A Day of Rest

Day 2 - April 28, 2023

Start: San Sebastián or Donastia as the Basque prefer.

End: Same place.

Distance: 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) with 0 feet (0 meters) of ascent.

Quote: “When you rest, you catch your breath and it holds you up, like water wings . . . .” ~ Anne Lamott

Musings: Today was a day of rest and jet lag recovery! We had a beautiful breakfast right above one of San Sebastián’s three stunning beaches. (Check out the photo of intricate beach art below!) Then we walked along the boardwalk to “old town” where a portion of the old medieval wall remains.

We toured two of San Sebastián’s three cathedrals, which form a triangle in the heart of the city. Indeed, you can look straight down the calle (street) from one of two cathedrals in the old town to see the tower of city’s major cathedral. The catedral described the stunning iconography inside as “[a] reflection of God the merciful and beautiful and of [God’s] friends the saints.”

Tonight we had dinner in a restaurant in old town, called La Vina, which we were assured has the most revered Basque cheesecake in the city. Experiencing the delight of Basque cheesecake is enough of a reason—in and of itself—to visit this part of the world. Carol and I, along with our dear friend Jan, first discovered this delectable morsel of decadence when visiting a winery in Walla Walla, Washington. We tried to convince the chef to give us his recipe to no avail. Carol and I have been looking forward to revisiting this delicacy in its native habitat ever since! The picture of Basque cheesecakes is dedicated to Jannie, in particular, who we both miss and wish could savor this treat with us.

Tomorrow our journey on the Del Norte continues—on to Zarautz!

Here are today’s photos:

P.S. An apology for all the typos and misspellings in my first post yesterday! It took me about three hours last night to fully learn how to utilize this platform and publish my first post. I was pretty exhausted after our first walk and jet lagged. Tonight’s post was much easier now that I’ve had both practice and a good night’s sleep! Hopefully, I’ll have fewer typos and mistakes from here on out . . . .