6/30/17
San
Sebastian
Walked past great surfing bach this morning. In
fact we met a surfer in the lobby of our building with his board (about 6 ½ ft)
and wearing a wetsuit. Asked him “Good surf?” and he answered, “No.” His
English was good and he explained conditions were windy and choppy. Seemed like
a happy guy, the real surfer type. By
that I mean not a drugstore surfer, or a wannabe surfer, like so many of us
were as kids on Long Island. I made the mistake of going out on one of those 9
½ ft surfboards as a kid on Long Island and almost drowned when the board got
away from me. You’ve got to know what you’re doing, and be a powerful swimmer,
if you want to tangle with the surf. I’ve respected the surfing clan ever since
my scary experience.
We crossed our nearby “playa” all the way to the
seawall. No mermaid today. The waves were not crashing with the same ferocity
this day, but still very impressive. We repeated our walk in the direction of
the Old City and I bought a couple of Cuban cigars, as much for the novelty of
getting “real Cubans” as for the smoking. Maybe I would smoke one in France as
we leave tomorrow for the country to the north.
We moved on to some produce stands. I got some
Spanish cherries, “cherisas” (cerises in French) and seems like cherries is a
nice word in every language. Also got 2 apples for the train rides into
Amboise. And train rides is
intentionally a plural, as we make four changes, as I began to lament in
previous post. The biggest flaw in our travel plans came with underestimating
the difficulty of getting from Point A in Spain (San Sebastian) to Point B
(Amboise) a locale a full 2/3 of the way to Paris. Here’s hoping the train trip
will be better than the last leg of our bus journey from Comillas to San Sebastian.
We want to begin tomorrow with the 7:45 AM train from San Sebastian with a
destination across the border in Hendaye, France.
Had lunch at Restaurant Next Bi, an establishment
with a mysterious Basque name, just a few steps from our apartment. Next Bi is
the place I praised yesterday for having heartier, home cooking, than the
tapas-style dining you get as regular fare as a tourist in Spain. Nothing wrong
with tapas, kind of interesting experiment in eating less and that may
contribute to their popularity, but tapas dishes have become a “thing” where
the chef substitutes artistry for calories, and results in a rich, intense
dining experience. “Rich and intense” may characterize part of the Spanish
character—I think of the great artists like Picasso and Dali, the bullfighter
outfits in their “trajes de luces” and Spanish flamenco music. A friend back in
Texas told me she felt apprehensive about going to Spain because of a primitive
side to the country and I wondered if maybe she had hit upon Spain’s appeal.
Before we get into lunch, a second mention of Hogar
Dulce Hogar, or Home Sweet Sucre, the great breakfast place with the friendly
waitresses and an open, airy environment even inside the restaurant. We got
bread, croissants, coffee and I ordered a “chocolate croissant” instead of
pointing at the dense chocolate pastry I got yesterday. Minor setback.
But back to lunch at Restaurant Next Bi. They have
a 3 course meal—and we both got garbanzos this time. They have attractive
waitresses, including the blonde “Sex Bomb,” our nickname for a well-endowed
blonde waitress. The brunette, also well-endowed in the breast department,
moved about but we asked Sex Bomb about one of the entrees. She said it was a
“fish dish, picante” and Reed ordered it. He sensed it was not fish he was
eating and so I looked it up--callos,
and turns out that’s beef tripe, with maybe some hoof thrown in. He learned
this only after completing the dish—and calling it “pretty decent.” He may have
taken the high road in his evaluation of the tripe as I sensed a minimal
enthusiasm. I had an actual fish dish—herluta a la Roman. It was good. Again
the meal offered an alternative to the intense tapas we consume at almost every
meal. And the patrons of Next Bi are all locals—lots of old-timer Basques.
Looking ahead to tomorrow…. Because what is life if
not a series of restaurant next…
travel day-- 6/30/17
No comments:
Post a Comment