I've Bean Travelling

Please excuse the abrupt pause in my trip recaps; it’s been a busy several months at home! Picking up from where I last left off…

Following a whirlwind three days in Barcelona, we headed toward our next destination: San Sebastián. Also named Donostia, San Sebastián is a resort town located in the Basque region of northern Spain, lying on the coast of the Bay of Biscay. Known for its beautiful beaches and picturesque bayfront promenade, it is most renowned for its culinary scene, boasting the second most Michelin star restaurants per capita in the world, behind only Kyoto, Japan.

We boarded a morning flight on Vueling Airlines to Bilbao, and then took the hour Pesa bus ride to San Sebastián. We arrived on a rainy afternoon so rushed to our hotel for some dry cover.

We stayed at a very nice boutique hotel, Hotel Arbaso, just a few minutes walk from Old Town. I booked us the duplex penthouse which had two floors and fine amenities, including a Dyson hairdryer and a pillow menu!

The downpour intensified when we arrived, so we picked up lunch at a cafe around the corner and then borrowed an umbrella from hotel reception so we could wander a little bit.

Our first stop was Catedral del Buen Pastor de San Sebastián, constructed in 1897 and known for its Historicist Neo-Gothic style.

After a brief walk around the block, we decided to hang out in the hotel until our scheduled evening food tour. At 6 pm, we walked over to Old Town to join our small group with Devour Tours.

Over the course of three hours, we tried a range of pintxos – small snacks typically eaten in bars, traditional to northern Spain and particularly the Basque region. Our favourite selection by far were the mussels from Cervecerías La Mejillonera, where we would return numerous times in the next few days.

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We also had the chance to see some notable landmarks around Old Town, including Konstituzio Plaza, which was once a bullfighting arena.

And Iglesia de San Vicente, built in 1574.

Our tour ended with us sufficiently fed, and we returned to the hotel to test out the pillow menu and rest up for our next day of exploration in San Sebastián.