Solo San Sebastian

Like most people Judy has arrived with her uniquely own list of the adventures she’s hoping to have while she is in Spain and one of the items on her list is to visit the Textile Museum.  I think this is interesting and not one of the places I might have thought of so I’m all for it.  We think Sunday will be a great day to do that since so many other things are closed on Sundays.  But first we check the web to make sure the Textile Museum is open Sundays and it is, yay.

The Textile Museum is located in the Born just a short walk down Ferran/Princesea toward the water.  The museum is located right across from the Picasso Museum so I already know exactly where it is.  We are out fairly early around 11am and the crowds aren’t on the streets yet so it is a very pleasant walk but the minute we hit the museum we realize something is wrong.  The museum café is open but the museum itself is too quiet and dark.  Sure enough even though the sign on the door says they are open they are not.  We ask in the book store and learn the museum is relocating and they have closed to make arrangements for that.  You’d think they’d at least have some sort of sign on their door but the Spanish are not especially good at signs.

It’s time for a plan B and the easy one seems to be to simply swing over to one of the Gaudi options and Judy thinks Casa Battlo is best but now a bit of a hike from where we are at.  All of our walking is starting to take effect on Judy’s knees so we decide on the metro.  Judy tours the Casa which is a house Gaudi designed using a total theme of the sea consequently there are lots of wonderful blues and greens throughout the entire house along with many reflecting the movement of the ocean.  While Judy tours I sit at a nearby café and people watch something I always enjoy doing and having had much of an opportunity for lately. Today I am amazed by the number of babies there are and just how fancy baby strollers have become. 

To finish off the day we go to Bar Lobo for dinner.  Judy has never had octopus and I’ve never had it at Bar Lobo which is a place with small dishes for sharing so we order their octopus along with the asparagus I already know I love.  I’ve eaten octopus often in Greece and Turkey where it is usually prepared with garlic and butter but here where the Spanish use paprika it gives it an bit of a spiciness I really like and Bar Lobo’s octopus was the best I’ve had since I’ve been here……..tasty, tender and juicy. We keep it an early night as we’re flying to San Sebastian tomorrow morning.

Our morning goes well and we are in the taxi in the plaza just exactly when we wanted to be.  It looked like this was going to be an easy travel day.  Judy and I are both packed light since we’re flying on Vueling Airlines and they charge you for everything, every bag, selecting your seat, cokes and water.  While we are standing in line for check-in Judy suddenly gets this panic look on her face and says to me, ‘I think I forget my passport in your apartment’.  We try to stay positive, we’re only a few people away from the agent and she does have her driver’s license so maybe just maybe they will accept that.  The agent makes a phone call pleading our case but there is no way to fly without a passport and sends us off to customer service.

The very businesslike gentleman who helps us at customer service is not unpleasant but clearly disappointed in Judy and tells me I need to go ahead and take the flight because it will cost an additional $99 to change it and that’s more than half of what we paid for the original ticket.  And there is more bad news there aren’t any more flights today and the next day Judy will have to fly at 7:10am.  Judy and I take a time out to discuss the situation.  Since we were also going to have a hotel problem if we didn’t show up for our reservation we finally decided it seemed like the only thing to do was for me to go ahead to San Sebastian and for Judy to come along tomorrow.  Leaving Judy standing at security with the keys to the flat in her hands and a forlorn look on her face was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

The flight was a breeze and the airport in San Sebastian is small and easy to maneuver.  A line of cabs waited right out the front door and I was quickly seated in one of them and on my way into San Sebastian.  The ride was longer than I might have expected and the taxi driver had very little English and could not understand my Spanish in the least but he still wanted to talk so we struggled together the entire trip.  It seems, as best I could piece together, that his brother lives in Sacramento and he is going there to visit in 23 days……not 22 or 24 but exactly 23 days he was counting them down and couldn’t to wait.  He has never been to the States before but his brother tells him it is beautiful and the women are beautiful and he thinks I am beautiful.  Well I’m not exactly sure about that last one but that’s the way I heard it!!

Once we arrive in the heart of old town San Sebastian he drives to front of a very beautiful church and tells me to walk down the side of the church to my hotel because he cannot drive there.  Getting dropped off at a church was unusual for me to say the least!  But sure enough there is my hotel right where the driver said it would be.  Once I settled into the room and rid myself of my backpack I wonder out to explore San Sebastian.  I will save the important spots to share with Judy when she arrives but I simply have to go out and introduce myself to the city.

Even at first glance you know San Sebastian is going to be one of those absolutely darling cities with everything going for it.