San Sebastián

It was quite the trip down memory lane for the kids and me as we crossed the border into Spain from the train station in Hendaye in France: we’d walked across the same border four years earlier when the kids and I took a harvest trip to The Basque Country. The kids initially said they didn’t remember the trip – Lilia was six and Max had just turned four – but as we walked around the beautiful old town of San Sebastián and enjoyed the tranquil waters of La Concha it all started coming back to them, especially Lilia. “I remember this place!” “We played at that playground!”

San Sebastián – or Donostia in the Basque Euskara language – is famous for its beautiful old town, its streets lined with pintxo bars and a high concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants. The pintxo bars were a lot of fun to tour at all hours of the day, such a wonderful journey into the tastes of the Basque country whenever we felt a little peckish. Sadly, the vibrance of the pintxo bars had been tarnished a little by COVID: instead of walking into each establishment, grabbing a plate and snagging whatever pintxo took our fancy, during our visit we had to tell the bartenders which of the glass-covered delights we wanted to eat and make sure we were seated while we dined. The deliciousness of the offerings at each bar was as I remembered it though, such a diverse array of amazing tases: everything from local seafood, amazing Basque cured meats, delectable mushrooms, Spanish cheeses… A treat for the culinary senses.

As was the case in Biarritz, we were racing against the onset of cold weather but fortunately managed to score some days warm enough to enjoy the beaches during our visit. The calm water of La Concha was fun for an afternoon, but after enjoying the waves so much in western France, all the kids wanted to do was rent some wetsuits and surfboards and head to the waves of San Sebastián’s main surf beach. Both of them spent hours in the water of Zurriola Hondartza, Max really came into his own on the surfboard and was paddling into full-sized waves solo by the time we were done on our first day in town. The kid is going to love the beaches in Australia when we finally get down there!

The Northern Way hiking trail passes through San Sebastián on its 824 kilometer/512 mile route from Irún at the French border to Compostela in northwestern Spain. We hiked a small portion of the trail from the Gros neighborhood in central San Sebastián, it was a beautiful route along the coast and through the forests bordering the eastern portion of the city. The trail had some magic views of Zurriola Hondartza and – much to the kids’ delight – also passed alongside some pastures with some very inquisitive goats along the way. I think our post-hike pintxos at Viura Bar were probably my favorite in all of San Sebastián, such unique combinations of flavors. And the empanadas at Viura, oh my… The kids put down four between them!

It was nice to be back in craft beer country after sucking down lagers from the Czech Republic to France over the prior month-or-so since we were in Slovenia. There were a number of breweries in San Sebastián from which to choose during our visit, most of them in the Gros neighborhood over the other side of the Urumea River from the old town. BeerSS was a newly-opened brewery and taproom that had some interesting beers (but their nachos were better then their brews), and we all enjoyed the food and libations at Mala Gissona Beer House Gros. The bartenders at Mala Gissona were exceptionally welcoming, going as far as writing us a list of the best taprooms in the Basque country for us to visit. If only we had more time… I think both Lisa and my favorite beer of our time in San Sebastián was the 8.4% ABV New England style double IPA atMala Gissona. Such a high octane beer would be served in a small glass in California, but inSan Sebastián it was dished up as a pint. Lisa was quite chatty after the one she ordered!

The underground La Bretxa marketplace was another spot the kids and I wanted to take Lisa after discovering it during our travels four years ago. Such a mouthwatering array of Basque meats and local seafood on offer. It was hard to walk away without purchasing some kind of culinary souvenir, so we sprung for some of the local jamón ibérico that a lot of the merchants sold in vacuum packed parcels that didn’t require refrigeration. The acorn-fed pork used for the Basque jamón ibérico has no parallel when it comes to taste and is very hard to find even in the US (I tried to take some back for Lisa from our trip four years ago but it was confiscated by a grouchy woman at US customs in Oakland…). Such a great nibble to have stuffed in our backpacks.

A trip to San Sebastián wouldn’t have been complete without a ride up Igeldoko Funikularra to Monte Igueldo. The panoramic views of the city and its beaches were magic in the midday sun. The amusement park at the top of the funicular was closed (again: it was closed four years ago as well), the kids were losing their minds having to look at all the stationary rides sitting there.

Our time in San Sebastián was very enjoyable, although I will say the vibe of the city had changed somewhat since the kids and I visited back in 2017. No doubt the convivial atmosphere of the eateries – especially the pintxo bars – had been affected by COVID, but it also seemed a lot more touristy that when we first visited (yes, it has always been a huge tourist destination but this time it seemed there were far less Spanish tourists). And when I say “more touristy” I mean the Lonely Planet style of tourists. That said, one area of the city we discovered on this visit that we did not venture into in 2017 was the Gros neighborhood on the eastern side of theUrumea River: a distinctly more locals feel with some great taprooms and arguably better pintxos than those in the old town. Always something new to be uncovered!