Today was a treat. We took it easy in the morning, everyone doing their own thing and then we met near the City Hall and did a 3 hour electric bike tour. Perfect for tired legs from the day before. We only went 10 miles, but we got to see a lot of San Sebastián, going behind the old town, to neighborhoods, up hills, through the most incredible tunnel I’ve ever experienced. Matthew got an amazing video of it, but I forgot to get a copy.
One of the places I was curious about was this gorgeous building up on the hill that we’d passed a couple of times as we walked along the bay. The old town has remnants from the 1500’s, 1600’s, then Napoleon destroyed it in 1813. It took 45+ years to rebuild the old city, with a commitment to building the buildings as they had been (though presumably updating at least a bit the interiors, don’t know about that. Anyway, after 1860, they started building the new areas outside the original town walls and continued through the belle epoch era. And then there was this departure piece up the hill.
Turns out that Queen Maria Christina visited in 1887 for health reasons and fell in love with the town. She had her summer palace built as an English country cottage (cottage!). She named it Miramar – ocean view. She ended up reviving San Sebastián as a destination get away, inviting Queen Victoria amongst others to visit. This made San Sebastián famous, started the food trend and all went well until Franco.
Quote from one of the plaques about Queen Maria Christina near the palace/cottage: “Her affable nature earned her the affection of the city’s inhabitants and she even grew familiar with the Basque language. She was the best ambassador the city could have, and there was no cause in San Sebastián that she did not support in Madrid, such as obtaining a permanent telephone line concession or having the Ministry of War sell Mount Úrgull (the mountain with the Jesus of the Sacred Heart statue) to the city. In acknowledgment of all this, in 1926, the Town Hall appointed her “Honorary Mayoress” by acclamation, granting her the city’s first Golden Medal.”
After the bike ride, we had the afternoon to chill. I went back to the earliest cathedral – built in the 1500’s/1600’s. It was the cathedral for the Camino, had a shell and plaque about it’s place for the Camino del Norte, but no stamp. I’ve done a passport for the last 2 caminos and thought I’d go ahead and do this one, though I know I wouldn’t be finishing this year. But – no stamp. Strange and a first for me. But wow, it was gorgeous How could people build like this 500 years ago?
We met at Narru for dinner and had an amazing meal, everyone loved it. A great way to end our San Sebastián stay.
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