Road Trip Day 2 - Pamplona to San Sebastián
By Arnd
After our brilliant dinner at La Olla in Pamplona, we hit the road again heading east. We had decided on San Sebastián. We thought it would be more of a small coastal town, but arrived to find a city of around 600,000 inhabitants. In Basque, by the way, it's called Donostia. Surprised by the enormous difference between Basque and Spanish? That runs deep here. The roots of the Basque language are reportedly still — as was explained to me at least — unknown to this day. And it sounds like it. On every road sign, everywhere, the Basque version always comes first. Then the Spanish ("castellano"). And believe me, the Basque version is probably impossible to derive even for people who speak many languages.
We are NOT going to the Atlantic!
San Sebastián lies on the Golfo de Vizcaya. Please never say it's on the Atlantic. You won't make any friends here that way. The city has a few great sights, fortresses, a beautiful old town, wonderful architecture, and overall in its splendour is a little reminiscent of the grand French spa and resort architecture.
On the way to San Sebastián, the landscape changed once again. It suddenly became more alpine. Although the mountains are under 1,000 metres high, it still feels spectacular. The old Jeep wheezes its way up. And gives it everything. Because the elevation difference is still significant, since we're starting — at least from San Sebastián's perspective — at around 0 metres above sea level.
Our "Villa Favorita" in San Sebastián?
When we arrive in San Sebastián, my eldest has already picked out two hotels. One in the city centre. One by the sea. Only about a 10-minute walk apart. We decide to drive past both. Which also turns out to be inevitable due to the somewhat curious traffic routing. The first hotel looks fantastic. I hesitate briefly. But we have a plan. So we drive on anyway. And of course, because the hotel is smaller than I thought, we drive right past the second one too.
So we do the big loop around the city again, which costs us another good 15 minutes. This time I'm prepared. The hotel is — unlike the one in the city — very expensive. On Booking, the rooms were supposed to cost 500 euros each. Steep price, but the place seems to be the Switzerland of Spain anyway. We stop. Are warmly welcomed and get special last-minute rates of 300 euros each. We're not going to say "no" to that and check into the "Villa Favorita". That really is its name. And that's one more reason.
Architectural sins of the 80s and 90s
In fact, it's the only really beautiful building on the promenade for miles around. The rest reminds me of what I consider the largely architecturally ugly promenades of French cities along the Côte d'Azur. But the beach is sensational. Fine white sand. Gently sloping into the sea. That's quite something, at least for fans of proper beach outings.
Later I sit down in the bar and do some writing. And my eldest "chills" or whatever young adults do these days when they need to recover from being on holiday.
When it gets dark, I notice the toll of the day and am too lazy to go "out" again to find a good restaurant in San Sebastián. The super-friendly ladies at reception had already spent a good quarter of an hour with me, but unfortunately almost everything good was closed today. In fact, our Villa Favorita even has a 2-star restaurant in-house. But that was — of course — also closed. Somehow dubious. In Zaragoza, most restaurants were closed on Monday, here on Tuesday. Somehow my timing is off.
Laziness wins
So we just stay on the terrace. And order croquetas. You know, the Spanish speciality that in most tourist dives tastes like the frozen potato croquettes Mum used to reheat in the oven back in the day. But which can also be really excellent. And that's what I was hoping for here. And indeed: a very tasty, slightly smoky flavour of Jamón Ibérico. Point made, hope fulfilled.
After that I had chicken wings. The waitress had praised them as a "big, heavy" portion. It wasn't. The presentation was interesting. The meat was deboned and looked more like little chicken balls or something similar. Served in an aggressively reddish marinade. Tasted pretty good! Garnished with a few cucumber spaghetti and arranged in a plastic basket for that tried-and-true authentic look.
Service ugh — Food okay
The service was unbelievably bad. Or rather the staff member who served us. While her obviously more dedicated colleague was bringing out plate after plate, she couldn't manage to deliver a single order without at least one follow-up question from her and at least one from me. She topped it off with snippy remarks.
Later she brought spaghetti for my eldest, which were actually very stiff long macaroni. With an acceptable sugo. But nothing more. Bottom line: the terrace is a lovely spot to sit, but you pay an extraordinarily steep price for the food. Which could be much better. The approaches show a certain flair that isn't followed through. And in that price range, that would be the expectation — at least mine as a customer.
Later we took a few photos of the beautiful night view of the bay. San Sebastián as a place is wonderful. The Hotel Villa Favorita has earned its 9.6 rating on booking.com (as of 08.06.22). And if you can afford it and want to, you'll enjoy a very beautiful boutique hotel in a great location with truly high-quality furnished rooms. A few even face the sea with a sensational view. And apart from that one staff member, the service was exceptionally kind, friendly, and helpful.
Let's see where tomorrow takes us. Good night!
Arnd