San Sebastian Spain

On with the European vacation recaps!

After spending 3 days in Barcelona, we took a plane over to San Sebastian.  It was a relatively quick flight (I believe it was about an hour) but when we arrived, there was not a bus in site. For OVER an hour.  Now let me back up and mention that our hotel (as well as many hotels and travel sites) recommend taking the bus from the tiny commuter airport since it's a relatively easy commute and about 1/4 of the price of a taxi. But for some reason there was not a bus in sight! And to make matters worse, the airport was so small that they pretty much closed up after our flight landed. Cuz we were the ONLY flight of the morning (maybe even day). Some passengers got weary and just took a taxi. In the end we got tired of it too and did the same.

Our hotel was pretty old school and it had this cool elevator that reminded me of something from Disneyland's Haunted Mansion for some reason.

 

We settled in and wandered the town on our first day.  That night we went to go see Argo at the San Sebastian film festival before it premiered in movie theaters (even in the US). I thought that was pretty cool. I've always wanted to go to a film festival.  For some reason it seems so glamorous to me.

Here's me on the red carpet (nevermind that this was during the day when NO ONE was around). let's just ignore that part...

Here's a nighttime view.  Past those buildings is the trail to hike up Mount Urgull where you can get some gorgeous views of the town.

Here's a view in the daytime on our way up said mountain.

After a nice morning hike, we stopped off to try some pinxtos (which is Basque for tapas) and sangria!

Here is a view from the other side of town (the "new" side).  All the pinxtos (or the really good ones anyway) are located in Parte Vieja.

Our hotel might have been super old, but it was right on the beach and had the most spectacular views. Imagine waking up to this everyday. *sigh* I could live here forever! Also, San Sebastian is all about taking siestas and EVERYTHING closes down for the afternoon. So what did we do? We took siestas as well.

And here are some more pinxtos for dinner. haha I love saying that word. I don't know why. (pronounced "peenchos"). Some of them were really fancy and innovative! Some had foie gras and everything! The danger behind eating pinxtos is that it can be really cheap or it can get very expensive. They charge by the piece. You just throw everything onto a plate and they tally it all up.

I take jumping shots wherever I go. Don't judge.

For our last night, we decided to have a fancy meal at Martin Berasategui (boy isn't that a mouthful).  Let me tell you, this was the BEST meal I've ever had. In. My. Entire. Life. And I've been to French Laundry, Daniel, etc. If you visit San Sebastian, you must go there! Trust me, IT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY! (pardon my excitement there).

Some yummy petit fours to finish off the meal. Almost all of them were yummy. They recommended an order because some flavors were lighter than the others.  The last one was a dark chocolate truffle. And it really was truffle. like the savory kind. WHY??????? why did the last piece have to be the ONE piece I didn't like.

 

And here I am on the train. Next stop, Paris!

I hope you enjoyed the recap. Thanks for stopping by! =)