Local Happenings

As we enjoy our trip to California for Thanksgiving, we wanted to share a couple of recent events of interest (at least to us) in San Sebastian.

First, there are a number of bridges in San Sebastian that cross the Urumea River, which runs through the city. Some are simply utilitarian, but the Maria Christina Bridge is considered the most elegant structure crossing the river. Modeled on the Alexander III Bridge in Paris, it was built in only nine months in 1904, and opened in 1905. Each corner of the bridge contains an obelisk with decorative sculptures.

We have always noted the elegance of the bridge and its sculptures, but we had no idea how beautiful it actually is until the city undertook the process of cleaning the obelisks and sculptures over the past several months. The results are impressive as the before-and-after pictures below show:

We expect the cleaning of all four of these edifices to be completed in the next few weeks, which will provide an even better photo opportunity for the many tourists this summer.

Second, while you may know that San Sebastian is a destination for serious surfers, especially in the winter, you may not have realized that storms often bring significant swells into the Urumea. While we often see surfers at the confluence of the river and the sea, this guy is more than  half-a-mile from the ocean at the fourth bridge (the one closest to our apartment):

Finally, this being San Sebastian, there has to be something about food. Each year for many years, the local beer company called Keller has sponsored a pintxos event in which bars participate by offering a special pintxo and a Keller beer for a discounted price during a limited period. Apparently, last year (although we do not remember this), they decided to do a second such event specifically for bocatas (basically sub sandwiches). This year, we came across one of the signs for the bocata event, and were very excited because the sandwiches offered by the various bars looked great, and at 7 Euros for a sandwich and a beer, the price was very good.

Although we wanted to try about 20 of the 30 or so options, we only had time to try two. While they were both good, the winner for us was definitely the bocata from Rita (whose restaurant we have eaten at several times), which included lamb meatballs and a green curry sauce. Yum!

Happy Thanksgiving,

Jeff and Shana