Thank you for the Bar Arenales recommendation! I went with my family on Friday and it was wonderful, one of the best meals we've had in years. Also perfect for vegetarians. Thank you!!
I probably will never get there, but I enjoy reading your roundups so much. You put so much work into them! It is much appreciated. I find it very disheartening that you were subjected to bad service amid hateful ignorance and hope and pray for a better world for us all.
Marvelous post as always - as others have commented, you have inspired me to move this up on the "To Do" list. Your writing and podcasts are so convivial - like receiving a lovely postcard from a dear friend. Merci for the great intel, David!
I loved this post. We took a road trip to the French Basque country last fall, and loved it. We now want to visit the Spanish side (beyond the border villages we did explore) and this is enormously helpful. It never occurred to me to take a train and not drive down, but now I'm thinking that is a far more relaxing way to go. Thanks for all the great tips!
Your newsletters are always an inspiration. I've always wanted to go to San Sebastián. The food looks delicious and it would be nice to finally be in a place where restaurants are open later. I'm still wary about eating inside a restaurant here (ie: covid) in the U.S. baby steps perhaps... thanks for sharing your trip with us.
Thanks for all the great information on the San Sebastián/Donostia trip. It sounds wonderful. My husband and I are going to be in Paris on Sep./Oct. 2024 and we always like to take a trip in between. Last time we took a trip to Amsterdam so this time doing this trip sounds amazing.
Thanks! I made your summer fruit gallette a couple of years ago. It was easy and dazzled our dinner guests. I also took some classes from you when you visited Chicago, before you moved to France.....a long time ago. Keep up the good work and I will keep buying your books!
P.S. to my earlier posting. The Senior Advantage card is awesome! Even if you are a visitor you can purchase the senior railcard and use it for discounted train tickets. And the SNCF app works great!
We just had three glorious weeks in Northern Spain and Southern France in September, and plan to return, so I love all of these suggestions. We stayed at a lovely parador in Hondarribia, just a few miles from San Sebastián. We happen to hit during the Festival of Guadalupe, which was fun to see. We had to drop off our rental in San Sebastián, and took the opportunity to spend the day. Thank you for the hotel suggestion as we plan on returning. One day was not enough. We had a private driver take us from Hondarribia to Saint Jean de Luz, where we spent a week. I highly recommend the Hotel de la Plage. We had the top corner room facing the ocean, and it was fabulous. It is in France, but because it is so close to the border it is the best of both worlds. The food was excellent. A great place for some R&R.
Thanks so much for your post David. I'm off to San Sebastian in May and now have a great guide grâce a toi! What was the spa where you had your DOB? I tried the link but it take me to a San Sebastian tourism site (which BTW is very helpful) but not La Perla.
When I was in Madrid in 1992 I stayed at a little hostal off of Puerta Del Sol. There was a cafe nearby that served delicious pastries, and I would join the pre work crush, fight my way in, and scarf down a brazo de nata, a jellyroll of white cake filled with whipped cream, for breakfast, along with a gorgeous cafe con leche. It would fill up again in the evening. It seemed like the women would hang out and chat after work over coffee and pastries while the men decompressed over beer and pintxos in the bars. Now I want to go eat in San Sebastián!
David, what a wonderful post. At the recommendation of my daughter who studied abroad in Spain for a year, we visited San Sebastian for my 60th birthday and headed straight to San Telmo (her recommendation), where we had not only the best grilled foie gras I’ve ever had but also amazing grilled porcinis. We also ate at Etxebarri where we had a wonderful meal, albeit weird. The night we went, we were the only people in the dining room until finally one party showed up about 10 PM. , and it’s a huge dining room. It was terribly uncomfortable, listening to the shoes of the waiters clomping across the dining room to our table, and the silence of the room was depressing. I’d recommend finding out what nights are more lively. Again, thanks for your great post and now I really have a hankering for going back.
The summer before COVID, my husband, daughter and I were lucky enough to spend almost a week in San Sebastian and we went to Arzak for my birthday lunch. It was an incredible experience - one I will never forget. I remember that they actually brought out a small birthday cake with "happy birthday" written in Basque and my name on it! I still dream of that lunch!
Thank you for the Bar Arenales recommendation! I went with my family on Friday and it was wonderful, one of the best meals we've had in years. Also perfect for vegetarians. Thank you!!
I probably will never get there, but I enjoy reading your roundups so much. You put so much work into them! It is much appreciated. I find it very disheartening that you were subjected to bad service amid hateful ignorance and hope and pray for a better world for us all.
