The Problem with Bar Crawling
Well, the problem is you sometimes have one drink too many, and think it's a good idea to steal things. I saw the above poster on the wall of a bar, and just
had to have it for my website Pulp International because the image used is by Peter Driben, a famous pulp artist from the 1930s and 1940s. Really, grabbing it was no big deal because it's just a poster. The worse that could have happened is a scolding from the owner. But as an early indication of what the weekend held in store, it was pretty clear I'd end up looking like this at some point:
That's what people look like when they stay out until 5:30 in the morning. It is my birthday week, though, so I have an excuse. Everyone who knows me knows the hair never comes out of its restraints unless I'm having a really good time, and the scene of this particular crime was a bar called Etxe Kalte—probably my favorite place in town. But we'll get to that later.
Labels: Donostia-San Sebastian, Etxe Kalte
Everywhere You Look There's Another Monoblock Chair
I've decided I like this chair photo. I shot it from the promenade above Playa la Concha, one Sunday afternoon when I was out wandering. You see the bay and the island and the old quarter to the upper right, which is where I live. And you have the happy, middle-aged guys sunning in a row, and one of them giving me the eye. All very interesting. But the detail I like here is the blue chair right in the center of the shot. The lesson here is, just when you think you've exhausted the possibilities of monoblock chairs, something new appears. I will be sure to add this image to the chair gallery in the sidebar.
Labels: chairs, Donostia-San Sebastian
The Ultimate Bar Crawl, Part 2
This will be a short one. Wandered into this joint just outside the old quarter on the Boulevard called Dickens. Without putting too fine a point on it, it should have been called Dicken' You, because the midget-sized, shit-vintage airplane wines were twelve euros and the Heineken bottles were six. To put it in perspective, you can get a beer for two euros almost anywhere in town. But the idea with Dicken' You wasn't that the customer would receive value for his/her euro, but that the riff-raff would be kept out so that wealth could mix with wealth.
I've been to so many of these places, from St. Barth to St. Petersburg, and I can spot them immediately. And they can spot me, too, because never once have I been treated respectfully in such places. But even for those designated as worthy, the service really isn't that special, and the drinks aren't any better than in other bars. The value in these places derives from the fact that anyone who resides for more than a couple of obscenely overpriced rounds has money—and that means they can feel safe with each other. At least in theory.
Sounds strange, perhaps, but there's an entire worldwide bar/club culture based upon helping rich meet rich without risking their entire fortunes. It's what country clubs, for instance, are about. How do I know this? That's another story. But I can tell you from my personal observations that for the rich there's no love deep enough, no lust powerful enough, to override their fear of losing their money. Dicken' You is one of the places where they don't have to worry about it so much. But in any case, you should give the joint a pass, because it's the least interesting bar in San Sebastián anyway.
Labels: bars, Donostia-San Sebastian
That's what people look like when they stay out until 5:30 in the morning. It is my birthday week, though, so I have an excuse. Everyone who knows me knows the hair never comes out of its restraints unless I'm having a really good time, and the scene of this particular crime was a bar called Etxe Kalte—probably my favorite place in town. But we'll get to that later.
