Is There A Doctor In The House?

@#$%!!!I have a hernia... I've been having little stabbing pains, mainly in the evening, in my stomach since I got to Spain, but it wasn't until last might that I reached down and... felt the lump... about the size of a small marble... Pretty sure it's a reducible one, which gives me some time, but I'm going to have to try not to aggravate it...

Today was planned as a short day, as I had to be sure that my feet could recover from yesterday, and I had alterior motives in San Sébastien.

Maybe I'm a morning person after all!

They don't call me the funkmeister for no reason!

What a quaint village!

From outside the small shipyard...

The first steps to purgatory..

This was taken about 30 percent of the way up...

Do these even qualify as stairs?

Turns out, I was wrong about the plateau... there were some very steep paved climbs...

Further up the hill...

Egads, what is that?

These were the nice cows...

This was the mean one. He literally took several steps towards me as I came up the path to the road. I had to wait for him to move on before I could advance...

Just glad I didn't have to try to outrun him...

The Twelve Tribes compound...

A pretty path...

First view of San Sébastien...

At the smaller beach on the east end of town...

Passing a fishmonger...

The gardens in front of the library at Playa de la Concha...

Sand art on the Playa...

It wouldn't be a trip to Spain without a little Don Quixote...

Street performers on the Promenade...

Old town San Sébastien...

Another street in the old section...

The real reason I'm in San Sébastien... to find the best pintxos, in the city that is considered the pintxos, and maybe even the food, capital of the world... I start at La Cuchara de San Telmo..

First up is a Suckling Pig from Leiza, with crispy skin, to die for...

Next are Razor clams, with garlic, oregano and lemon oil... I'll be looking for these again...

Last is a seared tuna with white bean vinaigrette and fried garlic, all washed down with the local Basque beer Heller...

Next up is Gandarias...

From left to right, goat cheese with balsamic reduction, Cod mixed with vegetables, Cod topped with onion confit and mild Chile pepper, and crab salad with shrimp... Not pictured is the seared foie Gras... Accompanied by a glass of Txakoli, a basque, slightly bubbly, dry white wine that was a perfect pairing...

I'm on a roll now, so I head to Ganbara...

I order 2 simple pintxos, one with smoked salmon and one with Jamon... Not pictured is a monkfish pintxos with shrimp that I was so excited to eat that I forgot to take a photo... The green bottle is a local cider, served with a proper topper that allows for the right amount of aeration.

At this point, I think I had some mild heatstroke, coupled with the three drinks in the afternoon, and I'm not feeling so hot, so I head to the hostel and try to nap, with visions of pintxos floating in my mind...

Some random thoughts... Even while I'm filming this, I'm thinking about pintxos...

Sunset on the Playa de la Concha..

Lights on in front of the Library..

A small plaza I pass on the way to finding my last pintxos bar... I decide to let Google reviews guide me, and find myself at Txepetxa Taberna...

Anchovies, served with a multitude of toppings...

I tried 8 in all, and my faves, in no order, were topped with jardiniere veggies, tapenade, blueberry compote and foie with apple compote... If you are in San Sébastien, Txepetxa Taberna and La Chucara de San Telmo are MUST TRIES...

It never hurts to finish with a little ice cream, right?

White Chocolate with creamy Hazelnut center... Yum... Sweet dreams!

Today total km walked- 15km

TOTAL WALKED SO FAR- 40KM