Marvelous post as always - as others have commented, you have inspired me to move this up on the "To Do" list. Your writing and podcasts are so convivial - like receiving a lovely postcard from a dear friend. Merci for the great intel, David!
I loved this post. We took a road trip to the French Basque country last fall, and loved it. We now want to visit the Spanish side (beyond the border villages we did explore) and this is enormously helpful. It never occurred to me to take a train and not drive down, but now I'm thinking that is a far more relaxing way to go. Thanks for all the great tips!
What a wonderful power packed post. Thanks so much. You can definitely expand your books into travel!
What a treat it would be if David gifted us with a travel book. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m yearning for one.
Your newsletters are always an inspiration. I've always wanted to go to San Sebastián. The food looks delicious and it would be nice to finally be in a place where restaurants are open later. I'm still wary about eating inside a restaurant here (ie: covid) in the U.S. baby steps perhaps... thanks for sharing your trip with us.
Thanks for all the great information on the San Sebastián/Donostia trip. It sounds wonderful. My husband and I are going to be in Paris on Sep./Oct. 2024 and we always like to take a trip in between. Last time we took a trip to Amsterdam so this time doing this trip sounds amazing.
We have been to San Sebastián four times and each time, as we got to know the town and environs better, the more we loved it.
A tortilla de Patata, vermouth and 2 pieces of cheesecake, my life is complete.
Thanks! I made your summer fruit gallette a couple of years ago. It was easy and dazzled our dinner guests. I also took some classes from you when you visited Chicago, before you moved to France.....a long time ago. Keep up the good work and I will keep buying your books!
David, great information! Thanks for being so very thorough. I can’t wait to visit
P.S. to my earlier posting. The Senior Advantage card is awesome! Even if you are a visitor you can purchase the senior railcard and use it for discounted train tickets. And the SNCF app works great!
Yes the senior card is great but there is another card that has a lot of advantages but you need to travel frequently to make it more worth it.
We just had three glorious weeks in Northern Spain and Southern France in September, and plan to return, so I love all of these suggestions. We stayed at a lovely parador in Hondarribia, just a few miles from San Sebastián. We happen to hit during the Festival of Guadalupe, which was fun to see. We had to drop off our rental in San Sebastián, and took the opportunity to spend the day. Thank you for the hotel suggestion as we plan on returning. One day was not enough. We had a private driver take us from Hondarribia to Saint Jean de Luz, where we spent a week. I highly recommend the Hotel de la Plage. We had the top corner room facing the ocean, and it was fabulous. It is in France, but because it is so close to the border it is the best of both worlds. The food was excellent. A great place for some R&R.
Thanks so much for your post David. I'm off to San Sebastian in May and now have a great guide grâce a toi! What was the spa where you had your DOB? I tried the link but it take me to a San Sebastian tourism site (which BTW is very helpful) but not La Perla.
It was La Perla. There didn't seem to be a direct link to their spa in San Sebastian/Donastia, but that was where I went.
When I was in Madrid in 1992 I stayed at a little hostal off of Puerta Del Sol. There was a cafe nearby that served delicious pastries, and I would join the pre work crush, fight my way in, and scarf down a brazo de nata, a jellyroll of white cake filled with whipped cream, for breakfast, along with a gorgeous cafe con leche. It would fill up again in the evening. It seemed like the women would hang out and chat after work over coffee and pastries while the men decompressed over beer and pintxos in the bars. Now I want to go eat in San Sebastián!
David, what a wonderful post. At the recommendation of my daughter who studied abroad in Spain for a year, we visited San Sebastian for my 60th birthday and headed straight to San Telmo (her recommendation), where we had not only the best grilled foie gras I’ve ever had but also amazing grilled porcinis. We also ate at Etxebarri where we had a wonderful meal, albeit weird. The night we went, we were the only people in the dining room until finally one party showed up about 10 PM. , and it’s a huge dining room. It was terribly uncomfortable, listening to the shoes of the waiters clomping across the dining room to our table, and the silence of the room was depressing. I’d recommend finding out what nights are more lively. Again, thanks for your great post and now I really have a hankering for going back.
The summer before COVID, my husband, daughter and I were lucky enough to spend almost a week in San Sebastian and we went to Arzak for my birthday lunch. It was an incredible experience - one I will never forget. I remember that they actually brought out a small birthday cake with "happy birthday" written in Basque and my name on it! I still dream of that lunch!