Day 7- en route to San Sebastian

My feet were feeling a little better today so we were able to do some more Zaragoza
exploring. We walked along a non-descript street named Calle Madre Rafois, past the
hospital and the Diputación Gral, de Aragón which was surrounded by police cars. We
passed the Plaza de Toros and the statue at the Plaza del Portillo, to our end
destination at Palacio de la Aljaferia. This castle reminded me of the old decrepit
castle in the Princess Bride, I was just waiting for the gargoyles to start climbing
all over the walls. It had a beautiful moat (now drained and landscaped) and
although we weren't allowed in - it looked like it was full of officials - we walked
the whole way around it. It was so funny to see cars parked within the castle walls,
a juxtaposition that so perfectly epitomises Europe.

We went back to the hotel and after devouring the most delicious club sandwich ever,
began our route to San Sebastian.

As I had never been to Pamplona, which was on the way, we decided to stop through
there so Carl could show me the places he had seen while traveling in 2006.
Unfortunately we never made it that far as, soon after the turn off we were involved
in a fender bender. Poor Carl (and Jose, the blood deliverer dude that ran up the
back of our car) tried to negotiate in two languages. Luckily Jose had some
partially english speaking friends at the blood bank, who helped us and even called
the car hire company. Jose was obviously in a hurry as he had to deliver blood so he
filled out the necessary paperwork and left us to talk with the car hire company.
Thankfully we got the full insurance at the beginning of the trip, so we don't have
to pay any excess or additional fees.

We then had wasted so much time that we forgoed Pamplona and hurried (safely)
straight to San Sebastian where Lauren was patiently waiting. The drive into town
gave a great first impression, with the canal on our right and gorgeous buildings on
both sides, bridges crossing the canal every few hundred metres.

I was so excited to see Lauren! After saying our hellos, Carl the tour guide took us
for a walk through the old city first, which was a neat network of laneways
consisting of identical long bars serving "pinxtos" - mini baguettes and bite-sized
finger food stacked up on the bar.

We followed him to the waterfront at Playa de La Concha which is overlooked by a
"magnifica" statue named Estatua del Sagrado Corazón, high in the mountain. We
circled back to the surf beach called Playa de La Zurriola or "Gros".

Our hotel itself, Hotel Parma, was simple and gritty, with two windows, one opening
directly into another guest's balcony and the bathroom window into someone's
courtyard. The staff were snappy and rude, but the hotel was in a great location and
had a heated tile in the bathroom, which was literally the best thing about the
hotel.

We ate dinner (bocandillos - like a baguette) and went for a quick mohito at a bar
on the way home, where Shakira's song "Waka Waka" played and everyone in the bar was
singing every word at the top of their lungs. This inspired Lauren and I to go home
and learn the lyrics. A few nights later we realised we had learnt the lyrics to the
English version and the song was in Spanish- d'oh! Thank god for you tube...

Day 8- San Sebastian

Carl and I started the day with a jog all the way along the Playa de La Concha and
Playa de Ondaretta, two adjacent beaches with no waves and a beautiful vista of Isla
Santa Clara and the statue up the top of Mont Urgill. We went as far as we could go,
right up to the Haizearen Orrazia and Peine del Viento, sculptures at the
westernmost end of the beaches. What a way to see this beautiful place!

Lauren was still sleeping when we got back to the hotel at about midday but soon
woke up and we picked up yummy bocadillos for breakfast before heading to the local
shopping centre to see the hire car people. On the way we got lost (again) with the
help of the navigator who, from this day forward, shall be known as "Punta caro" (or
"b**** Face"). When we finally got to the Hertz store (after Carl threatened to
turn around and go back home), they said they can't log any paperwork until we get
to Italy, as the car is Italian. The trip wasn't a complete waste, as we picked up
some cheap supplies like fruit, snacks and wine (most bottles were under €3!!).

When we got back we took our wine and sat on the jetty with our feet dangling over
the water and drank red wine and laughed and sang The Sound of Music soundtrack
(Carl was excluded from the last activity), and laughed some more. It was this
afternoon that I pieced together my first sentence in Spanish: "dondé esta los
servicios por favor?", and although I couldn't understand the man's response, I was
very proud of myself!

