Friday, August 19, 2011

Bilbao - Day 2, San Sebastian

When I told people I was going to Bilbao, the next question was usually, "Are you going to San Sebastian?!?" The answer to that was, "Yes." A drive of approximately one hour from Bilbao, Sanse is apparently the 'pearl' of the area - Patri telling us it was full of beautiful people who are proud of being from Sanse, dressed in expensive clothes, and tourists. Oddly enough, that description reminded me of Sydney :P


Upon getting there and seeing the beach, it was nice but I wasn't particularly impressed.
Looking towards the cliffs

Posing along the seaside

Patri however noted that we were not in the area that she had intended us to look at. We started to climb a hill (I think, Monte Urgull) and took a nice look over the city. 


A nice, flat city.

Looking down the path. Hmmm, steep. 

The path took us through the back parts of the old town...

And then all of a sudden we were behind the Town Hall and had a view of the Bahia de la Concha (Bay of La Concha)! Gorgeous! 
The front of the Town Hall (formerly a cashino!)

Having gained our bearings, we decided we should venture into the Old Town to get pintxos for lunch.

Oh hell yes! Two types of fish ones, one with prawns (gambas), a croquette, one with jamon and goats cheese

Pintxos on the bar

Chillis at the bar. There was muchas muchas more pintxos but I was too busy eating to photograph. This was all washed down with white wine and then apple cidre that cost a...wait for it...€0.80/glass. HOLY BARGAIN!!!


After lunch, we walked along the promenade to the beach and then went down to exfoliate our feet. Alas, we didn't bring any swimming accoutrements because it was allegedly supposed to rain. Instead, it was a glorious 29C day. Boo.  

Looking back towards the Town Hall.
 
Looking over La Concha

Mmmm, blue...

Feeties

Happy smiles 

Looking down the promenade

kekekeke

After sitting and relaxing and looking at the beach, Patri asked us if we wanted to take the funicular up Monte Igueldo to get the classic tourist experience. Si!

Waiting for the funicular

On the ride up

Oooh, greenery

Once we were up there, we were treated to a really lovely view over the city. *sigh* This is slightly higher view than the panorama at the start of this entry.

Being tourists :D

I can't remember what this building is but it looks cool

We could also see into the Isla de Santa Klara in the middle of the bay. We think some of the people there may have been making mischief.

And the view out to the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic...

As lovely as the view was, there was another great surprise (for me) up there...
a cute old skool fun park, the Parque de atracciones Monte Igueldo

This way to La Casa del Terror!!! I kinda regret not demanding that we go on this :(

But I did demand that we eat churros! Quote "I need to eat churros so say I at real Spanish churros!" It was crispy, sugary goodness. Best churros I've ever eaten!

Patri opted for a chocolate covered churro. Here she is force-feeding Juliane

As we ate, we watched this guy offer pony rides. 

And here's some guy really enjoying the clear blue sky.

A great day and highly recommended place for everyone! 

4 comments:

Pooey said...

Not enough time in San Sebbie. Hehe Patri took you to the smaller, less impressive beach first.

Also I disagree with the Sydney comparison - not everyone wears expensive clothes. A good proportion are skanky.

mallymoodle said...

We parked somewhere far away in an area that Patri wasn't familiar with. So we jumped on the first bus that took us to the centre - it dropped us off near the inferior beach.

Spu said...

Are people in Sydney skanky or San Sebbie?
I rikey San Sebbie!

Pooey said...

The skanky comment was referring to Syd.