Wet again this morning but still warm and we had decided to explore all of the city on foot and after the long walk down to the old town stopped for a coffee to watch the world go by.
As we sat watching the world go by there was a street demonstration by a fairly large group of people carrying placards saying no to 150% IBI. This was also written in the sand in several places and we gather it is a protest about the government imposing a property tax of 150% on holiday homes.
Along the square was a small but very colourful market and as usual, sur le continent, the produce looked terrific. Sadly we cannot say the same about the new Kursaal across the river just in front of the Playa de Gros. The beach itself is beautiful and clearly a haven for surfers of which there seemed to be hundreds. However the building did not deserve a photo but does deserve to adopt the name of the beach.
Clearly it's cider time at present and the festival the main square was already in full swing and nobody seemed concerned about drinking cider and consuming vast baggette type rolls relatively early in the day.
We were even treated to a very large cider barrel being brought into the square by two Oxen|
There were also a group of three men in only their underpants (with Bilbao emblazoned on the back) running through the square, but sadly we had no time to get a photo.
The lovely lady wife had said at this point that she was feeling a little under the weather and we decided it was time for lunch. We selected a restaurant, again recommended in our guide book, and although it was now 1.00 there were only 2 other people in the restaurant when we arrived, although the Pinchos part downstairs was very busy. It is clear that mealtimes are different in Spain as by the time we left, it was very full. I had roasted vegetables with veal sweetbreads and the lovely lady wife had a piece of block de foie mi-cuit with toasts and a peach puree. We then both skipped a main course and had a pudding. I had the local speciality which resembled bread and butter pudding and the LLW had a strawberry dessert. She declared herself completely recovered after that.
We then headed back for a rest and in the evening made the 2,2 mile trip again to the old town where we walked around the port and mixed with the locals. We were sitting having a salad near one of the churches and were treated to a procession (no cows this time) comprising men in beefeaters style hats, a band and lots of others, some dressed up. We were unable to make our waiter understand our questions so we still have no idea what it was about, but it appeared as if the whole of San Sebastian took part in it at some point. It is worth remembering that on the continent most people live in fairly small flats and hence will seek to perambulate outside at every opportunity (that is probably almost every evening) . We then headed back to our hotel by taxi for our final night in SS.
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