Upon arrival in Donostia–San Sebastian, we checked into the grand Hotel Maria Cristina. My room was spacious and elegant and had a large balcony door with views over the Urumea River. We had a quick tour of the property and I headed out to catch the last light of the day before we needed to meet back up for dinner.
The Victoria Eugenia Theatre next door to the Hotel Maria Cristina.
Basilica of Santa Maria situated dramatically at the end of Calle Mayor.
I didn’t get far before it began to rain and I was forced to turn back. The rain was being driven by a strong, gusty wind off the coast that proved too much for my small umbrella which quickly inverted itself, becoming useless. This would prove to be a recurring theme between myself and Donostia-San Sebastian. Each time I would try to squeeze in a quick photo walk, rain would arrive to dampen my efforts. It held off for most of our organized events, thankfully.
The view of Donostia-San Sebastian from Monte Igueldo.
The next morning we were able to take advantage of the clearer weather to get some overviews of San Sebastian and gain a better understanding of how it is situated on the river and the Bay of Biscay. We visited Miramar Palace, commissioned in 1893 by the Spanish Royal Family, before driving up Monte Igueldo for the panoramic view that you see above.
You can just make out Miramar Palace on the right by the bright green lawn, then the curve of the beach arcing around to the left. The old town is the area just before the beach meets the hill on the coast, and the river is just on the other side of the old town with another beach on the far side of the river. It’s a pretty spectacular setting for a city.
Miramar Palace, a summer house built for the Spanish Royal Family in 1893. It now houses the Summer Courses of the University of the Basque Country.
A view of Donostia-San Sebastian from the grounds of Miramar Palace.
Next up, a visit to Chillida-Leku, an open-air site featuring sculptures by Basque Country artist Eduardo Chillida, along with an indoor gallery inside a restored farmhouse. Major public works by Chillida can be found in Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt and Dallas. I would see another in a few days in Gijón, Spain.
Back in Donostia-San Sebastian for one more attempt at a photo walk before being driven back to the hotel by another sudden burst of rain. Thankfully it wasn’t enough to dampen an evening of pintxos in the old town before bed, however. The last photo in this post is another of the 18th-century Basilica of Santa Maria, just before the sky opened up again.
