Yolanda spoke calmly but enthusiastically about each monument and of many points of interest along the way. It was a lullaby of history. On the downside, one should not try to learn history by lullabies. Most of those important and interesting facts went straight past my holding area of memory and right into the "I-can-Google-it" bin. I did retain a few fragments which may persevere in long term memory, but I will seem neither erudite nor sophisticated by repeating any of them. They may, however, come in handy in group situations by making awkward gaps in conversations even more awkward (e.g. "Did you know there is an 11' 9" high sculpture of Don Quixote made out of marzipan in Toledo, Spain?").
On our drive back to Madrid, I could not help but compare the beauty and craftsmanship carved, painted, and sculpted into masterpieces of architecture built millenia ago with construction today.
Wednesday, March 26th
Up, breakfasted, packed, and out the door by 9:30, we had our last ride with Luis to the Madrid airport. It wasn't until we got past the gate agent and onto the jetway that anxiety over our idea of carry-on size luggage might not be shared by Iberian Airlines' idea was put to rest. An easy one hour flight landed us into cloudy Donostia San Sebastian. Oh yeah! Another sign holding gentleman greeting us and escorting us to another shiny black Mercedes-Benz limo/minivan! And more champagne and plush upholstery in the hotel lobby during check-in! I could get used to this.
We are in Hotel Lasala Plaza with rooms overlooking the beautiful bay of San Sebastian. And true to the rest of this trip, it started to rain, so we took a nap. Scroll forward two hours. Refreshed and with clouds dissipating, Mark and I walked out and back along the promenade.
We then dove into the old town which our hotel backs onto. Although the area is called the old town, San Sebastian was almost entirely destroyed during the Napoleanic war and burned to the ground in 1813. Only about half the population survived, but they were determined to rebuild. While it does not compare in age to the medieval walled towns we've visited, the footprint retains narrow streets, tall appartments, and it has all the charm a 200 year old community imparts.
We skipped lunch today because our tour started this evening with a tapas bar-hopping experience. Ellie, our guide for a few days, selected a number of establishments at which we sampled small plates of yummy tapas, all accompanied with local wines. This is grazing at its finest. Ellie explained that appartments are typically very small and the Spanish are very social, so evening meals are often spent outside your home where you meet with friends, having a bite here, moving on, having another bite there, and visiting along the way. Most of this is done standing up, indoors or out, rain or shine. Drinking is involved.
The more popular places usually have a crush of people, but due to the rain (yes, time to unfurl our umbrellas again) and having started early relative to Spanish habit, we mostly had ample elbow room and a stool to perch on. By the third bar, crowds were growing but there is a flow of customers and eventually we nuzzled in to claim a couple of feet of counter space for most excellent nosh. By dessert time, the bar famous for its cheesecake was so packed we had to grab our plates and eat outside. Must be wonderful in summer.
I think I ate so much it affected my center of gravity and I drank so much (for me) it affected my ability to form a complex sentence, let alone a coherent post. You may question whether or not coherency has ever been an attribute of my posts, and that's ok. Question away. In any case, I was too full and tired to write so I just wished you good night.
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