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San Sebastián (Donostia in Basque) is a lovely little Spanish resort town located on the Bay of Biscay, very close to the French border.  Famous for its beaches, nightlife and classy Parte Vieja (Old Town) with upscale vintage/retro/hipster shops and pintxo bars for enjoying Basque cuisine and local wines, it is also home to a fantastic collection of bridges spanning the Urumea river, ornate buildings and a beautiful lighthouse on the tiny isle of Santa Clara that sits in the mouth of the bay around which this city is wrapped.  We were surprised to discover that the city hosts an annual international film festival (SSIFF) every September and it was ongoing at the time of our visit, so we were able to check out the red carpet and associated flamboyant ornamentation. 

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Another interesting observation we made was the great number of surfers who were making the most of the gigantic never-ending waves at both Playa de la Concha (Concha beach) and Playa de Ondarreta (Ondarreta beach) and even in the mouth of the Urumea!  Many of them appeared to be quite experienced and the various shops along the Promenade San Sebastián gave the impression that surfing was rather commonplace in this ritzy locale.  

There were many parks and play areas along the boardwalk and on the beaches as is customary in Spain as far as I can tell.  At any given point, it’s never unusual to see children at play, adults exercising, dogs running and jumping, and older couples sitting in the sunshine on the little benches that frequent these areas.  Life here is pure enjoyment – every single moment of the day and each day of the year.  People bask in the sunlight, play music on the streets, sit and drink wine and coffee, savor tasty pastries and pixtos, smoke their hand-rolled, clove-scented tobacco cigarettes, laugh and sing and chatter without a care, and love openly and often.  It’s gratifying just to be among them – osmotically absorbing their joie de vivre and tranquility.  Thankfully happiness is contagious and we are not immune.  

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Our first day in San Sebastián was our best day there.  We arrived prior to the rain following us from Pamplona and had many lovely hours to explore the city by car and on foot.  We drove through the streets to see the many architectural wonders (bridges, buildings, tunnels etc.) and explore as much as we could before checking in to our hotel.  We parked at La Concha garage under the SSIFF locale without even knowing it.  As a side note, Allita and I found the parking structure signage hilarious and we giggled about it off and on for most of the rest of our trip.   We eventually exited and walked along the beach under the watchful eye of security and local guarda patrolling nearby presumably for celebrity security although said celebrities were nowhere to be seen at that particular time.  Allita collected her requisite sea shells and splashed about in the icy waters while Mom and I watched the talented surfers riding the massive swells. 

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Allita and I left Mom in the room relaxing and we walked the boardwalk along the bay.  There was a playground area and a lovely little park dotted with dog walkers, ladies with prams and small toddling children and even a handful of teens playing sand volleyball.  Eventually we climbed the steep rock staircase that leads to the local palace and wandered the grounds and exterior.  The view of the island of Santa Clara and it’s lovely lighthouse was fantastic from the point (Pico del Loro) at the peak of the grounds overhanging the beach. 

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We finally figured out how to descend through the fabulous Antiguako pedestrian tunnel (not uncommon in Spain) and walked along the street, carefully navigating down the huge staircase to the beach and picking our way across the rocks at the base of the royal grounds to “get to the other side”.  Miramar Palace, once a summer house for Spanish Royalty, sits on a huge hill which appears unexpectedly on the coastline.  The land just drops right off into the ocean right there.  BAM!  The rest of the bay area has wide expansive beaches on both sides of the palace stretching east and west at the base of the hill.  The palace grounds go south from the bay as far as you can see and they are very private.  It’s almost like the royal mansion is also being protected by the land should any invaders decide to raid the area.  That’s the perfect place to build a castle actually. 

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We wandered through a variety of neighborhoods and communities as we made our way leisurely back to the hotel, stopping to shop for bottled water and something to snack on for dinner.  In the end, we were extremely grateful for our little pedestrian adventure because the weather finally caught up with us around 7pm that evening.

Our hotel was a much-researched affair and we were fortunate to, once again, hit a winner with the Ezeiza.   We intentionally chose a location in Antiguo (the oldest part of the city) on the less touristy Ondarreta beach with fabulous views of Santa Clara island, Bahía de la Concha and, in the distance, la Concha beach, the Puerto (Port) and the Aquarium.  The hotel provided us with an excellent corner room on the floor above the restaurant with wrap-around windows that allowed us to easily see everything to the north, east and west of the city – almost the entire bay of San Sebastián. 

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When the storm finally hit, we gaped in awe at the angry breakers crashing into the giant rocks and wide sandy beaches, spraying sheets of salty bay water upwards into the downpour like two armies of water droplets clashing mid-air in unexpected encounter.  The skies morphed from slate grey to deep charcoal as saturated clouds rolled in, smothering the setting sun and bringing thunder and lightening which cracked across the heavens with a vengeance.  It came with the full force of an Atlantic coastal squall, complete with sideways rain and howling winds.  This was another one of those times when I said a silent “thank you” for all our our blessings, including being indoors and protected.  Truly, it was like watching a battle between sky and sea; it was terrifyingly awesome.  

We all enjoyed traditional Spanish breakfast the next morning at the fabulous hotel restaurant where we had previously enjoyed a delicious lunch the day prior.  The morning felt heavy with rain and smelled damp and misty so we knew without a doubt that this was only a temporary cease-fire and not a sustainable truce.  That said, we decided to see if we could once again outpace the bad weather and we departed much sooner than expected to make our way toward Bilbao.  

