Things About This Town

I went out for my wander this afternoon.  It got cut slightly short by the fact that there was a huge children's festival going on down by the port AND the fútbol game was about to start.  There were SO many people in the city center it felt like the Cubs game had just gotten out in our neighborhood.  I had also found a frutería (tiny market with mostly fruits and veggies, some cheese, a tiny bit of pasta, and a small wine selection) and a panadería (bakery with really tasty freshly baked bread, pastries, and often gelato) that were both open, so I stopped in to each to get some fruit, veggies, a loaf of bread, and a bottle of wine.  It's good to know about those options in case I ever run out of food on Saturday or Sunday, since both of the markets within relatively easy walking distance of my house are closed starting at 1 on Saturday.  I got some veggies and some more apples.  They have a kind of apple that I don't know the name of but know by site that is great - super crispy like a granny smith, but not as sour.  SO yummy!

The children's festival was super cute.  There were bounce-houses, groups of musicians playing, and kids going crazy, all by the beautiful old carousel that overlooks the sea.  Very cute.  

The football game people were slightly less cute.  For those of you who don't closely follow Spanish fútbol, last night Real Madrid and Barcelona played last night.  They are basically two of the biggest rivals in soccer - Barcelona, it is commonly agreed, is one of the best teams in the world right now.  Soccer is bigger than ever in Spain after their World Cup win last year.  Making things even more dramatic, from what I understand, they spent the last three seasons in the second division of La Liga (basically, the pros?), before being sent back up to La Liga this year.  This means they're playing Barcelona in a couple of weeks IN San Sebastián.  I'm going to have to stay far (far) from the stadium that day, unless I can convince anyone to go to the game with me.  :)  Anyhow, the team is called Real Sociedad, and everyone (tiny babies through very old people) was decked out in their Real Sociedad finest today, for the game against Sporting de Gíjon.  There were a fair amount of Sporting fans running around too - Gíjon is about 4 hours west on  the coast, so it's interesting to see so many fans here.

Since it's gorgeous outside, and I'm not paying attention well enough to write whole paragraphs here are some more observations about San Sebastián:

•  People who live here really enjoy the city.  The beach, the parks, the benches, the sidewalks, the ice cream shops are all full when the weather is decent. Today was the busiest I've seen it so far, but it's sort of great because everyone really enjoys where they live.  

• People walk incredibly slowly.  I am not a super-speed walker, but I walk at least three times as fast as the average person here.  I am trying to make myself slow down - or at least not be frustrated with slow walkers!

• People here are also much less racially diverse and also much skinnier by and large than Americans.  The latter is probably due to the fact that everyone walks all the time (up giant hills) and portions are much smaller.  I am not sure how this works though, given the fact that they eat copious amounts of cheese and pig products, and have gelato shops every ten feet.  The racial diversity thing throws me off though.  I've lived in Chicago for so long that it's strange to see such little diversity.

• San Sebastian has three beaches.  The main one (Playa de la Concha) is the only one I've spent much time near, and while it's not a nude beach, kids are pretty typically naked on it.  By kids, I mean up to and including about 5.  Then, they typically just wear underwear - until they're about 10, both boys and girls.  I guess this saves on having to buy a new swimsuit every year.  The adults are typically in various stages of dress and un-dress, which is weird for an American beach, but actually pretty tame for Spain.  I'm going to go try to check out the beach in Gros (one of the neighborhoods) next week.  I've heard they have great surfing there, which might be fun to watch.

• Just when I thought I had escaped the curse of "what neighborhood is this" in Chicago where I never knew which neighborhood was where or where a particular place was (with the exception of a handful of neighborhoods), I'm back in the throes of it.  I found out on Friday that I live in Aiete (a highly residential neighborhood on the hill), and I went to dinner and a bar in Egia.  Last night I was again invited to go out in Egia or Gros (both of which are across the river - which, like the Chicago River, curves, which makes it all the more confusing).  I've visited El Centro (the downtown/shopping/banking area) and Parte Vieja ("old town" with lots of restaurants, bars and some shops).  I still need to explore a lot of other areas.  

• I'm trying to figure out which church would be the best for me to try to visit during Holy Week - fortunately, the town has about 8 billion Catholic churches, including a cathedral (Buen Pastor), a basilica (de Santa Maria del Coro), and a convent within easy walking distance of my house.  There's apparently another church just up the street from here, which might be less scary than going to a cathedral or a basilica during the holiest time of the year when I don't speak the language.  And I have no clue what people wear to church here ... especially on Easter.  I'll learn soon enough, I guess!