A Weekend in San Sebastian

April 2017

Towards the end of my time on my Workaway, myself and the new Japanese workaway Nioko asked for a weekend off so we could do some touristing. We had worked out that it would be fairly easy to get to San Sebastian as we were so close to the Spanish border anyway, so we decided to go for it!
I'd heard of the town and knew it was firmly on the tourist map, but aside from this I knew nothing about it.















We arrived in the late afternoon and walked the short ten minutes from the city center where our hostel was meant to be. At first we couldn't find it at all, there were no signs and we were worried we may have been ripped off (having prebooked it online) however we finally saw the hostel name stuck to one of the buzzers on an apartment complex! It was very small with only a couple of rooms (each dorm room fitted eight however) and the owner was very nice, happily giving us a map of the city and recommending his favourite eateries!
Nioko had a beautiful camera perfect for close-up shots and she was kind enough to send me her food photos after our trip - all food shots within this post are therefore her excellent photography!

















Our first stop was to the Pintxo (tapas) bars, where we were eager to try out the food San Sebastian is famous for! The city has so many Michelin starred restaurants it felt a bit ridiculous, however with our budget just slightly below the lofty reaches of Michelin, we headed for the quainter style of eatery.

















We didn't do too much that day beyond wandering and eating (far too much as we were too excited to choose what to eat so tried as many as we could!) We had an early night so as to make the most of the next day, and I was pleasantly surprised that the beds were comfortable and clean, and the lockers all had locks on them so we didn't have to worry about our stuff. The rooms were co-ed and I was soon forced to stuff my earplugs in to block out the snores, but aside from that our roommates were quiet and we were able to sleep well.
We decided to head to the iconic mountain around the bay as we had heard the views from the top were spectacular. We knew there was an old funicular that would take us up the hill, so we decided to walk to the base rather than taking a bus. It was a ridiculously beautiful day and already felt like summer, allowing us to enjoy our beach-side stroll immensely.















The small mountain of  Monte Igueldo dominated the town, and upon reaching it I was rather glad we were taking the funicular up! It was also incredibly sunny and I was starting to wonder if I'd applied enough sunscreen. The funicular had been running since the 1920s, and gave us a lovely old-fashioned and slow paced trip up the hillside.

























I was surprised and somewhat dismayed to find the hilltop had been taken over by children's fun-rides and looked like a mini Disney-land. However if you climbed a little higher, these dropped away and we were left with spectacular views.
















Obligatory photo-of-ourselves-in-front-of-something-cool completed, we admired the views for a little longer before heading back down.

















With perfect timing, we realized it was now lunch time, and the chance to try more food!

















A few hours of slowly picking our way through every Pintxos that appealed, we decided to push our limits further with one of the town's specialties, cheesecake at 'La Vina'.















Feeling completely stuffed, we stumbled to the beach and napped the afternoon away in the sun, watching the surfers jealously (well, maybe that part was just me!)

For our last night in San Sebastian, we decided to head to what we had heard was the best cheap Pintxos bar in town, Borda Berri. This quickly became my favourite restaurant that we tried, as although the bar was so crowded (a problem we found at every place at lunch and dinner-time however) that we were literally squished upright as if we were on the London Underground at 5pm, the food was so damn good it was worth both the wait and the crowds! Drinking cheap beer didn't hurt either.
Unlike the other bars we had been to, there was no food on the counter and instead the Pintxos were made fresh, and although a little more expensive (by which I mean 3.50 per dish rather than 1-2.50) they were also larger (and much, much nicer!) Every single thing we tried was to die for, but the fresh grilled Octopus blew me away, and was easily the best I've ever tried.

















We had befriended a couple of our dorm-mates that morning, and decided to all go out for a drink after dinner together, as it was everyone's last night in town.
Keiko headed off to bed early, so before too long we felt like the start of a bad joke - 'an American, a Kiwi and a Frenchman walk into a bar...' Jokes aside, it was a lovely evening and a wonderful trip overall!

Workaway Part III: Food, glorious food!

It seems over the top to make an entire post about food, but in this case I think it's deserved. Working in the kitchen everyday, I learned so much, from vinaigrettes to tips for what to do if my mayonnaise started to split.  

One of the first things I learned how to make was proper sauce. This took at least a full day to make, but it was well worth the time, becoming the most delicious sauce I'd ever tasted. It was also not cheap to make, and as such I haven't replicated it since. However its in my little book of notes, and one day I will make it again! 

