San Sebastián - Food, Surfing and Inhaling the Breath of Life

 “You could make the argument that there is no better place to eat in Europe than the city of San Sebastián. There are more Michelin-starred restaurants per capita here than anywhere on Earth, but even the everyday joints are superb. The love of food, the insistence on the very best ingredients, is fundamental to the culture and to life here.”

Anthony Bourdain

San Sebastián's Santa Clara Island and La Concha Bay

I've been dreaming of vacationing in this Basque coastal city in Northern Spain for a decade. But when I finally made plans to visit in 2020 covid changed everything.

So this year, as soon as it was possible to return to Spain, my cycling buddy Ms. W and I made the trip.

My desire to visit here puts me in good company. Celebrities and Spanish royalty have always made San Sebastián a holiday destination. Isabella II and later Queen Regent Maria Cristina returned for 9 summers living in the Miramar Palace she built for this purpose.

So let me begin with a spoiler alert, after a lifetime of travel, San Sebastián is hands down one of the most beautiful cities I've visited on our planet. It has everything all packaged in a stunning setting. It's architecture is a cool mash-up between the glamorous belle epoque architecture of French Rivera and regal Spain. It's Basque cuisine is worth the trip alone. Crystal clear water fills the bay and is served by a lovely beach that is free of litter. In fact, the whole city is immaculate and mostly graffiti free. 

Oh, and the people are wonderful. 

So, with only two days to visit San Sebastián, we wasted no time. Our visit to San Sebastián bookended a vacation cycling through Rioja Vineyards during harvest, dinner in Excaray's El Portal (Michelin® 2-star) restaurant, a stay in Hemingway's favorite hotel in Pamplona and a visit to Frank Gehry's tour-de-force Gugenheim Museum in Bilbao. 

So good.

We stayed in a lovely beachfront AirBNB and booked a foodie experience to get fully immersed in Basque cooking. We'd learn about eating Pintxo's (vs. Tapas) and visit one of the City's renowned private Gastronomincal Societies.  

What my plans hadn't anticipated was becoming so engaged by the resiliency and incredibly rich history of the Basque people as they continue to emerge from the deep emotional scars inflicted during Franco's nightmarish 39 year "Make Spain Great Again!" dictatorship. 

But that is a much bigger subject than I can cover in this post.

Terminal 4 Madrid's Adolfo Suárez-Barajas International Airport

Our visit, began with an arrival into Madrid's wonderful airport. For those that travel to Europe a lot, Madrid's International Airport is a treasure. Even when my plans do not call for travel in Spain I frequently begin my European vacations here. I take a day or two to kill jetlag, eat well, enjoy art at the Prado and then fly off to wherever I need to be. It all works because fares from Madrid to (almost?) anywhere in Europe are frequently less than a hundred dollars on Air Europa, Iberia or Vueling.

The Beautiful 1905 Maria Christina Bridge Connects the Rail Station to The City

Arrival into San Sebastián (or "Donastia" in Basque) provided immediate clues to the soul of the city. Spacious Boulevards are filled with well tended flowers. There are monuments and tributes to its history and seaside heritage everywhere.

Major Boulevards Separate Pedestrian and Bike Lanes

San Sebastián's regal personna is punctuated by occasional surfers...on bikes. Similar to the Netherlands and Denmark, the proliferation of bicycles (and separate bike lanes) reassured me I was in a good place.

Off to the Surfer's Paradise of Zurriola Beach

After a good nights sleep in a lovely AirBNB Day One was spent strolling La Concha Beach from end to end. 

The View From our AirBNB

Along the lovely promenade locals and tourists enjoy cycling, sunbathing and swimming in the clear waters of La Concha Bay. Walking here is a joy. 

But, also along the way are plaques and memorials commemorating the history of the City good and bad. I was stunned that the infamous Ondarreta Prison had once occupied a beachfront site just below Monte Igueldo within view of Miramar Palace until its demolition in 1948.  

Upon arriving at the base of Monte Igueldo we caught the 1912 era funicular to the top of the mountain.  

The Monte Igueldo Funicular

The top of Monte Igueldo delivers breathaking views in all directions set amidst a 109 year old mountaintop amusement park complete with a lighthouse that looks like a castle tower.

After 13,000 official I-watch steps evening came and we continued on to Old Town to peruse its specialty shops and famous fish markets. 

Evening dinner was Pintxo's and beer. Pintxo's are Basque tapas. Here the "little bites" are bigger and elevated to high art. 

Even in the era of covid, you cannot be lonely when you hop from one bar to another enjoying beer and pintxos!   

Old Town is Home to San Sebastián's Colorful Fresh Fish Markets

Along the way we also found Constitution Plaza with its oddly numbered balconies. The story of the numbers was kind of amazing. The plaza was designed as the location for City Hall and its square was a place for staging special events (like bull fights). And whenever events took place those numbered balconies were sold as boxed seats to spectators. And ticket holders had the right to walk right through your apartment to gain access those balconies!

Constitution Plaza

Incidentally when gambling was made illegal in the 1920's the City purchased and relocated City Hall into the 1887 Belle Epoque grand casino where it remains today. 

Day Two was highlighted by a Basque wine tasting and pintxo AirBNB "Experience" hosted by Luis. 

This was a highlight of our time in San Sebastián. Our experience included a lovely couple from Ireland and newlyweds honeymooning from California. 

