vamos a la playa! : san sebastian, spain and biarritz, France

Being from Chicago, Ive learned to associate thanksgiving break with football games, first snowfalls, and the beginning of socially acceptable christmas countdowns. Suffice it to say that spending 2 days on the beach doesn't really fit that vision. But after 2 action packed days in the touristy heart of barcelona, my friends and i were eager for the contrast offered by the quaint, more authentically northern spanish beach town of San sebastian. Certainly we deserved the relaxation after successfully making our 7 am sunday morning bus out of barcelona. San sebastians location on the north coast meant we were on the road for 8 hours, but traversing the jaw dropping expanse of the pyrenees definitely broke up the monotony.


Upon finally arriving in San sebastian, we trudged over to our hostel to realize that it had closed for siesta. Talk about an introduction to Spanish culture. To kill time, my friends and i wandered around a quaint boardwalk next to the town centre. With kids playing on a carousel overlooking the empty beach and only a few others walking around, the waterfront was really still and serene. We continued on until we discovered a scenic road on a beachless coast, where huge square rocks block the waters path and a hulking mountain looms in the distance.

Afterward, we finally set ourselves up in our hostel, of which we were the only guests for the night. Certainly a benefit of traveling in the off season. We walked back along the beach to the town center, which while sedate was still full of families and teenagers enjoying dinner or hanging out outside of this gorgeous cathedral. Overall, an uneventful but relaxing day.

The next morning, we found ourselves en route to biarritz, france. Yes, france. While first walking into town, we'd passed road signs pointing to "Franzia", but aside from a few jokes about boxed wine we hadn't given it much thought. But our host recommended that we cross the border to see this little beach town, so we decided to take a totally random bus trip to biarritz.
And what a good decision that was, as this resort town is absolutely divine. We started the day well with a visit to Frances first coffeehouse for pastries and expensive but absolutely mindblowing coffee (sorry, dunkin). After that, we walked over to the shores, where rocky scenic lookouts protrude onto the water and provide for some views that honestly look created by CGI. As you can tell, these sights kept us occupied for a while.

after filling our cameras and messing around on the rocks, we finally left the shores and headed to a traditional creperie for lunch. Bring a resort town in the beginning of december, the streets were pretty deserted. That said, I was still transfixed by just how cute everything was- from the French style houses to the seaside views and the Gothic chapels. If I ever needed to hide out somewhere, biarritz would be a good choice. 

After lunch at the creperie, we went to the beach for another round of pictures and caught a bus back to San sebastian. My friends and i hiked up this really steep hill hidden among the trees to reach a castle. My quads are still feeling the effects of the climb, but the panoramic view of San Sebstian granted by this stone castle was worth the effort. 

Naturally, it started raining 2 minutes after we reached the very top of the giant hill. Thankfully, we found shelter at our hosts apartment where we watched movies and relaxed before leaving for our overnight bus to madrid. In all, although we didnt approach the two days with any sort of plan, san sebastian and biarritz were enchanting. id never even heard of eitger town before coming to ireland, but i really enjoyed spending a few days just hanging out on the beach and just absorbing the views.