Spain - September 17 - San Sebastian

We picked up a rental car in the morning and headed east to San Sebastian. We took a short pit-stop in Getaria to check out the village and a medieval church - the Church of San Salvador. Nothing special, but it was a good opportunity to stretch the legs. San Sebastian is a beautiful seaside city, and we took a long walk along the Paseo de la Concha Promenade. Lots of interesting things to notice including some sort of political pep-rally, a woman singing a solo for tips with great gusto (but not with great pitch, unfortunately for her...and for the rest of us), and a guy creating a pretty elaborate work of art in the sand on the beach - it was approximately 30' x 30' "drawing" in the sand that he was creating with a stick. It was cool to watch him work, and we would have watched a bit longer, if we hadn't been standing so close to the soloist. We explored the Old Quarter of San Sebastian and visited the Basilica of Santa Maria del Coro. We also hiked up the 300+ steps (and ramps) to the Castillo de la Mota, which is an old fortress located on the hilltop, and was once occupied by Napoleon's forces. The highlight of the day, however, was the Basque Cheesecake at a place called La Vina. We had been hearing about Basque cheesecake for a couple of days by this point, and we had been told that La Vina was the best of the best. It did NOT disappoint. Very creamy and delicious. (Still not as good as a Welshcake, however.)