• GoJenCalCarrEuropean SummerTraveler
    There are three beaches in the city, this is the main one "Conch Beach".
    Cloisters of the main cathedral of the city.Constitution Square were all important festivals happen and where they used to have bull fights.During bullfights residents were required by the government to make their balconies available.Example of the French style in the architecture.Old town streets lined with small shops and pintxo bars and restaurants.Hole studded sculpture commemorating San Sebastian’s victims of the Spanish Civil war.Our food tour guide, Amaia. She was great!Delicious beef on toasted bread- a great pintxo. We went back for more steak another night.Yummy chilled mussels, one dish with a spicy sauce, one with onions and parsley (my favorite).Local hard cider is a favorite accompaniment for pintxos. It's not as sweet as what's in the US.There is a special way to pour the cider to keep the fizz alive in the glass.2Second favorite pintxo of the night- not pretty but delish! Anchovies with creamed crab on toast.The anchovy place was so popular there was a line out the door.Our bike tour was great. It was a little rainy, but we did not let it stop us.This is a gorgeous neighborhood we ride through (going up a big hill). House looked Bavarian to us.We found a speakeasy type place (requires a passcode to enter) to have our Friday night manhattans.San Sebastián is definitely cooler than Seville!

    A visit to beautiful San Sebastián Spain

    June 26, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    San Sebastián is a resort town on the Bay of Biscay in Spain’s mountainous Basque Country (near the border with France). It’s known for its beautiful beaches framed by a picturesque bayfront promenade, and world-renowned restaurants. It’s also famous for its cobblestoned old town that’s filled with “pintxo” (pronounced pincho, akin to tapas) bars pairing local wines with bite-size regional specialties.
    The locals speak Basque, Spanish, and many also speak English and French. The Basque we met are proud of their history and the current state of their province, and they talk about themselves like they are a separate country from Spain. It’s interesting. The city has a French feel to its architecture and that’s because a Spanish queen spent summers in the area and she liked French architecture and style. Also other wealthy European families followed her to the area bringing their architectural styles with them. In fact, the queen is given credit for creating the tourist industry here, although big, tourism is not the top industry - there is a big industrial economy in the area (eg steel fabrication).
    We took a food tour to learn about the “pintxos” bar and food scene which was a lot of fun and delicious. The city is well known for its food scene. We also took a bike tour - the city is very bike friendly. It’s also very walkable, we’ve got a rental car but have only used it to explore a few other cities in the area (see other post).
    We’ve had sunshine, but also cooler weather and some rain during our visit. Tomorrow we head to Valencia.    Read more