San Sebastian

The "night train" has a variety of options for sleeping, including standard seats (not the best for your back), and small rooms with 2-6 bunks. We opted for the most economical 6 bunk couchette and ended up with the two bottom beds (one on each side).

FROM MARK:
I awoke once on the night train and proceeded to the small toilet at the end of the car only to find toilet paper strewn about. Due to my incoherence I thought it was a dream and am still not so sure. While on the topic, if you're ever needing to get water going in the sink of a train via the foot pump, make sure you bring some down-home folk music to stomp your leg to, as it takes almost a minute to get it going. Don't ask how I figured that one out.

Our eyes opened for good around 7am for the 730 arrival into San Sebastian, a coastal resort town located in the armpit of Spain near France.
We sat down in the train station to figure out a plan for the day. We needed breakfast and a place to stay. Our previous attempts to secure lodging via e-mail and phone calls were unsuccessful, so we weren't sure what to expect, as weekends can be quite busy. A dark blue sign with yellow font indicated a "Pension" (a small room to rent) located on a street about the width of me and Dani stretched end to end. I pressed the call button and inquired about a room for the night and the next thing I knew we were being buzzed in. He had a room, and it was one of the nicest we'd seen. Since the bathroom was shared between several rooms, it was unusually large, and we were excited to have a hot shower available so early in the day. After cleaning up, we walked... And walked... And walked to find a place that issued a paper credential which allows one to stay in hotels along the camino de Santiago trail. We took care of a few errands and did some planning before a hearty pasta dinner and a night of rest just above the cervezaria.
Sunday is May 25... our 5th anniversary! How does one celebrate such an occasion when you're already in a small town of Spain? We slept in, had brunch, and took a walk along the water's edge. To top the day off, we did laundry! Ahh--clean clothes! The plan was to have pizza for dinner, however, promptly when we walked out of our place a downpour ensued. We low- tailed it into the nearest taparia, which turned out to be a winner. We splurged with some gelato and coffee and mall-walked in the drizzle back to our home, which by the way, has free wi-fi. We plan to catch a bus tomorrow to Madrid and then on to Seville with the idea that more southern parts of the country will offer better weather. Cheers from San Sebastian, -Mark & Dani.