Day 13 - Travel to San Sebastian

I was up and out early at 8am to catch the train from Madrid to San Sebastian. I grabbed a quick bite at the train station and was off.  After the 5-hour ride I was greeted kindly by the sunshine and clear waters of Spain’s most elegant seaside resort.  While still relatively new to the rest of Europe and westerners, San Sebastian has been a vacation destination for the Spanish since the 19th century.  And while the city is known for its beautiful white-sand beaches and clearwater bays, it's been making a global impact with its cuisine.  The city put the idea of pintxos, or small bites,  on the map and has transitioned that into becoming the city with the most Michelin stars per square meter.  They recently opened the Basque Culinary Center which offers undergraduate degrees in gastronomy, culinary arts, and restaurant management.  Although I'm not planning to take any courses while I'm here, I have every intention of exploring this culinary capital one pintxos bar at a time.

Churros for breakfast. They aren't sweet and cinnamony like the ones at an amusement park. They're just basic fried batter; perfect for a quick snack.

All aboard!

It was a relaxing 5-hour train ride from Madrid in the center of the country to Basque Country in the north. It was the perfect time to catch up on sleep.

The Spanish countryside wasn't as nice as in Scotland, but there were still plenty of beautiful sites and traditional looking Spanish architecture to enjoy.

Hotel San Sebastian. I checked in around 2pm and was very impressed with my beach-side digs. It's about a 2-minute walk to one of the main beaches and about 20-minutes to the main part of town.

 

Plus, I had a balcony...

...with a view of the city and part of the beach!

 

 

Once I set up shop at the hotel it was time to start exploring...and to dig into some of this famous Basque Country cuisine.  There are several beaches around San Sebastian, but the two main ones are Playa de Ondaretta and Playa de la Concha.  They are right next to each other and separated by a small grassy point where the Palacio Miramar sits. 

Playa Ondaretta is a short walk from the hotel so that was my first stop.

 

The beach is lined with umbrellas and lounge chairs for rent, something I definitely plan to inquire about in the next few days.

Boats, yachts, and other sea vessels lined the San Sebastian bay. On the first two Sundays of September (Sept 2 & 9) the city hosts the San Sebastian Regattas, one of the most prestigious rowing competitions of the season. I won't be here on Sunday for the actual race, but supposedly they do a qualifying heat on Thursday that's supposed to be fun to watch.

You get an unbeatable view of Playa Ondaretta from the Palacio Miramar gardens.  The blue waters are a gorgeous compliment to the green hills that lead up to the sand.

After my stroll on the sand I made it into the main part of town called Parte Vieja (Old Part). The town was bustling with people around the main Plaza de Constitucion.

Once in town I made my way to a pintxos spot to get started on my gastro adventure. I instantly noticed the difference in setup from Madrid. In Madrid you had a small selection of sausages, ham, and breads. In San Sebastian the counters were lined with an assortment of tapas selections - meat skewers, bacalao (cod), sausage sliders, veggi plates, and much more. The process is simple, you point to what you want and when you're full you pay for what you ate.

To keep my diet balanced I also stopped to grab some fresh fruit from one of the many street-side fruit boutiques.

 

 

A San Sebastian pastime - lounging in a waterside chair and reading a book around sunset.

Instead of making the 20-minute walk along the beach colonade back to the hotel, I jumped on the quick 5-minute bus.  The town is relatively small and it's easy to get around.  After I changed up I went back to the Parte Vieja for dinner and drinks. 

The City Hall building at night.  It was built in 1882 as a casino and was inspired by the great gaming halls around Europe.

Since I stuffed myself with pintxos around 4pm, I opted for a small late dinner of ensalada mozzarella and tomate in a pesto vinaigrette. Even as simple as it was, it was fresh and very flavorful.

 

 

I ended up having a couple drinks in town and then calling it a night.  Day two in San Sebastian will include some siteseeing, a hike and most definitely some more delicious pintxos and a nap on the beach.