We were quite sad to be leaving Bilbao this morning. The hotel was lovely, not luxurious by any means but it had a very friendly, warm atmosphere. The satnav told me that San Sebastian would be less than two hours drive away. Even taking things easily (and yes, getting lost briefly) we made the climb up through the hairpins of Mount Igueldo and still arrived here just after noon. Our room was prepared, though we were not prepared for the view from the windows….even at night it’s pretty special.

After settling in, we had lunch in the hotel restaurant. That was pretty special too, probably the best meal we’ve had this trip. The receptionist had given us a map and explained that the easiest way to get to the town on the other side of the bay was to take the funicular down the hill and board a #16 bus. We thought that ‘town’ could wait till tomorrow, so we bought tickets for the funicular and decided to walk along the promenade for a short way. The funicular is showing some signs of wear and tear but after 160 years it has a right to I guess, though the way it swayed when you got on didn’t fill you with confidence. It has wooden bench seats, no glazed windows and some sliding doors that the ‘driver’ insists on opening before it completely comes to rest.

We managed to walk about a third the way to town, but that was enough to see a few things. Despite the less than summer like weather there were still hardy folks swimming and surfing in the sea. It’s a lovely beach and I can imagine it being smothered in baking, oily tanned bodies during the summer. We also thought San Sebastian was much less attractive from the promenade than from our eagles nest in room 325. Neither of us are lovers of ‘selfies’, so the above image of our shadows on the sand will be as close as we get on this trip.

I guess it would be almost an hours walk to the town, so tomorrow we’ll be taking the bus and using a taxi to get back. The funicular stops running (well, clanking and groaning)  at 18:30 and neither of us could get 100 metres up the road without some assistance, hence the taxi, which will drop us off at the hotel doors. So tonight we’ll go to sleep with the lights across the bay twinkling dimly and the crash of the waves, somewhat deadened by efficient double glazing…