James and Christine's Big World Tour: A visit to the Basque country

This is a place we were really looking forward to visiting, especially as we would be going to the horror film festival. We are renting a room in an apartment owned by a German woman and her Moroccan husband. He seems to take an instant dislike to us for some reason and we're happy to avoid him as much as possible. We have an afternoon/evening stroll through the city, along the beaches and up to the harbour. It really is a beautiful place.

We think we're going to like it here

The next day we have another walk along the beaches before getting the Funicular to the top of the mountain where there was a funfair. We didn't time it very well and the rides closed 10 minutes later! A nice walk back down the mountain took us to the 'most visited spot in Donastia' which is a sculpture of 3 pieces of steel set into the cliffs. Christine doesn't find it very impressive but amuses herself by watching the waves crash against the rocks.

James has fun on the Funicular (ha, see what I did there? Brilliant)

More cheese than Christine's butties

The most visited spot.

The next day we decide to treat ourselves by having warm croissants for breakfast. 5 minutes after eating them we get a stern telling off from our host's husband for using the oven. We feel about 12 years old and feel that our every move is being scrutinised. If you know of League of Gentlemen then we are staying with people who remind us of Auntie Val and Uncle Harvey! We spend the day trying to find other accommodation but when we get back to the apartment the host is so apologetic that we decide to stay but avoid her husband! We decide a night out is in order so go to the city and end up in a bar with locals who can not speak English but try their best. "Blah blah blah Belfast, blah, blah, blah, Glasgow", "My wife is from Croydon!" and "This man with beard is Santa" are a few of the sentences we were able to pick up. It was a random and fun night, just what we needed.

The weather the next day is miserable but we're used to Manchester weather so we decide to go out anyway and watch the waves crashing against the rocks. We see a few people get soaked by the waves so we stay away from the edge, we don't want soggy butties! James is happy about the weather as it means he gets to go into the SyFy exhibition to see original props from classic films like Alien, Back To The Future and The Goonies. We find another exhibition which is about theatrical make up and as it is a horror film festival the exhibits are models that look like they have been ripped to pieces or had their faces melted off, gory stuff! We're definitely prepared for our film festival night tomorrow.

what beautiful weather for a picnic.

The original mask from the film Scream at the Syfy exhibition.

The original board game from Jumanji.

James tries his luck with the local talent but she's not interested.

Today we take a day trip to the nearby town of Hondarribia... which is a quiet town on the French border. It reminds us of Chester as there are city walls and ruins dotted around. As we are on the border with France we decide to get the ferry (a very small one) over the sea to the town of Hendaia. There is a very nice beach and we have a Crepe while watching the sun set. Back in San Sebastian we are excited to go to the film festival to watch The Dark (odd), VHS 2 (brilliant) and Return to Nuke 'em High (horrifically bad). The cinema is tiny and very old fashioned. The Spanish people are very loud and shout stuff at the screen, you wouldn't get away with that in England! 4am and its time to go back to the apartment, yawn.

Elvis waits for the ferry to France

Taking things very seriously in Hondarribia

French crepe by the sea in Hendaia

The tiny cinema preparing for the horror festival

Surprisingly we are up before 12 and decide to do a walk along the top of the mountain to the city as recommended by our host. The views were spectacular and it varied between forest and coastal walks, beautiful! After almost 3 hours of walking we decided it wasn't enough and that we couldn't leave Donastia without saying hello to the giant Jesus statue at the top of the hill which is surrounded by a castle. It was a nice walk and even nicer on the way down as the sun was setting over the horizon. A beautiful way to say goodbye to a beautiful city.