The Basque are very proud of their autonomous status. Although Basque Country is technically a part of Spain, they are somewhat independent, and different from the Spanish. And don't ever compare them to the French. Their language, Euskara, is unique from all other languages in the world, and very very different from Spanish.
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Our Hotel
Because of the regatas (more to come on that later) the city was packed with tourists and it was hard to find a hotel that would accomodate us during our entire stay so we had to stay in two different hotels. The first hotel that we stayed at was the NH Aranzazu. Again, no pics on this hotel, but it was clean and comfortable, however not very unique and kind of sterile and commercial looking. We didn't like that it was at least a 20 minute walk from NH Aranzazu to the "Parte Vieja" and the Concha beach, but luckily the bus system was awesome and we managed to learn it pretty quickly. At night we got a cab ride which set us back only 8 euros and was very worth it when you have been walking for at least 9 hours straight.
The second hotel we stayed at was Hotel Niza. It is a small boutique hotel on Concha beach. A 10 minute or less walk will take you the "Parte Vieja", where the party is at. Our room was small but very quaint, and we had a tiny balcony with views to the street. If you are into views (because you think you will spend more time in your room than outside), then I recommend you get the ocean view rooms. The bathroom was medium sized and very clean as well.
The coolest part of Hotel Niza? The elevator. Somewhat impractical, but very vintage and cool. It was also not very smart. Who ever pressed the button first would get the elevator, and it would not stop on your floor if you pressed the button second. You had to wait until the people got off , and then you needed to press the button again and hope you were the first to press it. None the less, it was worth the annoyance for the experience. Also it beat going up and down to the fourth story.
Places we Visited
San Sebastian is small, so it was easy to tour around. This we discovered on our first day when I got us lost going to our hotel. Black is the route that I took us through. Red is the route that we should have taken. And let me tell you, the black route was not easy, especially with luggage. There was a hill, narrow corridors, and crazy fishermen that did not look back before they cast. Rossy was especially unhappy that the luggage's wheels kept making a rattling noise against the cobblestone as we wheeled them as fast as our little feet could take us. "Where the Fu$# are we going" was all I heard besides the rattle of the luggage. And my ears ignored all. I was just so happy to see the ocean. But truthfully, half way through, the ocean's sight became second priority in my mind and I really started to wonder where the Fu%# we were. So right around the middle of the peninsula, sweaty and tired, we stopped to take a look. All we saw was ocean, behind us a mountain. Ok. Yes, I fucked this up, I thought. Luckily, some nice lady and her french bulldog saw our despair and nicely let us know that San Sebastian was behind the mountain and that we were on a peninsula. She also led us back to town. And as soon as we got to the hotel we made sure to get a map.
Back at the hotel, we felt more confident about San Sebastian and Rossy was happy again. We brushed up and headed to the tapas bars..or as the Basque call it, Pintxos bars.
A couple of our favorite Pintxos:
Blood sausage wrapped in bacon and veggies,
Mini ham sandwiches
Caramelized onions and mushrooms in a pie crust
Can't remember what this was...
Sardines with veggies. This was my favorite.
And as the night progressed, things got crazier. The sidra, sangria and beer were flowing and the crowd got wilder and wilder.
No wonder all the hotels were booked....massive crowds travelled to San Sebastian to watch these small colorful boats compete against each other.
After watching a couple of regata races, we were ready to move on. Walking around we stumbled on the entrance to mount Urgull, located on the peninsula where we got lost.
At first glance it seemed like it was going to be a short and quiet hike, but it ended up being a loud and really long hike. You see, it was filled with kids (14 and up..mostly 14-17 age range though). There was drinking, pot smoking, and everybody was absolutely wasted (it was 3 pm) and although it goes against all views of what kids of that age should be doing (sports, school...etc), I just couldn't criticize or judge them. In my view, these kids were lucky to have the freedom to drink and hang out with their friends so openly. I envied their carefree attitude, vibrant energy and the simplicity of their party. Oh, and when they saw that I was taking pictures, the girls were all about posing for me and many came up requesting their pic to be taken.
Just a bit of sangria left in that bottle...and it's a LONG hike back down. Good thing you are 15 years old.
A party with a million dollar view. Do these kids even realize how lucky they are?
And finally at the top of the mount, where the Jesus Christ was at, blessing the debauchery.
The views were amazing
Playa Concha.
The next day we took a boat tour around the San Sebastian coast. And although it threatened to rain, we were lucky to beat the storm.
On our last night I tried for the first time night photography. We found a quiet spot in front of our hotel, popped open a bottle of wine and started experimenting...
Mount Urgull and "Parte Vieja" of San Sebastian.
After three days in the jewel of Basque country I was not ready to leave. But with only five more days of vacation, we needed to move on to our next destination: Barcelona...! Oh and how different that was......
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