From the point we stepped out of the hotel and onto the street, we were primed to enjoy the day. We ate lunch and had a glass of wine at a cute little spot by the 16th Century Gothic San Vicente church. We shopped a bit in Zona Romantica (an old area dominated by loads of clothing and other stores near Parte Vieja), and I convinced Kase to purchase cool Euro-clothes (which he may or may not wear when we return to the States). We stopped often to take photos of all the details I’m so fond of – the small fountain in Parte Vieja that reminded me of Slytherin House, well-behaved dogs wandering about, the sprawling Basilica de Santa Maria that casually hides its grandeous self away in Parte Vieje, and the cute kids kicking soccer balls down the small streets. At about 6 p.m., as we walked around, we started to notice tapas bars changing out their plates and adding to their selections from their late lunch service. Most restaurants don’t even open for dinner until 8, or even 9 p.m. at night. But because tapas are often meant to be a snack before dinner (think…happy hour), or enjoyed slowly throughout the night (see references to “mobile dining experience” from July 12th entry), tapas bars were already open for business for the night.
The night of the 14th, we were determined to have an even better tapas experience than we had a few nights prior. By this point on our trip to San Sebastian, we knew the drill – walk in confidently, scan the array, try to identify the place’s super-specialty, request a plate, load up (but not too much) on cold tapas, request that hot tapas be prepared, order wine, and return to the server who gave us our plate and ask to pay.
We learned on our first night what NOT to do. Do NOT just grab a plate from the counter and go…request one from someone behind the bar. Do NOT approach any server to close out your check…go directly to the person who gave you your plate. Do NOT serve yourself for hot items…if the tapa looks like something that would be better warm, point to it and they’ll plate it and warm it for you.
In addition to this new savvy from two days’ serious tapas study, we were also armed with some recommendations from a local at our hotel and were ready to actually pica-pica like pros.
