am part catalán, cheap. So after watching the waves crash for a while, I head back to get some sleep.

Monday morning, I got up bright and early to catch the train to Hendaye, just over the Spanish-French border, to go to Biarritz, which is supposedly the French San Sebastián, still being part of País vasco. Still have Euskera and stuff.

It is not.

I got a ticket for a cancelled train, laughing at the Spanish used on the French system. The French apparently get other languages totally wrong just like the Spanish. The French guy asked me if I spoke Spanish, and explained that the train had been cancelled due to a strike, so he changed it for me. I then saw a couple get kicked off the train for not having validated their ticket, which was actually entertaining. It sucks for them, but hearing the conductor's bad English tell them this information? Priceless.

The second I stepped off the train, the downpour started. I was going to try to walk to the town, but the rain made me turn around and wait a bit, trying "cafe au lait et crossaint". Super expensive. The rain let up, I walked into town which took about 40 minutes. Then the second downpour came. Everything in my backpack got ruined as my umbrella broke. I had a 3,20 café au lait...which in Spain is never more than 1,30€ except at the most pijo places.

The rain let up, and I walked around a bit, trying a crepe and eating chicken at some place in town. I found my friend's supermercado and bought the world's smallest Coca Cola can, which they threw out this morning grrr.

There were some cool sights, but I prefer Spain. It felt so good to hear Spanish when the train arrived in Hendaya. I felt like home.

I got back in time for a walk around Mt. Urgell along the sea, and went for more freaking pintxos and trying mosto, which I am now loving. It's like a grape juice. Watched more waves crashed and contempelated life, wanting a boyfriend, a golden retriever, to live by the sea and write.

Today I slept in til 9 when I woke up on my own, went for a hike up to Jesus (a giant statue of our Saviour) on Mt. Urgell, then took off to Zarautz. The bus said it would take 15 minutes. I obviously got on the INDIRECTO bus, as it took 45 minutes through some amazing scenery. Zarautz was a bit touristy for my tastes, even if they were Spanish tourists.

I caught Euskotren back to Donostia, treated myself to a Menú del día for 9,80, went to my favourite cafe in Donostia, rested a bit, walked over to El Peine del viento, another long walk and more pintxos later, another amazing sunset, sad to be headed back to Madrid tomorrow, but having to say, as always, Donostia has been an amazing, rejuvenating trip.

I seriously need to try surfing again next time. I tried it in Hawaii. Amazing.

Along the way, I finished one of my goals on my Bucket List. To read Don Quijote in Spanish.