Excursions within San Sebastian

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[Sidraría] | [Anti-war Protest] | [Palacio de Aiete] | [Miramon Science Museum]

Sidraría A long tradition in the Basque country, sidrarías are typically rural taverns or even barns where sidra (fermented cider) is fermented, historically in huge barrels but often in large tanks these days. Only open during the sidra season of late winter until late spring, sidrarías are where the locals come to socialize around the long communal tables, enjoy the simple but very tasty dishes, and even break into song while filling up on the endless supply of sidra that flows from the barrels. A great way to spend an afternoon with friends.
	A shot of the inside of the sidraría. Notice the large barrels in the back, where the current sidra is tapped. Basque traditions often have a kind of woodsmen type feel to them, slightly rough around the edges, and a sidraría is a perect example of this. The room isn't heated and dimly lit, the setting is simple (other sidrarías can be in barns with dirt floors), no seats, and the food is served one dish at a time for all to dive into. My kind of eating!
	OK here's how the sidra is tapped. In order to give the sidra some air, you open the tap and then hold your glass a good 4 to 8 feet away from the tap, tilting your glass so that it hits the side of the glass, thus aerating it. It doesn't matter if it goes everywhere, the floors are concrete, however there is a small bucket for any uncaught sidra and to pour the dregs of your last glass.
	Here's the best part of the sidraría, the food. The highlight was this huge, juicy, rare steak. I hadn't had steak in a while and the basque know how to make it. Before this they served tortilla de bacalao (a huge cod omelette), along with some come carmelized onions and bread.
	This is the tapping of a new batch of sidra, outside at the back of the sidraría. Here is where the sidra is actually fermented, in these large tanks. The new stuff was noticiably better testing, not quite as bitter as the stuff inside.
	Unai, Haritz and some American lost in the excitement.

February 15 International Anti-War Protest in San Sebastian February 15 was the day millions of people around the world protested in the streets of their cities. San Sebastian was one of these, drawing an estimated 15,000 people, Jules and I being two of them. It was a pretty somber protest from what I saw (although we got there late), but a strong showing since San Sebastian only has about 100,000 people in all. The crowd was much different than what I expected: mostly middle-aged to older people, dressed warmly and walking fairly quietly, relatively few protest signs and no chanting, absolutely no clashes with the police or anything like that. I didn't get many photos, and missed the speakers at the protest, but it was good to see how many people do not approve of Bush's tactics for waging war, especially in a country that is officially supporting Bush. This protest paled in comparison to the protests in Madrid and Barcelona, where an estmated 1,000,000 people showed up in each city.
	A shot of line of protesters, with the Catedral de Buen Pastor in the background.
	A little more revelaing shot of the line of protesters. I would have liked to take a photo from much higher up, but I couldn't ever find a way and had to settle with getting on top of a recycling bin.

Palacio de Aiete I don't know much about the history of this place, it's just a park in the middle of San Sebastian, and since it's called a Palace apparently a king or two came here at some point in time. However it was cool because one section of the park was a small stream with a small cavern, complete with natural stalactites and stalagmites. I'm not sure why they are there, and not anywhere else in San Sebastian, but that didn't stop me from taking a few photos.
	Jules inside the small cavern, with water trickling down from above.
	The inside of the cavern.

Miramon Science Museum This is a pretty fairly new science museum on the outskirts of San Sebastian, that Jules and I went to on a rainy day. With tons of demonstrations and lots of experiments, we entertained ourselves for a full day, running around like kindegarteners trying everything.
	Here's part of the electricity exhibition, complete with a Jacob's ladder and a Plasma ball. Woooo!
	Playing with mirrors in the Light and Optics section.
	Jules attempting to surround herself in a huge bubble cylinder.
	Blowing bubbles... weee!