Our cute little apartment has a washing machine so we decide on a morning of domestics well that was the plan until we couldnt find the detergent or the clothes pegs. So its off to the supermarket. The detergent is easy, but the pegs, well .. I think briefly about asking, but surprising as it may seem, clothes pegs didnt make the top 50 or so on my list of important phrases to learn in Spanish. Several supermarkets later I spy some on the shelves, and my long and dangerous (they drive fast here) mission is But our problems have only just begun. I dont know how to work the washing machine says Issy. I didnt do the clothes washing module in either of my engineering degrees, but still all is not lost. We find a folder hidden away discretely in a bottom drawer, and its got manuals in it - for the microwave, the TV, the oven, the fridge (do you really need a manual to work out how to operate a fridge), the stove top and the air conditioner, but for the washing machine, well nothing. Theres a large fold out leaflet with instructions on how
to install it, but unless were really missing something thats been done already. Im sensing Murphys Law in action. The manual on how to operate the TV runs to more than 100 pages, but we somehow managed to switch that on last night with the push of a single button and without having to read anything. In desperation we consult the Google machine, and what feels like several hours later the clothes washer finally whirs into action. That was a bit than we might have hoped for. But our troubles arent yet over. Our clothes line is a metal contraption that concertinas out into the light well outside our bedroom window. We suspect that European clothes washers have probably spent several centuries mastering the ancient art of hanging their clothes up without letting them drop. Were on the fourth floor. The pavement all the way down on ground level doesnt look overly pristine so Im suspecting that if you did happen to let a pair of undies slip youd at very least need to fire up the washing machine again, assuming you could remember how. Fortunately Issys a quick learner, well either that or theres a clothes hanging
Weve seen a few youngsters carrying surf boards along our quiet backstreet with its ancient classical European facades. This looks to us perhaps just slightly incongruous. We head off to investigate and soon find ourselves overlooking the very large and attractive sandy expanse of Zurriola Beach. Theres not a cloud in sight, and its packed with sun worshippers, swimmers and wave riders.
The buildings along the esplanade behind the beach are all very attractive, with one glaring exception, a large grey concrete monstrosity at the city end that looks to us like a particularly ugly car park. The Google machine tells us that this is the Kursaal Congress Centre and in 1999. Someone in the town planning department must have been high on something when they let that eyesore get through. But what would we know; we read on to learn that it won the 2001 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture. Hmmm.
We cross the river and make our way through the backstreets to the even longer Beach of La Concha. This is also packed with sun
We head out for a stroll along Zurriola Beach. We try to view the Kursaal in a new light now that we know its status as an architectural icon, but no, to us it still looks like an ugly car park. Not that Ive noticed, well actually I think I might have, but topless sunbathing seems to be a thing here. I hadnt previously realised however that middle aged blokes taking all their gear off and having a not so quick shower out in the middle of the sand in full view of the assembled masses was also a thing. Apart from putting me off my dinner I think this might also be affecting my appreciation of the Kursaals architectural merit, or lack thereof.
We hoe into some tasty sardines, calamari and octopus down by the waterfront.
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