Donostia – San Sebastian. It’s a Spanish seaside city where tapas is replaced with pintxos, Michelin starred restaurants are the dining norm and other than Spanish and English, the Basque language is also spoken.

Having moved my entire life to a new city located across the opposite side of the world, it was two weeks in and I started to feel really homesick. I know right, I’ve only been away for two weeks and I’m already homesick? I mean given that I didn’t even know when I was coming home and I was now truly on my own really hit me hard. I didn’t want to let that feeling get the best of me, so instead I booked a trip to help me forget.

I travelled to Spain a few years ago and fell in love with the country. Having been to Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Granada and Cordoba (to name a few), there was always other parts of Spain that I wanted to go back and see. Coincidently enough a few people’s travel dates from back home matched up to San Sebastian. This was a city I wanted to tick off my list and that factor alone was all the more reason for me to book the trip.

PINTXOS

In true Spanish form, siestas and businesses open late during the day. So when 1:30pm hit, the streets in the Old Town/City Centre were filled with tourists and locals. San Sebastian is famous for their pintxos and pintxos bars can be found completely scattered around this part of town. In order to get the true pintxos experience, pintxos hopping is recommended. Essentially you’ll have 2-3 different types of pintxos at one bar and then move on to the next. The reason for this is that each pintxos bar has their own specialities including but not limited to crab (txangurro), foie gras, steak (solomillo), ham (jamon), cheesecake (tarta de queso) or salmon (mari juli).

Fact about San Sebastian: it’s one of the most Michelin-starred cities in the world. This town is every foodie’s dream! I unfortunately couldn’t afford it (one restaurant had a 320 euro no show/cancellation fee) but if you do, then definitely go!

MONTE URGULL

Whenever I go to a new city/country, high views of any place is one of the first things I look out for. Monte Urgull can be seen topped with a statue of Christ and a castle. What felt like an hour to walk up, was definitely worth every minute of that hike. These views were absolutely breath taking and I honestly don’t feel these photos do them any justice.

BEACHES

Coming from Sydney, I have extremely high standards when it comes to beaches. A lot of beaches around Europe that despite their crystal clear and pristine water, you’ll find will mostly consist of rocks and pebble stones instead of sand. Surprisingly I found the beaches in San Sebastian to be pretty equal in terms of quality, which I loved! There are beaches if you just want to tan and swim, plus there are others specifically for surfing.

SAN SEBASTIAN FILM FESTIVAL

During my second day of being in San Sebastian, I noticed a unusually large amount of media around the city and advertisements everywhere for European films. I realised it was for the San Sebastian Film Festival, a yearly film festival where the likes of Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep have attended. We attempted to get tickets but unfortunately the only session we could go to was already sold out. I guess that’s the nature of travelling. You win some, you lose some and anything that you do win is just a bonus.

To me, San Sebastian is one of those beautiful seaside cities that’s good for a few days to relax, eat quality seafood, soak up some sunshine or if you time it right, experience their annual San Sebastian Film Festival.

Until my next blog.

Yours sincerely,
Paola
The seasoned traveller