Unforgettable Edibles: San Sebastian, Spain

Upon arriving to the airport in Madrid, I immediately caught a bus to San Sebastian. This had been a destination I had dreamed about for ages. The famed "foodie" coastal city where no morsel has subpar flavor. Although it was a long bus ride that immediately followed my plane trip overseas, I was undeterred by the less the optimal schedule because I was so exited about the destination.

Late in the evening, I arrived in San Sebastian and walked from the bus station to the Pension where I was to stay during my time in the city. It was situated towards the end of a narrow street on which there were many little tapas bars. They were full of people spilling into the street since I arrived during a prime time for people to be enjoying drinks.

The owner of the Pension was friendly and showed me to the simple room that contained two beds with scratchy blankets and flat pillows. Two shared bathrooms were in the hallway and appeared to be kept spotless. This is my travel style. Safe, clean, with a WiFi connection and as close to public transit as possible. Those are my standards. After all, I spend no time at the accommodations that I book aside from sleeping.

I was exhausted. More tired than I remember being on other trips. I wondered, was the fatigue from the long travel by plane, bus, and then on foot? My energy was undoubtedly somewhat impacted by the fact that I was wearing an immobilizing walking boot on one foot due to a foot injury prior to the trip. Regardless of my exhaustion, I slept only briefly, waking much too early probably due to the time change. I ventured out along the streets that had transformed from the liveliness of the night before to a quiet calm. I began to get my bearings. I love how a place becomes familiar after only a day traversing it and walking is my preferred mode because I get to notice and experience so many more things when I am moving slowly. Here is a local outdoor farmer's market that I meandered by as they set up for the day.

In general, the city was clean and quaint for wandering, although I found it to feel too much like a tourist city for my taste. Shops were pricey and highly manicured without feeling as though locals use the same businesses that I was walking past. I did find a nice cheese store, Elkano 1 (pictured below). My eyes are always fixed with a lense filtering for cheese stores! I returned later to purchase some of the cheeses that I found, but did to want to care for in the heat of my walk.

I was somewhat daunted by the multiple places to try tapas and I had carefully pre-selected places that I thought would be of most interest due to reviews that I had read. I primarily wanted unique tastes or authentic combinations. In retrospect, with all of the research I had done, only two places gave me the "unique" experiences, but otherwise I wish that I would have just wandered aimlessly and eaten whatever looked good! Instead, I was intensely reading menus and, more than once, disappointed that what I wanted was not available because they were sold out or the food I wanted was not currently in season.

Txakoli is an effervescent wine unique to the Basque region of Spain. It was the first wine that I tasted in San Sebastian at a fabulous (and tiny) tapas bar, La Cuchara San Telmo. Pictured below are my Txakoli and veal cheeks. I also tried the cod jowl from their menu.

One listing factor of the tapas experience is that I do not eat gluten, so I missed out on a number of dishes that boasted tantalizing presentations. For some, when I could not resist, I just ate the topping without the bread, which I saw other people do as well. Obviously, not traditional, but also a method to avoid getting overly filled too quickly with so many tempting options.

I did not skimp on tasting regional wines! Red, White, Rose. Anything that I had not heard of or tried before! It made me grateful that my Pension was right in the tapas bar area, so walking home afterward was no challenge at all.

This is the view that I recall when I think of the look and feel of the bars in San Sebastian. Crowded with people and bars bursting with plates of identical bite sized snacks.

There were also hot tapas to be ordered, lest you be lead to believe that every food item on offer is out on the bar!

Martin Berasategui.

This was my splurge dinner in the city of food. How beautiful it was to experience. Outside of the downtown area, I took a bus to reach this location, as well as then walking several blocks from the bus stop to the restaurant's front entrance.

The view while dining provided floor to ceiling windows looking out on a calming green garden. I would be remiss if I omitted photos in this post depicting the gorgeous plating!