So San Sebastián in a nutshell. This sunny city is by far my favourite stop we've had in Spain. Although our hostel urban house wasn't the cleanest, there were random flies hovering around the ceiling that ate Molly, and at the crack of dawn jolly marching bands and church bells would come ringing through our dorm, there were actually heaps of people we met and made friends with. In our 12 bed dorm we met an Itallian hostel worker called Mattao and a Brazilian guy called Bruno. They were really nice and funny. We were like a little group so it was sad to leave this morning. We spent a lot of time on Zurriola surf beach, where I hired a boogie board. If we weren't on one of the captivating beaches, you could also find us tucking into traditional pintxos (Basque-style tapas). We went about three or four times and I think I'm addicted. Why don't they have these places in Melbourne!? It was so good eating tomato tarts, prawns and cream on little pieces of fresh bread and slices of rich cheese topped with jam and marmalade, we felt like we were really getting a taste of Spain. 7 euros would buy you three or four pintxos that was the perfect meal after a night out.

The first night we decided to go on the pub crawl. It was fun to meet so many Aussies and the hostel workers were really friendly as well. However, the best night was definitely the cider house. It was 32 euro to travel up a mountain to this cider house, where you could serve yourself unlimited cider. And we got a 5 course meal! We decided to go there for my birthday as an early celebration because everyone from the hostel was going. The whole place was set up like a medieval feast. There were long tables that we sat on and shared the lone baguettes that had been placed on the table top. We then got shown to the cider rooms that were refreshingly chilly. Heaps of gigantic wooden cider barrels lined the rooms. You had to twist this red tap to make the cider spurt out into your cup. You had to place your cup in the right spot to catch the cider then move out the way for the next person. It was awesome trying all the different tangy and bitter ciders. The thing was that you were only aloud to fill your cup as high as two fingers, because that's what customers used to do in the 1800s to test the cider before they bought the barrel and hauled it away on horse and cart. Tradition I guess. Two Australian girls from essendon sat opposite us at the big feast table. We got chatting about our travels as we all shared a plate of juicy sausages cooked in cider, a Spanish fish omelette, cod fish topped with onion and capsicum and beautifully cooked steak. Our plate of steak looked like it was still alive (basically raw) so after trying a piece we sent it back to be cooked a bit longer. It came back so tender and bursting with a herb and charcoal flavour. The table then fell dead silent and sang happy birthday to me! It was so nice of everyone although it wasn't my real birthdate. Walnuts were then served. You had to smash them with your hand to find the edible part, which hurt so much. Our Aussie friend Nick used his head to open one and made a gash on his forehead. Woops. So we all clinked our cider glasses together, and it was time to head out. Bek and I loved the soft baguettes so much , we nicked one from an empty table ,ripped it apart and put it in my bag. It was so funny eating it in the cab. This Irish guy jack who shared our cab , thought it was a tad odd haha! We then got taken to the same pubs we went to on the pub crawl. Mol, Bek and I didn't stay that long and ended up heading home after the third place. They played happy birthday over the speakers that was so cute ! The cider house was such a good idea for my birthday.

On my actual birthday , Molly and Bek had planned a picnic on this little island separate from san sebastian. We had to hire kayaks from La concha bay beach to get there. It was a real breeze getting into the stable kayaks with our bags of food and water. Bek was going to take her iPad! We actually struggled to get past the little breaking waves and nearly dropped our bags of food into the water. It was easy once you got the hang of paddling though. Bek lead us to the island but didn't know how to get our boats up the stairs. So she got out and asked as Molly and I sat in our kayaks amongst the swimmers in the crystalline water. As she came back to get in her kayak , a bigger wave gently pushed the kayak and Bek into the solid rock wall. The food and Bek rolled out into the water and the kayak then slipped away. I don't think Molly and I have ever laughed so hard ! It was the funniest thing I've ever seen . We had a good chuckle. Nearby swimmers had to retrieve the kayak for us. We finally got on land and climbed up to a picturesque place to sit. The view was breath taking. San Sebastian has green hills on all sides and such a pretty coastline of clear sandy beaches. Unfortunately I wasn't brave enough to take my camera on the kayak so I couldn't take any photos. Anyway, Mol and Bek bought me a wooden stretcher for my ear and gave me a singing card. We munched into our slightly soggy sandwiches and chips and dip. They then pulled out this squished, mangled looking thing that was my birthday cake. They sang happy birthday again and we devoured the three different slices that had moulded into one. We had a quick dip in the swimming area and then had to kayak back because we only had the kayaks for 2 hours. Once arriving into shore I realised the waves had picked up a bit. Molly and I caught a wave in on our kayaks. There were no problemo's until we noticed the wet sand was actually on an angle that we were going to run into. I was hurdling towards this lady on the beach in my little kayak and couldn't stop. Once the front of my boat hit the wet sand it suddenly stopped and I fell out. Molly did too. Jeez we must've looked like two idiots rolling around in the shallow water with our kayaks floating away. Once Molly found her lost shoe that had fallen off in the process, we returned the kayaks and swam in LA concha beach. We swam out to a floating slide where people were tanning. I was so exhausted. We slid off a few times and then went home after our eventfull day. Later that night we went out for pintxos, cocktails and then I've cream. The ice cream on the boulevard is soooooo good! I got three scoops in a cone. It was 3,50 euro which is like 5 Aussie dollars. So cheap! I got a thick mango sorbet, kinder and kinder bueno. The kinder ice cream was extremely creamy and and had chunks of bueno in it. A perfect ending forbirthday that seemed like it laste for 3 days!

Wow this blog is long. I'm on the 14 hour bus ride to Paris and have nothing else to do right now. One last thing we did was walk up mount ourgull. On top of the mountain is this massive statue of Jesus that you can see from nearly every spot in San seb. You had to walk through a big forest that had so many paths you could take. It was a steep climb to the top but definitely worth it for the view.

I'm sad to leave San Sebastián as I've had a great time and have so many memories. But France here we come! Xoxo Alice