Finally…España!

Biarritz, the ritzy coastal city with a beachy surf vibe, just north of the Spanish border was our final stop in France. The two-hour visit included a ride on the carousel, a mediocre overpriced lunch, a walk along the cliffs overlooking the Bay of Biscay, some people watching (there were just a few enjoying the sun) and the purchase of some board shorts at the surf shop. Adieu France!

Another fifteen minutes down the highway and we finally crossed into Spain. So happy to finally be at our ultimate destination! Ten days in España ahead, we found our San Sebastian apartment with ease. Great location a few blocks from Kursaal beach where all the surfers hang for the waves (Ian was stoked!).

At this point, it was 7pm, Sean and I were ready to eat. The kids were dying to get to the beach. We decide to just buy food and make dinner at our apartment. Then Sean took Fiona and Ian for their first walk on the beach in the dark of night.

San Sebastian is an amazing town in the heart of the Basque Country with some of the best food in the world (pintxos!), three fantastic beaches, great shopping, and so much more to do. Sean and I were dying to grab a beer and get some tapas by lunch on day two. It took us all of 10 minutes to walk to the old town, peruse the pintxos at several bars from the street, and begin the feast. This place was packed with people piling their plates high with gorgeous food. They couldn’t pass out plates fast enough. I mean seriously, see how amazing it all looked…

Weather-wise, our time in San Sebastian was interesting. A summer storm came through so it was cloudy and drizzly most mornings, then dry but cool in the evenings. Didn’t matter. Kids still wanted to hit the beach daily, rain or shine. So after the pintxos we headed to the beach as promised (the only people in beach attire that day). So worth it…the weather improved and brought in the big waves, and we were 5 of the 20 people on the beach that afternoon.

The neighborhood was so convenient with nice stores and restaurants lining every street, made it easy for us to sleep in and make breakfast in the apartment every day. Sean and I were even able to go downstairs for a nice dinner sans kids one night, while they watched a movie in the apartment above us. Delicious twist on chicken wings…chimichurri drenched…

On our last day, we decided to take a long walk on the promenade that encircles La Concha (the largest and most popular beach in San Sebastian). It would take us the morning to do it and we had heard that at the end of the promenade we could ride something called the “Igueldo Funicular” for a spectacular view of La Concha Bay. Since it was supposed to rain all morning we needed something to do and we had umbrellas (remember Düsseldorf). Let’s do it.

The ‘Funicular’ was located on the side of a steep cliff face at the end of our walk. Little did we know that at the top of the mountain, we would find Monte Igeldo Amusement Park. Fun surprise. It’s a small, vintage, mountaintop amusement park that overlooks all of San Sebastian. We had no idea what we were walking into. Since it was drizzly…most of the rides were not open, however, the Mountain of Terror (great view), the bumper cars and the cafe were enough to keep us busy.