When I originally planned my little adventure, I had left today as a Bilbao/San Sebastian day, since I had to return back to San Sebastian to catch my train to Barcelona. Since all I really wanted was some good food and relaxation, I decided to catch a morning bus back to San Sebastian and unwind there for the day. Unfortunately, I was thwarted by the old Metro switch-and-bait where the Metros obviously switch places because there's no way that I would ever get on the wrong one in the wrong direction. I then discovered that instead of running every half hour, as I'd been previously informed, the buses were only running every hour. I'm not sure if this is a weekday/weekend issue or what, but I didn't end up getting to San Sebastian until about noon. Lessons: triple-check your subway, and triple-check your bus schedule, but most importantly: ALWAYS have a book ready for that awkward downtime.
I returned to Meson Martin, the first pintxos bar that I went to in San Sebastian, for a reliably helping of fish and mushrooms. I also tried tehse giant fried balls, one filled with meat and the other with cheese (the meat one seemed almost filled with a really thick beef stew, since I detected some potatoes and other veggies in there). The meat one far surpassed the cheese one (tasted like they used a melted gorgonzola; gorgonzola shows up a lot here), but both were fun in their own ways.
Since it was a weekday before 2 pm, I also got to see the San Sebastian market!
Stuffed with pintxos, I lathered up with a generous amount of SPF 50 and relaxed in the warmth, with the sound of lapping waves in my ears, for an hour. I think I'm getting the hang of this whole relaxation thing. To remind you, the beach I was on was gorgeous and looked like this:
After the hike to the train station (I now pity snails for having to carry around all their worldly possessions at all times. They must be wonderful minimalists), I cleared up a mystery that has plagued me since my arrival: what does DSS 2016 mean? San Sebastian isn't exactly vying for an Olympic bid or anything. It turns out that San Sebastian (or Donostia, in the native language Euskara) is under consideration as a European Capital of Culture.
It has a great food culture, but the dearth of museums, festivals (besides Heinecken-sponsored and -fueled ones), and other fascinating sights makes me wonder... why? Oh well, good for Donostia!
And then, it was about six hours on the train back to Barcelona for some repacking and rebooting. I did get a free upgrade to a Preferente Car (sort of like business class for long-distance trains. I had about twice as much room as in the Turista class). Apparently, there was a Preferente Car where a Turista Car had been anticipated. This almost caused me to get into the wrong car, but I asked in time. The train conductor shrugged and told me to enjoy it. Stretched out in all that extra room, I was still bored but was quite comfortable.
Two Spotteds for all the lucky readers out there tonight.
Spotted 1: G Star Raw.
This band seems to be like an instant boost of testosterone to any male who wears it, with side effects including swagger, chest-puffing-up, greasily manicured facial hair, and glinting earrings. Female arm candy pawing said manly man optional, but quite common. I'd never heard of this brand before arriving in Barcelona, but it seems to be a hit all over Spain.
Spotted 2: The Olympics. Spain plays the USA tonight, and huge signs all over Barcelona have broadcast it as "the rematch".
Go team USA!
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