San Sebastián

San Sebastian Beach

We arrived in San Sebastian on the 10th of July where we spent 5 nights staying at a lovely airbnb apartment on the far side of the railway station.

Traveling from Bordeaux, we caught a europe train to Hendaye and then another train from there to San Sebastian.

River Urumea

Our first night we were relieved to find that the apartment had a great kitchen and that there were many gorgeous grocery stores surrounding a 5 minute walking radius. Yay this meant our first proper home cooked meal for the trip!

First Home Cooked Meal in Europe

My brother arrived on the 2nd day after spending a week at the Greek Islands. Feeling a little under the weather he wasn't too excited when we told him we were going to do an all-nighter in Pamplona that night so we could watch the bulls run the following morning. Thankfully most places in Spain have large shutters that make the house extremely dark during the day. So my brother slept for the most of the day to prepare for the nights festivities while Michael and I hit up the beach.

Steps Leading up to the Statue of Jesus, Monte Urgull

The beach in San Sebastian is very lovely with warm salty water and some fun pontoons with water slides and diving boards to play on.

After our big 15 hour trip to watch the bulls we arrived home at 1pm and were thankful once again that the apartment had shutters so we could catch up on some sleep.

Laneway to our Apartment in San Sebastian

That night we decided to treat ourselves to some ice-cream but just as we got up to leave a huge thunderstorm shook the town with lightening flashing every couple of seconds and rivers of rain streaming down the windy roads. We decided this was a sign that we should just go back to bed and start fresh the next day.

View of Monte Urgull from the beach

The next day we walked through the old town, around the coast and then hiked up the windy paths to the Statue of Jesus, Monte Urgull. At the top you can see all 360 degrees of San Sebastian including the  whole bay of Biscay. If you ever go to San Sebastian, this is a must do! The view is amazing, it's good exercise and theres no entry fee!

View from the top of Monte Urgull

That night we headed to the Old Quarter to go pintxos bar hopping, in and out of the old, famous basque restaurants. Each pintxos costs between 1 - 2 euros. If you want freshly cooked pintxos, with larger servings they are around 8 - 12 euros.

One of the many Pintxos Bars in San Sebastian

After eating until we felt sick we headed home for a good nights sleep before heading off on a 6 hours bus ride to Barcelona in the morning.