From Pau, we boarded a bus to San Sabastian, Spain. If you know me, you know a bus isn’t normally my cup of tea, but I have to admit, these European buses have been exceptionally nice and clean and most importantly, really convenient.
Ahh, Spain. Spain will forever be known to us as the land of many playgrounds and cheap wine. Spain spoiled us in so many ways. I’ll never be able to pay more than $4 for a glass of wine without missing Spain.
Anyway, back to our first day. The bus ride across the border and over to San Sabastian was about 3 hours. After checking into our AirBnB we walked around town and, naturally, stumbled upon our first Spain playground. Of course, if you’re going to have a playground, it might as well have a view. The playground at Alderdi Eder did not disappoint. The playground was actually on the seawall overlooking the beautiful bay and next to a carousel (a big bonus in Nora’s book).
That night we took a walk through old town and had a fantastic Italian dinner (as one does in Spain) at Raviolina’s. I had no idea how badly I was craving comfort food. Here is the thing: French food is….hard. I don’t know how to explain it, but before we started this adventure I was dreaming of all of the breads and cheeses and all the French food. But, that’s not how it’s been. French food is…well….a lot of duck. Or beef. Tough beef. Or raw beef. Needless to say, delicious Italian pasta hit the spot. So much so we went back two days later.
Night 1
Night 2
Day 2 started with a beautiful run along the seawall. Running in new places has always been one of my favorite things to do when I travel. Running is a good way to really see a town, to get a feel for a town. Plus, I get to stop a lot to take photos!
After Paul worked and Nora and I did school, we went for a family walk along the beach (in long sleeves and jackets). If only it were 10 degrees warmer out. I might have said at least 30 times on our walk, “I totally want to come back here in the summer” or “This place would be great in the summer” or “don’t you think it would be great here in the summer?” Yeah, so I’m a summer kind of girl. Trust me y’all, San Sabastian would be where it’s at in the summer.
Of course it wasn’t too cool out for a beach playground visit.
After our walk, we stopped at a restaurant/bar (in this case it was all bar because nowhere in Spain serves food between 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. – the kids must never sleep, but don’t get me started on that), La Concha, with a view overlooking the entire bay. It was really beautiful. Especially when I ordered two good glasses of red wine and they told me my bill was $5.00. And this my friends, was the moment I fell in love with Spain.
Not taken at LaConcha, but still a picture of the bay.
Our third and final full day in San Sabastian started with Nora deciding that she absolutely had to build a candy dispenser (I mean, where do these ideas come from?!?!). And once your kid decides that a candy machine must be built, well, it must be built. So off she and Paul went begging cardboard boxes off retail stores nearby.
The final product.
Later in the day we walked over to the Aquarium Donostia. I was really surprised at the quality of the aquarium. The first part is really more museum than aquarium. Nora and I tried to speed through that part as quickly as possible, while Paul took his time reading all of the history of San Sabastian Bay. But, once we got to the actual aquarium part, it was really neat and we had a great time looking at all the marine life.
After the aquarium we set off for a hike up to the top of Mount Urgull to get a better view of the bay and of the Sacred Heart statue overlooking the city. I definitely recommend this hike. It’s not difficult and there are several benches and lookout spots on the way up where you can stop and appreciate the view.
Mount Urgull
After the hike back down, we were starving. We stopped in old town to have our try at pinxtos. Pinxtos bars rule San Sabastian (which, on a side note, is one of the food capitals of the world). Pinxtos are small tapa-style snacks, usually bread and meat. We knew we couldn’t leave without trying some. I’m not an adventurous eater to say the least, but even I was able to find a couple delicious, albeit safe, pinxtos.
After that it was time to head home and pack our bags.
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