Day 17 - June 14, San Sebastian Spain

Coming into the Bay of Biscay.

A closeup of the entry through which our boat cruised to the San Sebastian port.

Today was all about eating and less walking. Had a small glitch, however. The original itinerary had us in port until around 5-6 pm, but we learned the prior evening that we were docking at 7:30 am and leaving at 3 pm. We had to be back on the boat by 2:30 pm.

It was an issue for us because we purchased a San Sebastian: Eating Beyond Pintxo tour that could only start at 11 am (because the bars didn’t open until then) and was supposed to have concluded at 2 pm. AND we also had to calculate the half-hour it took to get into San Sebastian and the half-hour it took to get back to the boat. Thankfully, our tour company was flexible.

We’re still in Basque Country, and San Sebastian is a lovely resort town on the Bay of Biscay. It’s known for Playa de la Concha and Playa de Ondarreta, beaches framed by a picturesque bayfront promenade. We did not visit the beaches, but we drove by them in a taxi after the shuttle bus dropped us off, and they looked lovely. San Sebastian, however, is on the Atlantic Ocean so the water is very, very cold. Unfortunately for Beth, she didn’t have a chance to take a photo of her feet in the water; it’s sort of her travel journal to take a photo of her feet in different oceans, lakes, etc.

San Sebastian also is known as Donostia and besides having some world-renowned restaurants helmed by innovative chefs, it was famous as a destination following the outbreak of World War I for renowned international figures of culture and politics including Mata Hari, Leon Trotsky, Maurice Ravel, and Romanofs.

The pintxo is a clear hallmark of San Sebastian’s culinary heritage. The famous pintxos are the perfect balance between tradition and innovation. But the Pearl of the Cantabrian Sea also boasts 18 Michelin Stars, evidence that the chefs have put classic Basque cuisine at the forefront of world gastronomy. We actually had planned on eating at one of the Michelin restaurants when we planned our Spain trip two years ago. Alas, we didn’t get to eat in one on this trip.

Our tour started in the De Biteri Plaza in front of the Church of San Ignacio de Loyola in San Sebastián’s Gros neighborhood. It is a Neogothic temple built in the late 19th century to serve the expanding city. It stands out for its original design, with three longitudinal naves and a rich interior decoration including paintings, sculptures, and stained glass by renowned artists such as Mariano Benlliure and Maumejean. Its tower was completed in 1928 thanks to a legacy from the Duke of Mandas, whose sepulcher is located inside.

We didn’t go inside but proceeded to a nearby bar for our first pintxos. We each ate a pintxo of mushroom layered with duck liver confit in a rich cream sauce. We had local beer. It was really good.

Before proceeding to “loc Viejo” (the old town) where the greatest concentration of pintxos bars is located, we stopped at a local distributor of natural wines produced in the area. Natural wine is produced on a small scale using traditional rather than industrial techniques and fermented with native yeast. In its purest form, natural wine is simply unadulterated fermented grape juice with no additives in the winemaking process. “It is wine made with natural grapes, without adding or removing anything from the grapes. The result is a faithful reflection of the land from which the wine is born.” We had a lovely white natural wine along with a traditional pintxo, which is called the Gilda (named after a Rita Hayworth character in the movie “Gilda”). The Gilda is the origin of all pintxos and was created by chance: the main ingredients (pitted olives, peppers, anchovies) were there on the bar counters. Casa Valles, a bar located in San Sebastian, screwed them onto a stick and whallah – a pintxo that was similar to Rita Hayworth: “green, salty, and a little spicy.”

I passed on the anchovies but Beth loved them. We searched for some canned anchovies to buy and bring home but they all need to be refrigerated.

After our “special” visit, we headed to “lo Viejo” (the old town) or Parte Vieja, where the greatest concentration of bars with counters piled high with pintxos are located. Along its cobblestoned streets, there also are upscale shops home to the city’s best known and established restaurants.

Before stopping at our last pintxo bar, Christine stopped at the oldest pastry shop in town, Casa Otaegui. With over 130 years of uninterrupted artisan work in their bakeries (they combine traditional Basque pastries with the best influences from Europe), the shop became an official supplier of the Royal Spanish Household. Queen María Cristina was especially passionate about their almond cake at the beginning of the 20th century. The almond cake actually is called panchineta (pronounced ‘pahn-chee-NET-ah’), and it appears to be a simple circle of puff pastry with a sprinkling of almonds but when you cut a slice, the tart is revealed: two layers of buttery, flaky puff pastry sprinkled on top with chopped, lightly toasted Marcona almonds and sandwiched with pastry cream.

We were short on time so we took it back to the boat and ate it the next day. It was delicious!

We went to a bar in which numerous cured legs of Iberian pigs hung, many of them expensive – between 300 and 400 Euros. We never saw anyone walking around with a leg. Ha. We ate more pintxos – this one was a grilled squid on a potato slice on a piece of toast. And we had another crisp white wine.

The best part of the tour was the last stop – a cider house. A sagardotegi is a type of cider house found in the Basque Country where Basque cider and traditional foods such as cod omelettes are served. Modern sagardotegis can broadly be described as a cross between a steakhouse and a cider house.

Most Basque cider is called "natural" because, unlike many other European varieties, it is still, instead of sparkling. It normally contains 4-6% alcohol and is served directly from the barrel in a sagardotegi.

But what sounded like the most fun was the most traditional sagardotegi, in which each guest, after having paid in the region of 25 euros, receives a glass and at various intervals, a txotx is called. At this, everyone who wants cider heads to the lower section of the sagardotegi where the barrels are located. The large barrels, which are stored horizontally, have a small tap in the lid at about head-height. This is opened by the innkeeper or the first guest to reach the barrel and a thin stream of cider bursts out, which the guests catch with their glasses as low down as possible to aerate the cider. People then return to their tables to continue with their meal and cider until the next txotx is called. Each guest may drink as much cider as they like.

We each tried catching the cider and had a delightful pintxo of grilled steak and sweet red pepper.

Christina made sure we got a cab, and we got back to the meeting point for the shuttle minutes before it left.

Our day of eating was not done, however. We had paid for an “Intimate Evening” with Jose and some of his entertainment team in one of the specialty restaurants that prepared an amuse bouche, a special five-course dinner and a variety of wine pairings. Before we began eating, the saxophonist who was a guest artist on the boat played some jazzy tunes. We got the amuse bouche as Jose introduced the evening that included three musical interludes between courses.

I can’t say we were famished by the end of the day – no, we were nourished all day and felt full and wealthy. Ha.

I’m including some of photos of the bay entrance and exit through which our boat had to navigate. Not sure whether what is pictured is Paseo Nuevo or Kaiko Pasealekua. Regardless, it was beautiful.