Well sort of, because today was our day off. No biking. We needed a break and this one was actually planned.

After a great start last night we had all day to explore San Sebastián. I let Rich sleep until 9am, headed out for breakfast quarter to 10. We found this little place called Old Town Café per chance on Maps and thought giving it a go as it was the only one serving artisan coffee. Great we love decent coffee as much as beer.

Turned out the place was bustling and crammed with people whilst other places nearby where half empty, good sign. Super friendly waiter (one of four running their socks off) took our name and after waiting no more than five minutes we got a table inside.

Got a healthy breakfast with sourdough, avocado and ham, fresh juice, granola yoghurt and indeed great coffee. Result!

Walked through town to climb up to a viewpoint by an old battery. The shade of the many trees was very welcome as it got hotter and hotter. Lovely little walk and great views from the top.

And conveniently there was a bar up here as well, right on a little terrace with brilliant views. Well, it was bang on noon, so let’s have a mojito!

Back down in town we headed into La Bretxa, a indoor food market to get ingredients for the Asturian been stew (Fabada) and its Basque counterpart (Alubias de Tolosa). Got the chorizo, morcilla and ibérico jamón.

Got the dried beans needed for both from a local delicatessen shop and finally marched into a wine shop just before it closed to get Txacoli, Albariño and a Rioja. The lady there was very into her wines and explained the differences between the different bottles for each and even though she spoke quite quickly I actually understood most of it. Like this one is more traditional, this one more modern, younger, older, fruity, dry, etc. Let’s hope I chose wisely.

Carried our lot back to the hotel but not without stopping at Bar Sport for a drink and pintxos. This was one recommend by the lady from the craft beer place and it was a good one. Flat out guys behind the counter took our order and we got lucky with a table just as a couple left it.

We just chose by looks and it was yuuuuum! Got a beer and Txacoli to wash it down with.

Quick shower and chill at the hotel then back out again 4pm for more food and drink. The weather had changed from mostly blue skies to grey overcast which was nice in a way as it felt cooler but it was still very humid. We even got a short bit of rain with heavy drops which we waited out for a few minutes under a tree.

First stop Bodega Donostiarra Gros for a few more pintxos. Braised beef, cod tortilla and morcilla with peppers were excellent. To finish we opted for a frozen version of tiramisu which was fantastic.

Our craft beer place wouldn’t serve food until 19:30 so we thought let’s walk around the beach for a bit. Just a little bit of headland to get out of the way.

A good half an hour later whilst the sun was forcing its way through the blanket cloud we finally saw the Concha beach we wanted to walk around. Had a proper sticky sweat on again, but the view from here was totally worth it!

Eventually we got to the beach and yes, walked around it. Very busy now with lots and lots of people crammed onto the smaller patch of sand at high tide.

Getting a bit weary now we eventually found a random café for some Radler (cerveza con limón) to quench our thirst. By now it was late enough to walk back to Basqueland for beers and food.

We do like to go back to the places we liked. Their food looked amazing last night so we had a go. Shared teriyaki chicken wings first. Rich had then great prawn tacos and I had noodles with minced pork and a good dose of szechuan pepper. Wow, it was spicy!!!

Both tired we walked the 25 minutes back to the hotel. Happy and with full bellies. We really like this style of eating. Only little bites so you get to try many different ones instead of settling for one big dish.

Back early (for Spain) at the hotel we chilled a bit, sad to leave San Sebastian tomorrow, but I think we’ve seen what there was to see.

0 miles ridden today 😉 Walked 26000 steps though.