San Sebastian - Donostia

Its easy to fall in love with this classy city, set on a picturesque crescent-shaped bay at the cultural heart of the Basque country. The grand sweep of Playa del Concha is a city beach to rival those found in Sydney, perfect for a lazy summers day, whilst its close neighbour Playa del Zurriola provides the surf. Between the two bays is the atmospheric Parte Vieja - the old quarter, packed full of bars and restaurants which serve up some excellent Basque cuisine. Dine at a Michelin starred restaurant or try some pinxtos - the Basque version of tapas. Many bars excel with seafood versions of this gourmet snack food, salmon, prawns and anchovies are mixed with marinade, served on small pieces of bread and served with a glass of Txakoli - the local white wine. At the headland of the bay lies Monte Urgull, a fortified hill from which there are commanding views out over the town and over the Bay of Biscay. Having sampled the delights of the old town, strolled around the Arte Nouveau buildings of the Centro Romantico, tried some pinxtos and climbed Monte Urgull, I descended looking forward to an early evening beer. However my piece of mind was shattered by the mounting sense of tension on the streets on la Fiesta Nacional de España - Spain's national day.

Basque nationalists had chosen today to demonstrate and the riot police were prepared for action. A few hundred youths, many wearing baraclavas, set fire to recycling stations and threw stones at the police who responded with tear gas and plastic bullets. It was an ugly conclusion to what had been an otherwise perfect day. I headed away from the trouble and over the bridge into the district of Gros to my hotel. The locals seemed largely unperturbed and were clearly prepared for trouble today. The next morning I bought a copy of El Mundo and pieced together the days events with a Spanish dictionary for assistance. The demonstration appears to have been organised by left wing Basque nationalists and members of the communist party and lasted around 3 hours. The aim was clearly to stoke up resentment against what more extreme elements view as a fascist state. However with riot police unlikely to adopt a softly softly approach, this was always going to be a stand off between opposing extremes. It does appear that the demonstrators can claim a small victory though, as in the build up to the days events, the right wing Falange organisation cancelled their own demonstration which is usually held on this day in the town. Viewed by many as a hangover from the dark days of Franco, the Falange, acted as the secret police and strong arm of the law under the Generalisimo. The organisation was never formally disbanded and its existence provides an awful reminder that fascism is still alive in modern day Spain.

Events in Spain have taken a turn for the worse since last years ceasefire with ETA. The terrorist organisation ended the fragile truce with a bomb at Madrid airport last year which killed two people and have vowed to continue the struggle for an independent Basque state. Terrorist activity has been on the increase in response to the Government's decision to ban ETA's political wing Batasuna and the recent arrests of its leaders. Last week a bomb was detonated in Bilboa injuring one and it only seems a matter of time until the conflict claims its next victim. Although support for the organisation has dwindled and public opinion was strongly against them following the Madrid bombing, there is still plenty of support for an independant Basque territory. Although ETA itself is thought to consist of only around 30 full time operatives, a panopoly of grass roots organisations and political parties exist who wish to take a more moderate path. Lets hope there is not a return to the horrors of the late 70s and early 80s where ETA claimed a few hundred victims each year. These days the Basque country has more autonomy and most people here simply wish for a peaceful status quo.

Saturday saw a return to normality and everyone seemed to be out for a stroll along the promenade enjoying the lovely autumn weather. I walked the length of Playa de la Concha and up the slopes of Monte Igueldo to the west of the city. The road makes a leisurely ascent via a number of hairpins up past the pine trees, tropical plants and expensive mansions. The views at the top better those at Monte Urgull and give a grand panorama across the bay as far as the old town. A tacky funfair at the summit detracts somewhat from the ambience though and having exercised the legs and enjoyed the view, I descended back into town for a pleasant lunch. I enjoyed a relaxing siesta back at the hotel and headed out into town for some pinxtos, cervezas and rugby on world cup semi finals weekend. At the bar, I got talking to some Aussies and it turned into a fun evening. The game itself was a bit of a disappointment. Both sides seemed only to want to kick the ball away. France never got into their stride and the England front eight ground out another win.

I spent a few lazy hours at the beach on my last day, despite it being mid October, its been pleasantly warm here. As night dawned I went back to the old town for a few more beers and the second semi final. This turned out to be a much more interesting contest. Argentina started impressively but were undone by their own errors and by a more patient and technically superior South Africa team. Bryan Habana's superb solo effort marked out the difference between the two sides and in the end they won with a bit to spare. The barman even gave me my third beer for free, a nice touch of Basque hospitality. It rounded off a relaxing weekend, which has left me feeling refreshed and ready for the rest of Spain - the perfect antidote to a stressful month in the office.