Following our extensive stay in Bordeaux, we planned to fly back to the Bay Area from Bilbao, Spain. On the way to Bilbao, we decided to stop in San Sebastian, Spain, one of the great food cities of the world. Although we were only in town for a couple of nights, we managed to get our fill of fabulous pintxos, some of our favorite local dishes.
Getting There
Since San Sebastian is only about three hours down the road from Bordeaux, my preference would have been to drop off our car in Spain as we left Europe for the US. While I could find reasonably priced one-car rentals within France or Spain, crossing a border required steep drop-off fees. So, we decided to take the train to the San Sebastian airport to pick up a car for onward travel. Simple enough in theory, but not in practice.
Dropping off our rental car and grabbing a train to the border was easy. Getting that last few kilometers to the airport on the other side was a real headache. I had hoped I could just Uber. It seemed possible, but when I tried to get a ride, no cars were available.
I couldn’t quite tell how the public transit would work. It seems a local train is needed to get into Spain via rail. But the local train only took us to the middle of the nearby town, Irun. From there, I wanted to grab an Uber or taxi to the airport, but no luck. No cars were in the app and no taxi would pick us up.
Google Maps said to take the #22 local bus to the airport. But the first #22 was a variant that didn’t go to the airport, so we waited. Eventually, we got to the airport and dragged our bags over to the rental car counter. Considering the crossing to Nice during our train day from hell was a recent memory, we have to try to investigate these border-crossing train trips to at least have a better idea of how to minimize such disruptions.
The New Tiny Car
Since we only needed our rental car for four days in Spain, I rented the smallest, cheapest thing I could get, a Fiat 500. When we arrived at the rental counter, they had my car, but very few other options. Even though it was early afternoon, the airport was effectively closed. No flights were scheduled for hours. Part of our anxiety with the train came from the fact we had to get to the car rental counter prior to it closing for the siesta.
The car I got was the tiniest, cheapest car I have ever rented. It had little acceleration and low top speed (I guess there weren’t enough hamsters in the engine for real power). The doors were thin with no insulation. The sound of the door closing was how I imagined a Radio Flyer wagon would sound. The control layout was minimal and non-intuitive. It took us more than a couple of minutes to figure out how to open the windows so I could pay a road toll. All part of the adventure, right?
In retrospect, we would have been better off just taking the train to downtown San Sebastian and getting a ride to our hotel. We didn’t use our car for much of the time in Spain, but we did have to pay to rent it and park it. Oh well, our loss may be your gain should you choose to go to that area.
The Hotel
One highlight of this stay in San Sebastian was the hotel Diana picked out, which was very different from the first time we visited San Sebastian. The Zenit Convento San Martin Hotel is a converted convent downtown. The architecture and decorations really play up the history of the building. The hotel is engaging, as was the onsite, helpful concierge. Many shops, bars, cafes, and restaurants were located nearby and it was a short walk to the beach and old town.
We also really lucked out on our room at the hotel. We got an upgrade to a suite, which I refer to as the Mother Superior room. It was a large, one-bedroom suite with windows facing both the street and the spacious main area/bar of the hotel. The room was painted to enhance the interior church architecture. It was very impressive and comfortable. Overall, a great place to rest when we were not in town.
The Bay and The Beach
One defining feature of San Sebastian is the small bay it sits on, Bahia de La Concha, and its expansive beach. As you can see from the photos, it is a beautiful sand beach with a gentle slope. It is a pleasant stroll along the adjacent boardwalk, with plenty of opportunities for people-watching.
Even though it was mid-week in mid-September, plenty of people came out for a swim and some frolicking. I imagine the beach and boardwalk are jam-packed in summer with bathers and buskers. Nice.
Old Town
A short walk east of the beach is the old town, with lots of shops, bars, cafes, and restaurants. The area bustles with activity and in the evening everyone is out to enjoy the culture.
Perhaps the interesting bit of history to me is how San Sebastian came to be such a food capital. It goes back to Queen Maria Cristina. In 1912, she decided to make the city the location of her summer home. Apparently, she brought in French chefs, who took the already wonderful Basque food to a new level of refinement.
Of Pintxos and Cheesecake
Although the San Sebastian area boasts restaurants garnering 22 Michelin stars, the food game in the region is not just expensive, seven-course meals. Rather, the most popular food in San Sebastian is the pintxo, the bar bite. Pintxos can range from the simple, like marinated olives served with your drink, to the substantial, like the merluza plate we ordered at Atari, shown below.
Competition for pintxos and for spots to sit in the bars is high. We researched our options and made a targeted plan for where to experience these great plates. Diana especially loves this type of dining because it provides many different tastes and flavors without a lot of food. Frankly, the toughest part is choosing which to try, given the variety and appeal.
One new thing for us was a sample of a very popular cheesecake. There is always a line out the door at La Vina, where you can get a large slice of their dessert and eat it on the street. While I will say it was very good, I’m a cheesecake purest and this offering was a bit denser and moister than what consider to be ideal. Thankfully, we opted to share one order. Eating one apiece would have been too much.
Which pintxos appeal to you?