Together Luis introduced us to local Rioja wines, hard cider, an amazing 2" thick, melt-in-your-mouth, T-bone steak and a variety of pintxo's beginning with the ubiquitous "gilda". Our time with Luis confirmed once again that the true way to learn about a place is through interaction with locals.

Getting Ready to Enjoy an Amazing Steak

The Steak Came Sizzling to the Table to be Shared

We learned the hallmark of Basque cooking is a reliance on the freshest of seasonal ingrediants, the use of every part of the animal, all cooked precisely with minimal spices. 

Nothing is fussy.

A Delicious Oxtail Pintxo

At the end of our tour Luis escorted us into the private Gastronomical Society he has belonged for most of his adult life. There he proceeded to cook for us. His choice was a thick tuna steak with sauted peppers. All washed down with local cider. 

As these clubs are restricted to invited members and their guests, this special opportunity was not lost on me.

A Local Gastronimical Society in the Era of Covid

After Luis' tour I went back to watch Anthony Bourdain's original episode from San Sebastián. And only then did I realize Bourdain had visited, and cooked in, a club almost exactly like Luis' club. That episode may be found Here. 

 

When I awoke the next morning I realized I had gained a couple of pounds and grown as a human.

 

Now it was time to repack. In the morning meet the fellow cycle tourists from all over the US who would join us for an even deeper dive into this amazing part of the world.

 

Stay tuned postings of the rest of the trip to follow.

 

Roadboy's Travels © 2021

The Biltmore Estate - America's Versailles

George Vanderbilt's "Little Mountain Escape"

The Biltmore House Today

After the Civil War America became a nation of highly concentrated wealth. The industrial revolution and the perfection of vertical monopolies meant America's economy diverted the nations wealth into fewer pockets resulting in grave disparities between classes. This led to the American economy becoming fragile. The result was a series of financial panic's in 1893, 1896, 1901 and 1907. Yet, the rich just continued to get richer. 

Eventually the Great Depression, moves to enable labor unions and congressional moves to limit monopolies began to level the economic playing field. 

This, of course, was in stark contrast to much of America suffering from crushing poverty. The South was recovering from the devastation of the Civil War and rapidly decaying tenements in big cities became overcrowded with immigrants lured to America to supply the rapidly growing nation's industrial appetite for cheap labor.

Mark Twain called it America's "Gilded Age" as a bitingly satirical explanation of the increasing societal polarization of classes separated by "a thin artificial layer of gold".

As history tends to repeat itself, consider that we now live in a nation with an even larger income inequality between rich and poor.

But at the turn of the Century, in places like Newport Rhode Island, and along New York's 5th Avenue, America's "Robber Barons" were in fierce competition to find new ways to demonstrate their vast wealth. 

In 1883 Cornelius Vanderbilt II completed America's largest residence (taking up a full city block on New York's 5th Avenue). Cornelius and his wife christened the house in full King / Queen of France costumes. 

He died 5 years after its completion and his wife continued to live in it. Soon after her passing however, it was demolished to build the Bergdorf Goodman Department Store. The huge edifice endured less than 50 years.

At the same time, after many visits to the mountains of North Carolina with his mother, Cornelius Vanderbilt's brother George imagined the creation of a "little mountain escape" in Asheville NC. And, to this pursuit, George set about spending much of his epic inheritance. 

He retained the same superstar architect Richard Morris Hunt, who had just designed his brother's house. Hunt was also known for designing the base to the Stature of Liberty and the facade to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

He also hired the "father of American landscape architecture" and designer of New York's Central Park,  Frederick Law Olmstead. 

Together his little mountain escape grew in size easily surpassing his own brother's home in New York. And to this day, his Biltmore Estate stands as America's largest private residence. 

To fill the house he sought some of the best artists of the era. John Singer Sargent was enlisted to paint numerous portraits. James McNeill Whistler was also commissioned. His friendship with George grew to the point where George served as a pallbearer at Whistler's funeral. 

 Frederick Law Olmstead

(John Singer Sargent)

George and his team made numerous trips to Europe to acquire art, furniture and ideas. He purchased 125,000 acres and conceived of Biltmore as a self-sustaining estate.

The Atrium

Vanderbilt's French Chateau inspired mountain "escape" ultimately grew to more than 175,000 square feet with 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 54 fireplaces. Construction spanned from 1889-1895.

The Cantilevered Grand Stair 

The home initially featured direct current DC electrical power and lighting (due to Vanderbilt's friendship with Thomas Edison), a bowling alley, gymnasium and an indoor swimming pool.

Dining at Biltmore

The Dining Room

Some of the biggest artistic, industrial and political luminaries of the era were wined and dined at the Estate. Since travel was arduous they might plan to bring their own servants and stay for weeks at a time.

The Billiard Room

The "Bachelor's Wing" at Biltmore included the Billiard Room (complete with secret doors) and an adjacent gun room.                                             

The Gardens and Fish Ponds

(Wedding photos underway on the terrace above, note the bride posing in the photo)

The Immense Indoor Pool 

Indoor pools were rare in the Biltmore era, yet Biltmore had one. I understand that a modern attempt to fill it disclosed that it leaked all 70,000 gallons overnight to a subbasement. Note the amazing brick arch ceiling with ropes hanging down for tired swimmers to hang on to.

The Bowling Alley

The fledgling Brunswick Company personally installed the Biltmore's basement bowling alley. Not yet automated, it required attendants to position themselves behind the flared walls to return the bowling balls and reset the pins.

The family still owns and operates the estate. 

Self guided tours currently begin at $76 if you reserve your arrival time online.

Roadboy's Travels © 2021