It must be impossible not to fall in love with San Sebastián. From surfing to sightseeing, not to mention more Michelin stars per square mile than anywhere else in the world, the Spanish town has everything and as the destination of one of the Moliets surf camps weekly day trips, it never disappoints. Every week, a coach of surf holiday guests leaves Moliets for an evening of pinchos and partying and, every week, the trip away from the surf camp provides some of the week’s best entertainment and, more often than not, a few funny stories too.
This week however, the trip was a little different. As well as the usual tapas crawling and sunset watching, the trip coincided with the closing night of the town’s annual jazz festival. With the prospect of a closing set from the legendary Charles Bradley, unsurprisingly the trip proved one of the most popular yet and so it was that, on Sunday afternoon, over sixty staff and surf camp guests made their way to the culinary capital of Basque Country.
As usual, the trip started with a tour of the town’s tapas bars. Beginning at Bar Txalupa, home of the best Spanish tortillas in San Sebastián, before moving on to the main square and its famous solomilo; a miniature steak, topped with a miniature egg, onion chutney and finished off with a side of perfectly cooked chips. Then, since every meal needs a dessert, it was time to visit Glaceria Belvedere for some of their delicious homemade ice creams, sorbets and frozen yoghurts.
Our giant helpings proved to be much needed for the second part of the evening; a hike up Monte Igeldo to watch the sun set over Ondaretta Beach. With San Sebastián being in Basque Country, a region known for its stormy skies, our expectations weren’t high and were more than exceeded by the view that greeted us; the sun slowly sinking into the glistening waves of the Atlantic, bathing the narrow streets, spires and towers of San Sebastián in dreamy orange and purple hues. It was a view no Instagram filter could do justice, despite most of our best efforts.