We had some pre drinks in our hotel room served my Bartender Carl, then headed out
to a little "music club" where we danced on the empty dancefloor. Within a few
minutes the floor was pumping and packed out. It was only a small space (smaller
than a bedroom) but it was enough space to have a lot of fun! When it got a bit
unbearable, we moved on and as we were leaving the bouncers pleaded with Carl "don't
let the guapas leave".

We marvelled at the many people ordering their drinks from outside bars through a
tiny hole-in-the-wall window, through which they can chat with the bartender, smoke
and drink from a glass bottle. It is a very outdoor culture and evident that
publicans do not mind their patrons drinking and chatting in the street. It is not
unusual to see people spilling out of bars, leaning against the walls or sitting on
the sidewalk or in the gutter, enjoying a beer or two.

Carl took us to Be Bop which was one of his favorite clubs to go last time he came,
right by our hotel. It had obviously changed alot since then as we were surrounded
by people that were 40+ and not clubbing. It was about 1am by this stage - early in
Spain - so we decided to try somewhere else. We found a bar similar to the first one
we went to that night, though for some reason not quite as fun (probably because
there was no dancefloor!)

After Lauren had been chatted up by one too many manky men we decided to call it a
night and head back to our gloriously heated tiled hotel.

Day 9 - San Sebastian

After waking at 11am, Tour Guide Carl took Lauren and I for a walk up Monte Urgill
to the castle on top of which lies the statue. It was a relatively easy walk which
took about 15-20 minutes. Unfortunately the view was largely blocked by trees, but
we found a high wall to sit and eat our fruit breakfast while looking out into the
Atlantic.

We packed a picnic of salami, chorizo, fresh baguette, olives, cheeses (including
the highlight cream brie), and let Punta Caro lead the way to Biarritz, France for a
beach day trip.

At our first glimpse of the sparkling blue water we were in love! Although the sand
is dark and pebbly and the beach packed, Biarritz is a sight to behold with it's
eroded headland leaving large rocks jutting out of the water.

We spread our picnic out on the sarong and although none of us were hungry (you need
to stop eating to feel hunger pain), we stuffed ourselves content until not a crumb
or olive were left.

Brave Carl went for a jog along the pebbly sand (how that man can run on a full
stomach in the heat I'll never know), and alas, his foot was cut by the evil hidden
surprises of glass and sharp rocks in the sand. Loz and I went for a dip in the icy
water, which after a few moments became so refreshing. It was not as clean as I
would have liked, and there was lots of seaweed but thankfully the sharp pebbles
became soft sand after a few steps into deeper water.

We lounged around reading magazines and lapping up the sunshine for a few hours
(reapplying SPF30, of course!) before heading back to the car, and San Sebastian.

On the way we stopped in St Jean De Luz, another beautiful but terribly overcrowded
beach, were Lauren, Carl and I enjoyed a water, beer and vin rouge respectively.

Feeling fat and overgorged, we all participated in a TRX circuit in our attempt to
build up an appetite.

That night we returned to the same restaurant for dinner as the first night, as it
was safe and tasty. If you don't like bocadillos, you are pretty much screwed in San
Seb. Lauren and I marveled at how anyone could get their nutrients (or maintain
their waistline!) here.

The first place we went, the "Rock Pub" was large in San Sebastian terms, but
relatively empty. At 12am, it was still early though. The music was great- a mix of
classic pop and some Spanish songs we didn't recognise - and we had a little drink
and boogie until the place filled up with 15 men on a bucks night (the poor buck
dressed with an inflatable spare tyre and floaties) and we headed to our next stop,
a little bar around the corner from our hotel. It didn't look different to any of
the other bars, but the Jazz and swing music brought us to another era and we danced
and boogied and shimmied until it was time to go home. We were unhappily greeted at
the hotel by easily the hotel worker that hated us the most, nicknamed the Axe Man,
who, when picking up our key, told Carl "tomalo con silencia!" - take it quietly!
Which is now his catch phrase and had us laughing hysterically into the early hours.