1936 On the Continent

politicians for their meetings you can still enjoy yourself at San Sebastian, which is by situation and architecture one of the loveliest places in Europe.
    The horseshoe bay of La Concha, the fine beach, Monte Igualda and Monte Urgell at either end of it, and the pine-clad island of Santa Clara in the middle of the bay, cannot fail to enchant you.
    San Sebastian, too, is full of bérets. The young men wear trousers that sweep the ground, while most of the señoritas are bare-legged, but otherwise the “local colour” is tucked away in the old part of the town on Monte Urgell.
    San Sebastian has a casino, but nowadays it is only used for tame functions—perhaps mothers’ meetings or the like—
roulette
being prohibited by law. But to console you for being deprived of this chance of losing your money, I will take you to the top of Monte Iguelda by the funicular railway. However, we are not here for the sake of the undoubtedly magnificent view but in order to enjoy ourselves on San Sebastian’s “Coney Island.” There are all sorts of bars, gambling devices and shooting ranges on Monte Iguelda. You can also dance in a long yellow room with green pillars, have a toboggan ride, win a live duck or chicken and, of course, have one over the eight. Even then, however, the waiter will neither overcharge you nor accept a tip, for—you had better remember this—the Spaniard is a
caballero
, a gentleman, and he will never try to “do” you.
    As Monte Iguelda is a place where you will probably need a great deal of change, I might mention here one difficulty that you cannot escape in Spain. It is due to the fact that Spanish silver and copper coins are large and heavy, and as the smallest paper money is 25 pesetas, you must always carry a load of metal in your pockets. You will know what you are in for when I tell you that the most popular coin, the 10 centimo piece, is as large as apenny, while the douro, worth 5 pesetas, is a veritable cart-wheel.
    On our return from Monte Iguelda we may visit an open-air café, of which there are many in every Spanish town. San Sebastian’s cafés range from luxury to “so-so” establishments. The most popular drink at the cafés appears to be thick chocolate, which is really delicious, unless you order it at a café belonging to the “so-so” category, when you will get chocolate thickened with flour. The chocolate is served with a roll of sugar which you are supposed to suck. You will also get a hot confection, yellow in colour and twisted in shape, which is quite good.
    Lunch time, by the way, is at about 2 o’clock—and never before 1—all over Spain. You can lunch in San Sebastian at any of the scores of good hotels and restaurants, but for your guidance I will take it upon myself to recommend the Hotel Maria Cristina (maximum charge 14 pesetas), Hotel de Londres (maximum 10 pesetas), and the Hotel de la Paz (7 pesetas).
Spanish “Eats”
    Dinner time starts between 9.30 and 10.30 p.m. If you wish to taste the best of Spanish cooking dine at Rodil’s in the old town on Monte Urgell. Rodil’s is a picturesque place, with check tablecloths and typically Spanish appointments. Their grilled sardines, caught the same day, are delicious. The locally smoked ham, the sliced sausages and the eggs fried in oil and perched on a mountain of rice, are some of the other specialities you will get here. The portions are colossal and you must have the appetite of a navvy to do justice to them.
    From the fact that dinner is so late you will have concluded that the Spanish do not believe in the “early to bed early to rise” principle. Thus, after dinner you may repair to La Perla del Oceano, which is a dance-hall cabaret overlooking the plage. Unless you arrive somewhere round midnight you may find the place almost empty. At La Perla you may watch cabaret turns, dance and, of course, drink till morning. And if you are determined to disregard my warning, you may also chum up with one of the ladies.
    But you may consider La Perla too tame. In that case go to a music-hall, where you may see some really dazzling turns. Your wife cannot possibly be sufficiently broadminded to accompany you, otherwise her mind would be too broad to be contained in its usual habitat, for the aforesaid dazzling turns are performed by pretty señoritas who either undress on the stage or appear in the altogether. You sit in the auditorium at a small table—as at a café—sipping a more or less expensive