SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain -- It's raining in San Sebastian. It's nearly always raining here, or has just stopped raining, or is about to rain. Set around a curl of beach on Spain's northern coast, the compact city of elegant promenades is one of Europe's loveliest settings and has some of the world's finest restaurants. But nobody goes there for the weather.
The official statistics report that San Sebastian gets around 150 days of sunshine annually, less than half the national average. When I arrive at Real Sociedad's training grounds, which climb a hillside in the nearby town of Lasarte, a drizzle drips from a sky the color of chimney smoke.