Day Time San Seb;

After a big night on the town in Biarritz we were awoken by something that had remained somewhat absent over the past few days; the sun. We decided to make the most of the warmer weather and Gryllz's last day before heading to Frankfurt, by making a day trip to San Sebastian. Waiting for train rides, chatting with Australians, climbing hills, kicking the footy and eating tapas were to be the order of the day.

We arrived in San Sebastian around 3pm and headed to the beach with two aussies we had met on the train who were just beggining a two week European backpack trip. The sun was out and so to were the sunbathers, whilst we soaked in some of the 'San Seb' sites.

The picturesque main bay of San Sebastian is always worth a visit;

We both decided that we should make the trek up to Castillo de la Santa Cruz de la Mota; the statue seen in this photo;

The trek is one that opened our eyes to something that we didn't know existed so close to the bustling San Sebastian streets, nature.

Jungle like canopies line the path that leads to the 'Castillo' and make you feel as though your in a world of your own, a cross between the jungles of Indonesia and the ruins of South America.

A final stone tunnel,

opens out into the centre of a fallen fort. Cannons line the walls and at the very centre stands the amazing, Castillo de la Santa Cruz de la Mota.

We spent an hour or so touring the top of Mount Urgull and taking in some of the amazing views of the Atlantic ocean to the north and those of the bay of San Sebastian.

These views from the top of Mount Urgull have an amazing presence about them, wether it is the history behind the fallen ruins, the raging Atlantic ocean that extends from its shores or the amazing landscape that makes up the region, it is one of the most amazing places I am yet to visit.

We made our way back down Mount Urgull and cruised around San Sebastian's 'old town' in search of some cheap and tasty tapas. Not a hard task with the number of bars that line it's narrow streets.

The 'old town' is filled with some incredible architecture, and none more so than this church at the base of Mount Urgull;

The 'Tapas system' works in an interesting way;

1. 1. Go into the bar you fancy, based upon to dishes lining the counter.


2. 2. Search through the large variety of dishes, testing your taste buds with everything from crab pureè to camembert and sundried tomatoes.


3. 3. Practice your Spanish with a few of the indulging locals.


4. 4. Tell the barmen how many you ate.


5. 5. Pay. (Usually about 1.50 Euro a piece)


6. 6. Move to the next bar.

After leaving the tapas bars, the weather started to change and we thought it would be better to head back to Biarritz and have an early night so Gryllz had at least a little bit of energy for his plane trip the next day. 'San Seb' is well worth the trip and I'll definitely be heading back over summer.

Garrett in San Sebastian;