This is Maria Christina Bridge San Sebastian, a popular resort city right on the Cantabrian Sea and only 20 km. from the French border. In the far north of Basque country, Donostia is the Basque name for this city and most of the signs are in both Spanish and Basque. In the late 1800’s, Queen Maria Christina favored its seaside climate and the town became a draw for other nobility and the wealthy. Today, San Sebastian is also host to an annual film festival.
Iglesia de San Vicente in Donostia/San Sebastian.
Although I don’t remember the name of this statue, I believe it commemorates the women of the town who helped rebuild after a fire or war. An interesting tribute.
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Iglesia de Santa Maria del Coro, a Baroque church in San Sebastian. Notice the plaque depicting a ship above the clock…San Sebastian has historically been a center for commerce and shipbuilding.
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Partial view of La Concha Beach on the Bay of Biscay. Marie and I had a great lunch at one of the restaurants along the beach. The former queen’s home, Miramar, is the building above the green lawn on the far left
Marie at a picturesque viewpoint of the beach and the little islet leading out to sea.
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Bonnie Perkins, on the left, one of Marie’s art teachers, and Elena, our guide for the entire tour group, on the right. Elena is a delightful person and a native of Galicia, the far northwest province of Spain.
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The next few photos are of the area along the piers in the seaside neighborhood of San Sebastian.
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This Ayuntamiento, or town hall in San Sebastian, started out as a casino. The upper classes flocked to vacation here after Queen Maria Cristina built a vacation home near La Concha Beach.
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Small but beautiful park near the Town Hall. There is a continual stream of runners, skaters, and cyclists along this pathway and all along the beach.
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La Concha Beach, which is very long and very busy. This man must have traced these initials in the sand at least 40 times all over the beach, but I couldn’t find anyone who knew what it was about. Something political? Still trying to find out!
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Miramar Palace was built by Maria Cristina on a hillside just above La Concha Beach. It is now used as a conservatory/school of music.
A statue to a local composer at the Plaza de Guipuzkoa, a quaint park in San Sebastian.
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Downtown areas of San Sebastian further from the beach are relaxing, very clean, and full of pedestrians and folks out for a drink at local cafes.
This area is on the opposite side of the Maria Cristina Bridge and was teeming with surfers–much better waves than La Concha.
