Day 11: Sun and Siestas

Staying at: Camping Igueldo, San Sebastian
Date: Tuesday 8^th April 2008
Song of the Day: Candle in the Wind – Elton John
Distance Travelled: 0 Miles

Our campsite at San Sebastian was nestled in the hills, between the mountains and the sea. It was quite beautiful, but it did require a bus ride into town, so Cam and I braved the local buses. Once in the old town of San Sebastian we did a walking tour, powered by coffee and pastries. The Church of San Vicente was our first stop, and its plain exterior hid a 16^th century masterpiece, making it our favourite church of the day with its gothic scenes and beautiful rose windows. Just down the road was the Basilica of Santa Maria del Coro with a baroque facade, more gothic scenes, but lacking the stained glass windows. Both churches had music in full swing though (see the Song of the Day), making them peaceful places to sit for a rest. We then wended our way up the hill to the Castle of La Mota, constructed in the 12^th century and with the Sacred Heart monument presiding over the city and giving us an impossibly blue view of the sea, sky and city.

By the time we hit 1.30pm, we were ready for a break. Here we hit our first snag, in the form of the Spanish siesta, which closes everything up from about 1-4pm every day, the peak time of our tourist activity. Having finally found a bar in the region of the Cathedral of El Buen Pastor (also closed), I finally figured out how to get a cappuccino-like coffee (cafe con leche), and we sampled what seemed to be frittata in bread (a lot nicer than it sounds). We eventually found a supermercado, and stocked up on a few essentials, before basking in a bit of the afternoon sun (22 degrees, and us with four layers on), and making our way back to the campsite for beer and olives in the camp bar (also a lot nicer than it sounds).