Posts Tagged With: Road Trip

It’s amazing how varied the landscape of Spain is. It’s almost like going through several different countries! As we left Pamplona, the weather cooled off as we followed the highway through the mountains. Everything was a lot greener, and then we came out of the mountains and there we were at the Atlantic Ocean, halfway across the world from where we used to live in Savannah.

Uh oh, I thought as we arrived in the city and saw police and road blocks. We didn’t know that there was a big bicycle race the next day (the San Sebastián Classic). Luckily we were able to make it to our hotel, which was perched atop a natural lookout on San Bartolomé Hill. The hotel wasn’t quite what I expected – it is built alongside an old monastery so I expected it to retain some of its historical aspects, but sadly it didn’t. But the staff was very dog friendly, so that made up for it.

After we checked in, we walked down to the waterfront to have lunch. There were people everywhere – a lot more than I expected since it wasn’t yet August, which is when everyone in Spain and France goes on holiday.

I had read a blog post about the oldest (and best) places to go for pintxos – small bites like tapas but speared to pieces of bread. Unfortunately, it appeared that everyone in town had read the same article because all the places were overflowing with people. So we just wandered around until we found a space to eat. We weren’t disappointed! Honestly, I saw pretty much the same thing everywhere. And I think we lucked out because the last place we ended up was actually a Michelin restaurant (Beti Jai Berria) and the food was awesome….not to mention the great service!

The second day in San Sebastián, we walked around and did some shopping. Saucy was worn out, because she’s not used to walking so much. Luckily, there was an elevator that took you from the hotel straight down into the heart of the city…but we had to walk along a very smelly (centuries old) hallway to get to it. Hence the reason for shopping – to pick up something to make our room smell better!

For dinner, we had reserved at a place called Narru, another Michelin Guide restaurant opposite a cathedral. (San Sebastián is quite well known for the number of Michelin restaurants located in the city.) Our meal was outstanding, but the best part was discovering a new wine that was exquisite.

The next day as we were leaving the hotel, we saw the world champion cyclist – who was also staying at the Catalonia Donasti. He had won the race and was signing autographs. It was nice to see that he was very humble. We really enjoyed San Sebastián and highly recommend it for foodies. It’s a beautiful city!