Sun and Sand in Northern Spain

SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN -- May 3, 2006

I first heard of San Sebastian from my brother-in-law Matt, who has raved about it since his visit there during college years ago. It wasn´t even on my itinerary, originally -- I though it was perhaps a little too out-of-the-way, and I knew I´d be enjoying views of the sea once I hit France´s Cote de Azur.

But a few too many hours of sleep lost between overnight train rides and into-the-morning fiestas, and my body was craving some real down-time. And an overnight train ride from Madrid, San Sebastian seemed the perfect prescription for the R&R I was seeking. Now, having spent two marvelous days and a night in San Sebastian, I think I would have have missed out, truly, one of one of Europe´s most splendid beaches, had I passed up on a chance to visit these shores.


I arrived early morning and stashed my bag at Pension Amalur, after waking Miguel, the owner, several hours early to let me in. I was absolutely fatigued, but managed to pick up some fresh bread for a makeshift breakfast and crawl my way to Playa de Ondarreta, where I spread my sarong out on the blonde sand, lathered up with some good SPF, and fell asleep to the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore. It was several hours before I surfaced again, to find the beach dotted with towels and smiling sun worshippers, and dozens of seagulls.

By mid afternoon, I was eager to head back to the hotel, where I showered for the first time in two days. I stopped at a pharmacy for some medicine for the sinus cold / ear infection that I had been unfortunate enough to catch while in Madrid. The overnight train ride to San Sebastian had been absolutely excruciating for my ears, which were now plugged beyond recognition. I explained to the pharmacist in simple English my problem, and left with a box of medicine that I was completely unfamiliar with.

I had picked up some pasta, cheese, tomato sauce, and fresh zucchini in Madrid, thinking I would be able to cook up a nice dinner while staying at my hostel there. Unfortunately, there was no kitchen. So I carted all of these ingredients with me to San Sebastian, and was intent on cooking up a storm for my evening meal tonight.

As I began talking to Miguel, the pension owner, it became clear that he spoke not a word of English. So with my 8-years-rusty high school Spanish, I managed to carry on a fairly good conversation about the use of the kitchen. Miguel explained that normally, the kitchen was off limits to hotel guests. But for me, he was willing to make a special exception. Well! Lucky me!He started a pot of water boiling for me, and I got to work chopping zucchini and cheese into small pieces. When I told him this was an "experimantal" dinner, he opened his cabinet and pulled out a small skillet and cruet of olive oil, and began cutting the remaining zucchini into julienne strips and sauteeing them in the skillet.

He then reached into his frigo (fridge) and pulled out a bag of cheese and a large salami, which he began dicing to add to the sauce which was quickly becoming a novel creation. Ten minutes later, I dined on a delicious two-cheese and salami pasta dinner with tomato-zucchini sauce.

I ate until my stomach hurt, and then Miguel spooned the rest into a small container which he said he would keep for me for dinner tomorrow.With my stomach full, ears plugged, and eyes heavy, I decided to take a nap for a few hours, even though it was only 6:00 PM. I woke at 8:00 AM the following morning!

~Melanie