San Sebastián/Donostia (again)
This was our third time in San Sebastián, or as it is called in Euskara, Donostia. When I saw the weather forecast before we arrived, I wondered if it weren't in error. It was for temperatures in the 70s and 80s F. Our first time there, it was late July, but during an unseasonably cold and rainy summer. Our second time was in May, which was more likely to be less-than-optimal beach weather. With us arriving in the last days of October, and our previous experiences, I really expected the weather to take a cold turn just after we arrived. But the weather held, and for the first time, we actually had company on the beach.
More sunshine and sand after the jump
It was glorious. Really, truly glorious.
Only a week before, we were wearing long underwear and wool socks in the cold, wet Black Forest. But here we were now, at the end of October, in our swimsuits, splashing in the waves.
And building sandcastles.
And carving out deep holes.
Since we had never been there on a busy warm day before, I hadn't prepared the kids for the European tradition of topless beach-going. It surprised me at first, because I had forgotten about it. There weren't that many women there that elected to remove their tops. Brigid never seemed to notice, but poor Myles did toward the end of our first afternoon. He didn't freak out, but whispered, embarrassed, to me, "What's up with this?" He kept his head low the next day when we returned to the beach, focusing instead on swimming and sand.
It was amusing (and somewhat alarming) to me contrasting our very-covered American family, afraid of sunburn and skin cancer, with everyone else there. We wear these kinds of swimsuits not just out of a sense of modesty but a real concern about melanoma.
Though, even with the all smallness of swimwear, both women's and men's, I did see one woman on both days we were at the beach that represented to me a different kind of beach goer. She was older, like maybe close to 70, and she was definitely wearing a swimsuit. As she walked up and down the beach, though, she was covered with a crisp, long-sleeved blouse (one day it was white and the other it was light blue), and a small scarf at her throat. No pants or skirt, but this immaculate button-down and a little bit of silk. There was something wonderfully old-world-y about her.
Outside of the beach, we did little else. Since the weather was so fantastic, no one was interested in riding the funicular, or going to the aquarium, or most of the other things we've done before in San Sebastián. We did step into the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Chorus, which we had seen on our first trip. The Church is one of the few buildings that survived the 1813 Siege of San Sebastián.
This late 18th century church is (at least) the third church at this location. The 12th century Romanesque building and the 16th century Basque-Gothic structure were both destroyed by fire and conflict. That this one survived this long is nothing short of a miracle.
I really liked this church, Baroque without feeling overwhelmingly much.
We, of course, ate our share of pintxos, the local answer to tapas. I'm doing a separate post on food and drink, but here are the kids loving this pintxos bar.
Even after three times, I certainly wouldn't complain if we had to go here again.
More sunshine and sand after the jump
It was glorious. Really, truly glorious.
Only a week before, we were wearing long underwear and wool socks in the cold, wet Black Forest. But here we were now, at the end of October, in our swimsuits, splashing in the waves.
And building sandcastles.
And carving out deep holes.
Since we had never been there on a busy warm day before, I hadn't prepared the kids for the European tradition of topless beach-going. It surprised me at first, because I had forgotten about it. There weren't that many women there that elected to remove their tops. Brigid never seemed to notice, but poor Myles did toward the end of our first afternoon. He didn't freak out, but whispered, embarrassed, to me, "What's up with this?" He kept his head low the next day when we returned to the beach, focusing instead on swimming and sand.
It was amusing (and somewhat alarming) to me contrasting our very-covered American family, afraid of sunburn and skin cancer, with everyone else there. We wear these kinds of swimsuits not just out of a sense of modesty but a real concern about melanoma.
Though, even with the all smallness of swimwear, both women's and men's, I did see one woman on both days we were at the beach that represented to me a different kind of beach goer. She was older, like maybe close to 70, and she was definitely wearing a swimsuit. As she walked up and down the beach, though, she was covered with a crisp, long-sleeved blouse (one day it was white and the other it was light blue), and a small scarf at her throat. No pants or skirt, but this immaculate button-down and a little bit of silk. There was something wonderfully old-world-y about her.
Outside of the beach, we did little else. Since the weather was so fantastic, no one was interested in riding the funicular, or going to the aquarium, or most of the other things we've done before in San Sebastián. We did step into the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Chorus, which we had seen on our first trip. The Church is one of the few buildings that survived the 1813 Siege of San Sebastián.
This late 18th century church is (at least) the third church at this location. The 12th century Romanesque building and the 16th century Basque-Gothic structure were both destroyed by fire and conflict. That this one survived this long is nothing short of a miracle.
I really liked this church, Baroque without feeling overwhelmingly much.
We, of course, ate our share of pintxos, the local answer to tapas. I'm doing a separate post on food and drink, but here are the kids loving this pintxos bar.
Even after three times, I certainly wouldn't complain if we had to go here again.
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