1936 On the Continent

enter Spain, I will only say that it is best not to be too enterprising with the exquisitely graceful and alluring daughters of Spain. There may be a stiletto lurking in the background and there is certainly no
mañana, mañana
about the way stilettos are handled. If a mantilla and a tall comb happens to take a fancy to you—well, then it is entirely up to you whether you take to your heels or whether you take the risk of responding.
In Spain at Last
    I will assume that you enter Spain at the Franco-Spanish frontier station of Irun (fares from London, by the way, are £10 6s. first class, £6 13s. second class, £4 10s. third class, and the time of the journey 16 hours). Being an early bird, you arrive early in the morning, and if you are also a hustler you will take the 8.10 train for San Sebastian.
    On the other hand, you may choose to stop at Irun for a few hours, for a purpose that will be revealed to you below. Irun is in Spanish territory, but it is not Spanish. You are now in the Basque country, among a people whose language is as unlike Spanish as it is unlike any other language. The first thing that will strike you about Irun is the number of berets worn by the people. Here, as well as everywhere else in the Basque country, practically everyone wears a beret, and viewed from a certain height, as for instance from a hotel window, a street crowd looks remarkably like a narrow field of black mushrooms.
    The second thing that will strike you is that the Spanish are “not so black as they are painted.” Black hair and a dusky complexion are not so general here as you might, have been led to believe, for there are many genuine redheads with blue eyes and fair complexions.
    However, it is now time for breakfast. You can have excellent coffee, rolls and butter and pastries at the Hotel Terminus close to the station, or at the Palace Hotel. At the latter the maximum charge is 2.00 pesetas, at the former 1.25 pesetas. You had better learn here and now that all Spanish hotels catering for the tourist are officially graded, and all prices are fixed according to the magnificenceor otherwise of the establishment. Thus you need not worry about being fleeced. The fixed charges, as well as the standard of service, are rigidly enforced by the competent authorities, and a hotel-keeper fears nothing so much as an entry in the Complaints Book, which he is obliged to keep and make easily accessible to visitors. Tips are also fixed at from 10 to 20 per cent. of your bill.
    But why stop at Irun at all? Because you simply must visit Fuenterrabia, which is within walking distance of Irun.
    Fuenterrabia is a small city set on a hill above the river Bidassoa on the coast. The streets of this ancient place are too steep and stony for wheeled traffic and the sun is almost shut out by the roofs and balconies of the picturesque old houses. It is here, in the hushed silence of Fuenterrabia, under the bluest of blue skies, with the heat of the day cooled by the breeze from a mother-of-pearl sea, that you first realise what it is to be in Spain.
The Love Habit
    Fuenterrabia has a beach and a casino, as well as a cathedral and a castle with many historical associations that may or may not interest you. But if you are lucky you will visit this romantic little place one day in July when the people elect the
Alcalde del Mar
(Mayor of the Sea). Then there is a picturesque procession of Basque fishermen headed by musicians and a lovely señorita dressed all in white. And later there is a banquet at the new Mayor’s house where they dance the Fandango, the Bolero and the Danza Prima, imitations of which you may have seen on the screen, with true grace and abandon.
    I have warned you against being too enterprising with the daughters of Spain; by now you will have realised why. For I am certain sure that within half an hour of your arrival in Fuenterrabia you have fallen “madly” in love at least a score of times.
    But that need not prevent you from enjoying your lunch at the Hotel Concha or the Hotel Penon. You will be served a gargantuan meal for the modest sum of 7 pesetas. As to the cuisine—which we will sample as we go along—it is mainly French at the hotels, though Spanish nationaldishes are available everywhere, and some of them are bound to tickle your palate, provided you can acquire a taste for oil.
San Sebastian
    San Sebastian is only 16 minutes by train from Irun. In spite of the fact that the town has been used by international