San Sebastian-Donastia – A Food Lover’s Paradise

With Lily finshing Week One of French language Immersion and the weekend peeking ’round the corner, John McGraw entered the picture by flying into Lisbon, Portugal for some exploration and a return to some of his favorite haunts there. He then boarded a flight that cost only $30 euros to land him in Bilbao where we met for dinner on Friday night. I have no idea how John worked this magic trick but believe it or not, he got us a seat at the Chef’s Table at Mina in Bilbao! It’s the first Michelin-starred dining experience I have ever had and it did not disappoint. John and I took some time to explore Bilbao but I believe that amazing city deserves its own post so I will hop the timeline and take you, my dear reader, straight into the heart of the food mecca of Spain – San Sebastian Donostia! Oh yes! As I mentioned above in the caption, you know you’re in San Sebastian when every inch of your viewpoint is covered in delicious food offerings. You are definitely going to get a mouthful from this post!

San Sebastian Donostia is also in the Basque Country. It lands squarely between Bilbao, Spain where we had eaten the night before, and Biarritz, France where Lily was anchored. John and I have been to San Sebastian before and were excited beyond compare to return. The drive from Bilbao to San Sebastian is easy and oh-so-beautiful. I highly recommend staying on the BN636 and taking the scenic route up the Spanish countryside. (It’s akin to taking Highway 1 on the coast vs. Hwy 101). The countryside is deeply green and lush. John and I were constantly commenting – “Oh my gosh! The green! Look at the shades of green!”. We’re used to “golden” hills in the Bay Area so to see rolling meadows, pine forests, vineyards and sea cliffs combined into the tapestry known as Basque Country was icing on the cake for the days-long feast we were about to indulge in.

Driving in San Sebastian is not recommended at all. The streets are extremely narrow and frankly, there is no need for a car. All that is needed here is an appetite and some sensible shoes. We ditched the car on the outskirts of town and rolled our bags to Pension Aldamar right in the heart of Old Town.

We had a lovely room in this Pension and we secured it through hotels.com. A pension is quite like a hotel except that they are typically family-owned and the experience is warm and friendly and always unique. At Pension Aldamar we were greeted by a friendly host who handed us keys to Room 1. Within minutes we dropped our bags and hit the town. (Note of interest – in most places in Europe – the first floor of an establishment is “0”. So if you’re on the fourth floor you have to go up five flights of stairs to get there). None of our stays in Biarritz have had elevators and soon we head to Paris where we have to walk up NINE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS! to AirBnb. But Pension Aldamar put out the red carpet for us and had a tiny Euro-elevator for us to fill with our carry-ons. They also had this lovely creature greet us each night with the light on and a mischievous smile to send us upstairs.

Basques are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit, the area known as the Basque Country, a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay. This area straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France, an area John and I find particularly appealling. 

There are 2,123,000 people living in the Basque Country. They live primarily in Bilbao and San Sebastian. The official languages are Basque and Spanish. Knowledge of Spanish is required under the Spanish constitution and knowledge and usage of Basque is a right under the Statute of Autonomy (article no. 6). The Basque language is so very different from anything I have ever heard or “attempted” to read. John and I both tried to understand and speak a few key phrases but to no avail. We defaulted to Spanish and committed to studying this language with more intention at a later date. Most menus, road signs and customer-facing literature in San Sebastian is written in both Spanish and in Basque.

Did you know that California has a major concentration of Basques? It’s true! Most notably in the San Joaquin Valley between Stockton, Fresno and Bakersfield. In fact, the city of Bakersfield has a large Basque community and several Basque restaurants, including “Noriega’s” which won the 2011 James Beard Foundation America’s Classic Award.

Interestingly, the largest Basque population in the US exists in Boise, Idaho which is home to the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, as well as the Basque festival.

Now it’s time for another element of Basque culture that I am so very fond of – PINXTOS! It’s time to eat. Feasting in San Sebastian is one of my favorite past-times. Words cannot explain this moving feast so I will stop typing and let the images tell the story:

Yummmmmm! Needless to say, we indulged! In past visits to San Sebastian, every inch of bar space was covered in platters of these delectable treats. Toothpicks were inserted into each individual pinxto. Clients simply grabbed what they pleased, ate what they liked, and then handed the stack of toothpicks to the barkeep to tally and charge them for the feast. These days, due to COVID, all pinxtos are behind glass and you need simply point to the treat you like and indicate how many pieces you want to indulge in and your plate is neatly stacked with food. Clearly we “stacked” as we snacked. It was an amazing two days of hedonistic dining.

In order to make room for more food, we made it mandatory to pack our mornings with as much exercise as we packed our evenings with food. There is no shortage of things to do in San Sebastian and we did them all! We started each morning with a vigorous walk down to the shore for a quick swim in the Bay of Biscay. As the town began to come alive, so did we, in the refreshing waters of the bay.

Our mornings were filled with outdoor activities, then a brief change into comfortable walking shoes and we spent our afternoons touring this beautiful city. Here are a few sights I thought worthy to share – I am merely whetting your appetite here. I have not even scratched the surface of all that there is to see here!

And so I officially close out two days in San Sebastian. Now we head back to Biarritz to check up on our favorite french-language-student Ms Lily McGraw. She had the weekend to herself as we traversed the north of Spain. We’re excited to hear of her adventures in Biarritz with her classmates. Stand by for an update and thanks for reading!