San Sebastián and Hondarribia

 So, off I went on my own. It seemed rather strange but the advantage is that you tend to make new contacts, and that’s exactly what happened on the train trip from Burgos, where Dennis dropped me off, to San Sebastián. I sat next to a very friendly lady, Catalina, and we chatted in Spanish all the way. You will see her later in Burgos. A wonderful meeting!

I had a great room in San Sebastián with a lovely balcony. I loved the patterns of the shadows the wrought iron cast.

I decided to head to the seaside town of Honarribia, having read about it in guide book. It was a very significant place during the war, being across a river from France and on the coast. Thinking it was a fishing village, I was surprised to find the main old town on a hill, which sadly having climbed the hill in the heat, I found to have one of those great lifts. The view from the top, which I had walked up to, was sensational, with mountains in the distance and lush vegetation in the valleys.

It was a captivating little place with lots of weird and interesting sculptures.

The colourful houses with wrought iron balconies made every street an attraction.

The Main Street leading up to the cathedral was particularly picturesque.

And of course you can’t go to too many places in Europe where there isn’t a vivid display of geraniums!

The Basque region and San Sebastián are renowned for their gourmet cuisine and my menu of the day in Hondarribia certainly didn’t disappoint. The entree of asparagus was simply delicious. I have never eaten so slowly, savouring every mouthful.

I decided in my madness to walk around the coast to the tip of the peninsula. Not sure why, because it was about 30 degrees and no shade. I sat down to admire the beach and when I got to the other side, I realised to my horror that I didn’t have my phone! I raced back and fortunately found it. I continued the walk horribly sweaty and pretty exhausted. This is the photo I was going to take when I realised I had left my phone behind! Now I check all the time. Unfortunately, phones have become too important.

I loved this mix of old and new.

Back in San Sebastián (Donostia in Basque), I visited the old town,, Parte Vienna in Spanish or Parte Zaharia in Basque.

I found this lovely old converted factory and sat down to enjoy my first aperol spritz. Delicious.

I did the usual amount of people watching, shocked to see the total lack of communication between some couples. I felt happy to be alone!

A group was being told the story of these statues, but I’m sorry to say that the kid stole the show!

I was delighted to come across what I thought was Paddle , but it turned out to be Fronton, a basque sport, very similar in many ways to squash but with only two walls, longer than squash court walls. It looked really fun.

I’m sure this barbershop does really well with kids!

What a beautiful night it was, so I squeezed in a quick visit up to the top of Igeldo hill - by cable car. What a stunning view and perfect end to a busy day.