I was extremely excited to finally try snails, I had sampled them once before in Greece and rather liked them, however I wanted to try the traditional and famous french method with the delicious garlic butter. We made our own version of the garlic butter, which turned out to have far more ingredients in it then I expected, included finely chopped gherkins! Everything was so well mixed and chopped it turned into an incredibly delicious butter that you really wouldn't have had any idea what was in it. And this turned out to be the best part - the snails were fine (though devilishly difficult to get out of their shells) and honestly didn't taste like all that much. You were really eating them simply to douse them in the butter, which was nice, but probably not something I would go out of my way to eat again. 

The amount the guests were given to eat was nothing short of astounding; starting with an 'amuse-bouche' to begin this culinary endeavour, we made all sorts of things from twisted cheese straws to little toasts with salmon and cream cheese, or our own home-made Foie Gras with white-wine jelly on top (pictured below) there was something incredible about the just-solid white wine jelly exploding sweetly in your mouth as you took a bite - I was a fan!

Secondly came the appetizer, from the Dutch 'Bitterballen' to homemade Focaccia bread, this was served with complimentary bubbly. Next the guests were seated at their table, and the first course was presented. Soup or veggies were our common concoction, white asparagus soup being one of my favorites. And then the main dish, which was usually ridiculously large and I was secretly impressed whenever guests cleared their plates. 

From Steak Tartare to Beef Wellingtons (which had so many steps they took two days to make) main course was always ridiculously impressive. 

And lastly, the dessert. My favourite course to make, I picked up lots of lovely new recipes along the way, from New York Cheesecake, strawberry and basil sorbet to homemade profiteroles (which are much harder to pipe correctly than you would expect!).

One of my favourite new things that I was able to do was using a blow-torch to caramelize my Crème Caramel! The torch we were using wasn't one of those tiny kitchen ones, but quite a large one which made it rather terrifying but also satisfying!

And of course, my surroundings were as beautiful as ever! All of food was locally sourced, from the local bakery, butchery, fruit and vegetable shop, and of course sometimes the supermarket.
The local butchery was in the nearby town of  Oleron-Sainte-Marie, an old local town with medieval houses and streets perched on the river, making it lovely to wander.

As they days passed and the snow on the mountains began to recede, the signs of Spring were everywhere. When the flowers all began to bud and flower, the smell (and view!) from the windows was just spectacular!

Workaway Part II: Visiting the surrounding countryside

April 2017

On the rare occasion that we had some hours off (which often occurred on Sundays) we would sometimes spend a few hours visiting their many friends in the region. I really loved these times as it gave me a glimpse into the culture and everyday lives of these people, and also took me to new places I would never otherwise see!
One of my first experiences with this was at a nearby little town where we stumbled across medieval tunnels! There was almost no signposting, and we could only go so far in before the ground turned very wet, where we then realized we didn't have the correct tools for continuing. One day I would love to return with the proper footwear and lanterns.

Early one morning the car needed to be serviced in Pau, so I jumped at the offer to come along and see a new town. We were up at sunrise, affording me an absolutely stunning view from the chateau, before setting off. I was dropped off in the town while the work on the car was done, allowing me to wander at will - just the way I liked it!

Pau was an old city with a small medieval centre and beautiful views across the Pyrenees and a long boulevard from which to enjoy the panorama. 

The town itself was established in the 12th century and grew out from the castle which was built for its strategic location for fording the river into Spain. This area would have been occupied far longer, however the material archaeology only dates back to this time. 

Today, it is a pleasant and bustling town that makes a very pleasant day trip of getting lost down the backstreets (the chateau is by guided tour only, so I didn't bother). 

On another of our little trips, we went to meet some Spanish friends of my hosts, who owned their own Chambre D'hote in the nearby mountains. It was fantastic to get to see the alpine landscape up close, and see the beautiful scenery that this area of France is known for.

The weather in the mountains was far more changeable than I was used to, and although at the start of our drive it was beautiful, by the time we had arrived a storm (and torrential rain) was well on its way. 

This only served to make the scenery even more dramatic however, and our coffee inside all the more cosy. 

Our last trip of note was to a Dutch couples house, who were firm friends with my hosts. They lived in a renovated watermill, with the river rushing right past (and under) their house, creating a stunning view!