Oh!  One last item of interest is the port.  Puerto de San Sebastián is a small triangle-shaped affair with about 400 mooring spots, which are all permanently occupied.  In fact, the entire area is private and sale of fresh catch has to be arranged in advance.  It’s one of those “look but don’t touch” places.  Sorry Otis, you won’t find yourself wasting time on these docks pal.  

We departed Barcelona on 23 September 2020 for what we later learned was our last trip of the year.  Mom and I had planned a trip from Pamplona to Bilbao passing through Lleida, Huesca and Donostia-San Sebastian along the way.  We would then wrap up with a day in Logroño as a nod to La Rioja and, if time allowed, a quick stop in Zaragoza on the return home.  Somehow, magically, that’s exactly what happened and we accomplished every single thing we had on our “to-do” list.  It was the perfect trip to end the year, even if it was a few months shy of the actual year-end.  

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We took the scenic route from Barcelona – catching the N-240 right away and proceeding almost directly to Lleida and then Huesca.  It was a lovely day and we must have passed literally every possible castle, church, tower, monastery, portal, convent, fountain, palace and/or historical or religious monument available in this region.  It was a tad overwhelming.  If you’re into that sort of thing and you have a couple weeks of life to spare, then I highly recommend renting a car and making this drive.  Plan to spend a lot of time finding a place to park and walking around, however.  Also, please note: traveling in this region of Spain in the late summer / early fall also generally means rainfall should be anticipated.  Pack an umbrella, a Mac and some hardy shoes for sure.  Kind of like any time you plan a trip to Great Britain.  (ha ha)

In fact, we stayed on the N-240 all the way to Pamplona.  What can I say?  It was a good route and we enjoyed all the twists and turns.  Since we left home fairly early in the day and we couldn’t check in to our hotel until the afternoon, we weren’t in a terrible rush to arrive.  Also, hello! V A C A T I O N = time away, so it’s not like we had a clock to punch. As it turns out, we could have been even more leisurely in our progress for the entire trip.  We had allocated more than enough time to see all the sights and we ended up wrapping up much earlier in almost every place we visited.  That never happens!  Go figure.  

Pamplona is so much more than a town where, every year in early July, the men try to play tag with toro bravo bulls running through the city streets.  Although, it is fairly obvious that El Encierro is a big part of the Old Town area as bullfight-related buildings and activities feature heavily on the tourist maps and in nearby shop displays. Pamplona is also the very beginning of the Basque region (located in Navarre) and the first place we noticed the Basque language, along with Spanish, written on signs.  Basque, by the way, is known as Euskara in the actual language and that word alone is an indication of how massive the difference is between Spanish, English and Basque.  Another sign of the lingual complexity is that you can’t actually translate the meaning of Euskal Herria into any other language, although outsiders generally refer to it as Basque Country.  This might be due in large part to the fact that the Basque are actually divided into TWO regions by the Pyrenees – with northern Basque in France and southern Basque in Spain.  Or it could just be that they like having a bizarre, unique language.  Who knows?  Either way, I’m glad that the Spanish government is now taking measures to help preserve this language where they once were much more like France in trying to eliminate it.  

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So, what do you know about the Camino de Santiago?  Did you know that most people start their journey in Pamplona instead of St Jean or Roncesvalles?  I didn’t.  In fact, I have to say that I never really gave it much thought.  But as we wandered around the city of Pamplona, exploring the Portal de Francia, the massive, gothic Iglesia San Nicolás, Catedral de Santa María la Real, Plaza de Castillo, Ciudadela and particularly Jardins de La Taconera, we repeatedly noticed the Camino del Norte signs and symbols that indicated we too were traveling the famous pilgrimage.  That was an unexpected bonus. I also didn’t know that the Casco Viejo (Old Town) of Pamplona is a walled-city.  There are literally 5 Km of walls around the city and they are a well-preserved national monument in Spain.  How I missed that little factoid during our pre-trip research is something of a mystery. Pamplona is also where we introduced ourselves to Pintxos (or Pinchos), a tapas-like serving of the delicious, world-famous Basque food, at a lovely little local restaurant in Plaza del Castillo.  As Mr. Kool-Aid would say, “OH YEAH!”.  

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I loved finally being able to wander up Calle Estafeta to Santo Domingo and see the famous city street first hand.  I could just imagine the people hanging from the windows and balconies and peering through the windows and over the fences as the runners in their white clothes with only red fajas (sashes) and pañuelos (neck scarves) come dashing past, being chased by and even chasing the bulls as they charge toward the Plaza de Toros.  Allita and I discovered the famous statue honoring the tradition (Monumento al Encierro) and she surprised me with a spontaneous burst of speed which I was lucky to immortalized on film.  She enjoyed visiting the Portal de Francia, the old city gate complete with drawbridge, and watching even the delivery trucks try to navigate through the tiny, torturous opening in the wall.  Mom’s favorite part of Pamplona was staying inside the walled-city, which was also a bit of a surprise to her, amazingly enough. 

Our hotel room had a fantastic view (including a nearby fountain) from its beautiful wrap-around balcony and was centrally located which made walking around the city so much easier.  In fact, I rarely do this, but for them I will make an exception:  if you are ever in Pamplona and in need of accommodations, I absolutely, highly recommend the Hotel Avenida.  They were exceptionally helpful, professional, courteous and went out of their way to provide us with an excellent stay.  Parking was secure and nearby, the room was fantastic, clean, well-stocked and ideally located, the price was very reasonable, and the staff were exceptional.   Allita was even able to attend online school classes from the little desk in the room and by using their internet service (excellent WIFI). Unsolicited endorsement concluded.  😉  

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