San Sebastian, Spain

Two weeks in Spain in late July, early August...well, I knew it was going to be hot, just not THAT hot! Despite the heat, the trip started off nicely with our first visit to San Sebastian, sitting on the Biscay Bay in the crook of Spain that touches France in the north. This was our first experience with what I'll call "pincho culture." For three nights we walked the promenade facing the water into the old town where there are more bars and restaurants than one could possibly frequent in months. The more familiar term for this food is "tapa" but called "pintxo" in Basque country. A pincho is a spike or thorn, and the snacks are "spiked" with a toothpick. When you've finished, you show your plate to the bartender and he counts the toothpicks and gives you a price. Most of the time, the bite-sized morsels are from 1 to 2 euros each, which this summer was almost 1 to 1 with the dollar. 30 euros would be about 33 dollars. So, bar to bar we'd walk, stopping at places that just looked good. We'd order a drink and plop some pintxos on our plates and graze away. Go to another bar and do the same thing until we had had enough. Then, the twenty minute walk back to our hotel facing the Bay of Biscay. Three days spent walking countless miles and then eating. Not bad!