Day 2 - October 2, 2013
It's a beautiful, sunny day, we get up and go take a walk to discover what is around the neighborhood. As we walk around we realize we come to the promenade around Mt. Urgill that leads to the Bay of La Concha. We stopped at a famous spot along the seaside called Paseo Nuevo, where on a rainy day, people gather just to see the waves crash over the rocks and wall. We continued our walk to the Old Town, first by the fishing docks where you'll find an array of fresh seafood restaurants lined in front of the many fishing boats. Moving on, we enter the Old Town where the famous Pinxtos (Tapas) bars abound, nestled between churches and specialty shops, where the city comes alive at night.
Our next stop was at La Brexta Market. It's a combination of an open air produce, fruit, and flower market with an enclosed area downstairs featuring fresh fish, sausages, cheeses, and butchers. We quickly realized that it was quite expensive as compared to the market in Lisbon. This leads to a reasonably priced grocery store called Lidl. It's similar to Aldi but on a bigger scale. Here we stocked up on food and drink (beer and wine) for the next couple of days. On our way back to the apartment, carrying this heavy load, I noticed Terry's mood turning negatively. Something was bothering him, but at the time he wouldn't say anything other than that he was tired. Being married to him for 37 years I knew it was something more than that bothering him, but it wasn't time for me to start prying it out of him. We were going to spend the afternoon at the beach, but by the time we got back to the apartment both of us could feel the stress of the last two days creeping in.
Terry here: We bought some hot dogs for lunch because we needed some American food. Got out a sauce pan to cook them and the handle almost fell off. Started heating the water but again it wouldn't boil. Put the plate on top and 1/2 hour later we ate. I was starting to lose it. I can't be in an apartment that had no TV, a kitchen that is understocked with appliances that don't work right. I started getting on Julie's case about stupid little shit when I realized it was time to ruffle somebody else's feathers. I grabbed my phone that doesn't have international calling but didn't care what it was going to cost and called the rental agency. After explaining all that was wrong I asked if they had another apt we could move to. I was pleasantly surprised when she said they would check and send an e-mail with options shortly. 15 minutes later we had 2 choices. One in the city center and the other near the neighborhood we were in but further from the beach and city. We asked if we could see them and they said they didn't have the staff today to do that and would also not let us get a key and do it ourselves. Julie and I ruled out the city center because of all the crazy people out at night. We decided to find the apt building near us and at least get a feel for the neighborhood. More walking!
After getting back to our apt we sat down and started to talk about our options. Julie loved the terrace we had and I did too but I wanted her to understand that the most important things when you stay for 30 days is a TV and a kitchen that you can work in. The pictures of the new place showed a modern kitchen and a big screen high definition TV. We hit the bottle again and talked for 2 hours. I called the agency with several questions and after we were satisfied with the answers we said we wanted to move but not till morning, they agreed.
What hit us then was the realization that not only did we have to move everything we brought with from Lisbon but all the food and liquor we had just purchased. The other apt was roughly 7 blocks away, more walking. I know all of you are telling me now to get a taxi but It's not in the budget :)
We continue to drink and pack for the morning move. We sleep well and when the guy arrives with the key it is time to move, again. We decided that we needed two trips and that I would carry luggage on my back both trips and Julie would carry as much food as she could. We both also had our carry- ons to drag behind us. Not sure where the strength came from but we quickly made it to the apt without stopping. Took the elevator up and my heart is racing because if this doesn't work out, I will never hear the end of it. I open the door with fingers crossed and we step over the threshold.
Everything goes down on the floor and we sweep the apt to see what we have. Living room is nice, balcony is bigger than we expected and it has an overhang so even if it rains we can sit outside. So far, so good. Bathroom large and nicely decorated. 2nd bedroom is bigger than the other apartment's master, looking good! Master is way bigger and we get a bonus, a 2nd high-def TV mounted on the wall :)
We get to the kitchen and Julie says right away that this is a girls apt. As we opened up the cabinets it had everything you could possibly want and more. All appliances were almost new. We smiled for the first time in days. We ran back to get the rest of our stuff and after putting away all the food and clothes, we decided it was cocktail time!
Cooked up a storm last night and slept like babies. Very quiet outside and very happy within. I have always gone with my gut feelings and this time it didn't let us down. We can start to enjoy the San Sebastian part of our trip if it stops raining :(
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