The Munce Family: San Sebastian and a brief stop over in Madrid

San Sebastian wasn't even on our radar when we began planning this adventure, but it was definitely a highlight. Based on the reviews of a trusted teacher, we worked it in. The scenery, food, and culture was second to none, and the smaller city slowdown was welcomed by all of us.

We took a 6+ hour train from Barcelona, raced to the bus stop and walked to our AirBnB which was fantastic. It was on the top floor and overlooked the crescent shaped beach, and major bonus, it was partly air conditioned. By the time we found dinner, it was nearly 10pm and the restaurant we found had just finished their dinner service. We panicked slightly but found Piedra Pizza Tijera, a pizza take away spot nearby and put our order in just in time, any port in a storm. The kids ate and we fell fast asleep.

On Saturday morning, walked along the boardwalk to the Aquarium de San Sebastian and spent a couple of hours exploring, finishing up at the life size aquarium just in time for them to feed the fish. Everyone was engaged, it was a great introduction to the seaside town. After, we walked into the Old Part of town and had lunch at Plaza de la Constitucion where we watched people and street performers. We followed our noses and ended up on a hike to the high point overlooking the town below, it was more than some of us (me) were interested in tackling, much to everyone's delight, there was a spot at the top called Urgulleko Polborina Bar which offered tables, refreshments, and views. We found our way home, regrouped and went for dinner at La Cerveceria del Antiguo where we dined on pinxos and the kids played at an at adjacent park, popping over bites as needed. It was a full day and we saw so much of the city.

We spent the following day Mont Igueldo, a theme park at the top of the mountain overlooking San Sebastian (opposite the hike we did the previous day). It was toasty hot but had just enough attractions to keep us busy for a couple of hours. The highlight was definitely the rollercoaster that took us out over the coast. We had a lite lunch and opted to hike down the small mountain, which turned into a hot walk, but we made up for it with an evening swim at the Ondarretako Hondartza beach. It was the exact cool down we all needed. We cleaned up and went for dinner at Trattoria La Mila.

Monday, our last day, was a beach day, allllll day. Dave and the kids swam as the tide gradually went out while I snoozed and read, we had no agenda and just let the kids run the show. We stopped for a snack and a drink on our way back the condo and enjoyed a beach side dinner at La Perla, it was a great way to end our stay.

We had a 30ish hour stopover in Madrid on our journey home and enjoyed what we could in spite of the dreadful heat. All we really wanted to do was stay in our sort-of air conditioned apartment and watch the Olympics, but we also wanted to explore. We were able to accomplish both by meeting some past interns for an afternoon. They played tour guides, ordering great food and drinks and showing us some of their favorite spots. We ended the day and our adventure with a near miss allergic reaction for Greta, yikes. We were happy to return but sad for the amazing experience to come to an end.

Where to next!?