I Want To Go To There…. San Sebastian, Spain….

If I were to wake up in San Sebastian,

I’d want to wake up in either the…

Both are centrally located and right in front of the famed, La Concha beach.

The I would walk over to the old part of town to eat some delicious pintxos (pictured below). Usually pintxos are on the honor system. You help yourself and pay afterwards… The best part of pintxos is washing it down with the Basque wine, Txocoli….

As I never remember the names of any of the pintxos places I’ve been to there, El EP, has supplied us with a few of his personal faves pintxos spots and dishes….

In the old part of town:

Borda Berri
Fermín Calbetón, 12 – Donostia
T. 943430342
Risotto depending on the season, connelone of black puding, foie, beef kebab….

Izazpi
31 de agosto, 25
Huevo con jamon y patatas (slowly boiled egg with ham and potatoes) solomillo con pure (tenderloin with mashed potatoes), tocino (pork fat), brocheta de gambas (schrimp brochette)…. and many more

Ganbara
San Jeronimo 21
Selection of mushrooms (amazing!!), txangurro (typical basque dish made of seacrab)

Txepetxa
Pescadería, 5
Onchoa con crema de centolla (anchovie with spyder crab cream) IT A CLASSIC!!!

Downtown San Sebastian:

Bar la Espina
San Marcial, 48
Amazing spanish omelette, fried shrimps and croquetas. It is one of the oldest bars in town but has been recently renovated.

Hika Mika
Etxaide, 4
Also great spanish omelette, with or without onion, famous fish pudding, great squid with black ink pincho and great ropavieja (boned meat with potatoes and vegetables)

Gros (in the other side of the river):

Bar Bergara
C/ General Artetxe 8

In my opinion the most important pinchos bar in the city, is one of the first and still keeps that trditional cuisine. They have an amazing bar full of cold pintxos that you dont need to order to eat them (great anchovies omelette). As for their hot pintxos, I recommend the viera (scallops), chopito (small squid filled of sweet onions), itxaso (monkfish with leek cream) and txalupa (shrimps and mushrooms).

After stuffing my mug… I’d do a little shopping at

….Loewe has I’m in need of a new purse….

…Auzmendi to check out the latest in Spanish fashion for women….

…and finally, Loreak Mendian

After eating, drinking and shopping, I’d need to do something a little cultural so I’d take a walk to see the seaside sculptures of Eduardo Chillida (pictured below)…. If the sea is roaring, you’ll be able to see the water spout through the stone ground, much like you’d see a whale spout water. It’s pretty amazing…..

I’d also go take a picture in front of the Churches of Santa Maria and San Vicente in the old town of the city and the cathedral of the Buen Pastor in the center of the city.

Let’s be honest, after all this walking and touristing, I’ll be hungry again.. so I’d jump in a car and drive the ten minutes to the town of Guetaria. This little fishing village is home to Elkano, a seafood restaurant which the NY Times named, “the best seafood restaurant on Earth”….Whilst there I’d drink some more txokoli and eat the three kind of KOKOTXAS. Kokotxas are a particular basque dish made of this little part of the hake. It would also be a shame and pitty if I didn’t try the idiazabal cheese icecream. I do like my sweets after all….

After all this eating, I’d need to do a little more drinking and possibly dancing at La Kabutzia (pictured below)… It’s on the beach.. How can you go wrong?

Then I would roll back to my hotel at 6am, wake up around noon and go directly to the beach….

Now this is all assuming I was going in the Summer… If I were there today, I’d take part in Tamborrada. It’s a twelve hour festival, every January 20th.. The streets are covered with people playing drums and wearing outfits that look like something the Swedish Chef would wear… All you do is eat, drink and have fun. What’s not to like about this city?