San Sebastian, Spain.
This little port town on the Atlantic coast is a place less traveled. In fact, when me and my best friend Erik were in France setting up our train tickets, the guy asked me with a confused look on his face, "why would you ever want to go to San Sebastian?" (Erik quickly threw me a look like where the shit are you taking me woman) I told the guy, "I've been there before." He responded, "It is BEAUTIFUL!" It's one of Europe's best kept secrets because the lack of tourists--guess the cat's out of the bag now.
San Sebastian has the feel of an old sailor town with a harbor full of rustic sailboats, small cobblestone streets, and local bars on every corner. It's surrounded by cliffs full of lush landscape and it's beaches are breathtaking. During the hot summer days you'll find people in bathing suits walking along the boardwalk, enjoying a scoop of ice cream. At night the streets and bars light up with people young and old. In Spain it's customary to eat a long dinner around 10pm, go out for drinks, and dance until the sun pokes its head out at dawn.
Erik and I always have the same approach to a new town. We find our hostel (which knowing us can take awhile) noting all the landmarks, restaurants, and grocery stores we see along the way. We drop our bags off and then explore the town without a map. To us, maps target us as tourists and it's so much more fun to wander around, stumbling upon things as they come. We walk a lot, leaving no street unturned. Sometimes we get lost, but really who cares--are you ever really lost when your exploring new places?
What to do, what to do...
My father had told us about this incredible beach we had to go to (we were just in the south of France with him). We went to the grocery store and packed up our picnic of cold cuts, cheese, bread, and wine and were on our way. The beaches were beautiful and filled with people. We weaved our way between towels and headed for an empty spot. We sat down and it took us a minute to notice the naked man sprawled out on his back, sunbathing. Wasn't exactly the view we were looking for, so we moved to the only other empty spot, which ended up being next to another naked man. After a couple moments of silence a light bulb goes off in our head and we look at each other, "we are at a nude beach." Why is it always the old wrinkly people tanning naked? Thanks a lot dad.
Another must see is Monte Urgull, which is situated on top of a mountain that overlooks the sea and town of San Sebastian. It's a beautiful hike up to the top of the mountain and you can take several different trails. They lead up to Castillo de Santa Cruise de la Mota (Castle of the Holy Cross) which earliest records date back to the 12th century. There is also a massive statue of Christ that reminds me of Rio de Janeiro. When we took our hike the day was a little misty but warm, and we brought a backpack full of picnic goodies that we ate from the castle's spectacular view. There are few things in life that are better than sharing moments like those with a loved one.
There is another castle in the town of San Sebastian that Erik and I wanted to visit. We kept seeing it in the distance and decided to just try and find it. I should note here that there are certain times you should really use a map. Erik and I will walk for four hours straight trying to find a place before we will admit we are lost. We were lost. The castle disappeared from our vanish point and we never found it. Was there really even a castle? Perhaps the tapas, heat, and wine had gotten to our heads.
Oh the tapas bars! Not to be confused with topless bar. Tapas are these magical little appetizers served in every corner bar. Walk into a place during lunch or dinner and there are platters lined up across the whole bar full of 20 varieties of tapas. One night we decided to go tapas hopping, which I suggest you bring some willpower with you if you plan on doing this. We tried so many different tapas that we ended up sitting on a street corner later that night, in pain, slightly hallucinating from consuming too much food. I had nightmares about tapas months after my trip--but they are so good. Another must have is paella, which is a saffron rice dish with tons of fresh seafood, chicken, and sausage--amazing.
Over the 18 years I've been traveling I have discovered that the best way to enjoy your time in a city is to the mimic the locals. Just so happens the hostel we were staying at was in Old Town square and we didn't have to go far too find some fun. We noticed that all the hip youngsters were lined up around the edge of this square in big groups. They had food, tons of alcohol, music, guitars, and were having the best time just hanging out. So Erik and I grabbed some booze and joined them. Once you meet some locals it's easy from there--they take you to the best bars and clubs that you probably wouldn't have discovered on your own.
We stayed at the Adore Plaza hostel, which was a perfect location. It was a couple blocks from the harbor, not far from the beach and next to a ton of shops, restaurants, and bars. The accommodations were nice, clean, and a sweet family owned the place--although coming home at wee hours of the night felt like sneaking into our parents house. It was within our budget too, 30€ a night split between the two of us. The trick with hostels is finding a central location (and clean sheets). You barely spend any time in the room, so who cares if it's a little run down or you have to share a bathroom. We ended up staying at the Bates motel in France and I'm still here--but that's a story left for next time.
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