Dad Visits San Sebastián

You don’t realize how cheaply you’ve been living until your dad and his girlfriend come for a visit and you don’t know what restaurants to recommend.

Other likely scenarios: he frequently uses the words “pintxos” and “tapas” interchangeably and usually in the wrong regions of the country, he tries speaking Finnish with waitresses whose politeness masks her confusion, your heart is more full because you get to share a place that has grown very important to you with someone you love.

Dad made the trip to Spain with his girlfriend, Barb. They flew into Madrid and spent a few days there before taking a train to San Sebastián. I met them at the train station, very excited to see some familiar faces.

To show off my pretty city, I took them up Mount Urgull. We actually went to a place on the mountain that I hadn't been before. It had the Basque flag and a nice view of Playa Zurriola.

La bahía de La Concha

Playa Zurriola

Later, we stopped for cafés and churros con chocolat. I was more able to show off my favorite sweets than my favorite places to eat. Also during their stay, we went to the Loaf (a bakery across from my apartment) and had my favorite brownies with walnuts. We also had pastel vasco (Basque cake) from Oiartzun. Basque cake is like a little pie made from almond paste and deliciousness. I'd recommend it to anyone visiting the Basque country.

Churros con chocolat

I did take Dad and Barb out for pintxos. But, like I mentioned before, I didn't really have any pintxos bars to recommend, especially in Parte Vieja, because pretty much the only times I went out for pintxos were on Thursdays in Gros. We tried a few different bars, meeting some other Americans who were on vacation and probably knew more than I did about the high-end pintxos bars. Each bar has their own specialty. We went to Ganbara and were told to try the mushroom plate. It wasn't really my cup of tea because I don't like mushrooms but Dad and Barb said it was delicious. I think it was a pretty expensive dish but it did have a large variety of uncommon mushrooms.

Expensive mushrooms

The next day, we decided to go to the top of Monte Igueldo. It was my first time going up this mountain on the other side of town. To get to the top, you take a funicular up the hill. At the top, there are amazing views of San Sebastián and a small amusement park for kids. After seeing the mountain, we walked over to the wind combs, a trio of sculptures by Eduardo Chillida located at the base of the mountain.

Back down the funicular

The Wind Combs

For lunch, we met up with my intercambio (language partner & friend), Unai. We went to La Mejillonera, this amazing pintxos bar that specializes in sea food. They also have huge beers and I'm a big fan of the patatas bravas. This restaurant is also a must for visitors in San Sebastián. Try the patatas bravas and any of their calamari plates or calamari sandwiches. Unai likes to go for the sandwich so if you don't want to listen to me, listen to the real local.

Finally, I thought I must take Dad and Barb to a cider house. So, we went to Petritegi and it was a great time! I don't think Dad liked cider as much as beer but he thought the experience was fun. Barb loved it and wants to open a cider house somewhere in California.

Dad and Barb try cider

After all of the fun and hours spent eating amazing food, Dad and Barb headed off to Barcelona. I stayed in San Sebastián because I had classes to go to but I met up with them again in Grenada!

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