San Sebastián

Where do I start?! A visit to San Sebastián is a visit to foodie paradise! Nestled around two beautiful beaches, Playa de la Concha and Playa de Ondarreta on the Bay of Biscay in the Basque region, Donostia San Sebastián is truly a gastronomic destination. Pinxtos are the equivalent of tapas here and each restaurant/bar has its own specialities. Wandering around the cobbled streets of the old town (Parte Vieja), almost every building is a bar or restaurant and it’s definitely worth signing up for a pinxto tour with an experienced guide, who will let you know where to go for which culinary experience. The idea is to go from bar to bar, sampling a mouthful of this or that, washed down with Txakoli, the local white wine or a glass of delicious Marqués de Murrieta crianza.

Highlights for me were the salty, explosion-in-the-mouth Gilda pinxto (named after Rita Hayworth) at Txepetxa, Calle Pescadería, the Padrón peppers at Goiz Argi, Calle Fermín Calbetón 4, the croquetas at Ganbara, Calle San Jeronimo 21, the scallops at Casa Urola, Calle Fermín Calbetón, the prawn skewers at Goiz Argi, Calle Fermín Calbetón 4, and you absolutely CANNOT leave without having eaten the best baked cheesecake in the world, the Burnt Basque Cheesecake, made at La Viña, Calle 31 de Agosto and enjoyed with a glass of La Tercia Pedro Ximénez sweet sherry. (You can find a recipe for the burnt cheesecake on Cookidoo.)

I also visited a cider farm outside San Sebastián, just a short drive away. Petritegi is a fun experience, where you sit at long communal tables, next to the enormous cider barrels and feast on huge steaks, sampling the Txiri cider straight from the barrels.

I stayed at the luxurious Hotel Maria Cristina (birthday treat). There’s a cookery school at the hotel and I took one of their classes to learn how to prepare authentic Basque dishes.