Picture Perfect San Sebastian

I didn’t really know much about San Sebastian before we got there. I knew it was a beach town but that was about it. It was a pleasant surprise! It’s a great little city with beautiful beaches and surrounded by mountains. It reminded us both of San Francisco and Los Angeles. I totally needed this as I have been getting homesick. It was really nice to see active people doing outdoorsy things like run, bike, rollerblade, etc. It made me feel normal again.

We had grand plans of hiking, biking, running, and maybe even surfing. Mother Nature had another plan though as it rained for most of our time there….in true San Francisco summer style! ☺ Luckily though we did make the most of our first sunny day and walked the beaches (Playa de la Concha and Playa de la Zurriola) and hiked up Mount Urgull which had great views of all of San Sebastian and a large statue of Jesus Christ.

Honestly I didn’t mind the weather at all….it was nice to have a nice lazy, rainy day! Good thing our hotel room at the Pension Edorta was super cute and right in the middle of the Old Town (Parte Vieja) where most of the action is. I was nervous at first since it was pretty cheap ($60 Euros) and we had to share a bathroom but the room was quite big and pretty nice.

San Sebastian doesn’t seem to have as rigid of a siesta time as most of the restaurants/tapas bars were open all day. This was nice! Tapas here are also called Pintxos and still full of mayonnaise, anchovies, and seafood. We did try a few though....beef and chicken ones were safest for me. Some of our favorite restaurants were Borda Berri (Pintxos), Bideluze (upscalish British pub), and El Sitio Del Magueyal (just ok Mexican food but good for a nice change).

We did walk around a bit (when it wasn't raining or just raining lightly) and watched the surfers on Play de la Zurriola and walked through the streets of the Old Town. The Old Town is full of neat shops, cafes, and Pintxos bars....and some really cool churches. At night there was a good mix of nicely dressed adults having dinner and more casual, vacationing kids and surfer types. Late at night (around 12ish) the bars turn into mini clubs. We tried hanging one night....we were by far the oldest people there! :) Our last night was the start of the annual Jazz Festival with concerts all on the beach. Even though it was raining it was packed! Oh and we just missed David Guetta performing by a couple days. That would have been amazing!!

Part of me wishes we could have stayed longer. It's a perfect outdoorsy kind of place which I love! It was definitely a great way to end our time in Spain (until we come back in August).