Pintxos, Bulls, and Sun

One of our biggest trips of the year was 10 days in Spain. With our friends Shelley and Mike Rosinsky, the four of us travelled from San Sebastian for some beach and relaxation, to Pamplona to run with the bulls, to Madrid, the largest city in Spain where my saw my cousins Melissa and Greg, to Sevilla, where we ate some NY style pizza, to Estepona for some pampering and relaxation (with a few hours stopping in Gibralter), and finally to Malaga where we melted with 100°F temperatures. It was a long trip stopping in 7 cities, but we can now officially check Spain off the list!

Travers and I arrived a day before the Rosinskys, and flew EasyJet from Geneva to Bordeaux, then hopped on a train to San Sebastian. Arriving by mid-afternoon to our hotel, we were pleasantly surprised when our room was on the top floor with a balcony that had views of the ocean just a few blocks away! After soaking in the views, we decided to throw on our bathing suits and head out to Playa de la Concha!









We walked along the beach, taking in the beautiful water, sun, and all the people. After a few hours of sun time, we walked around town for a bit, then headed back to the hotel to shower up and get ready to go out for some pintxos (aka tapas) and sangria for dinner.

We caught a beautiful sunset on our way to the old town area of San Sebastian.  We walked through the cobblestone streets, and stopped at several different restaurants to try as many different pinxtos and sangria we could.

The next day, we slept in, then walked out to Zurriola beach, which was on the other side of the city. A bit more private, and a few less people, we rested and relaxed and got nice and tan. On our way back towards our hotel, we stopped back in old town for a tasty lunch of paella and a sandwich. We ended up sitting in the shade outside the restaurant, and amazingly were getting a little cold, so we ate quickly, and headed back to Playa de la Concha to warm up and wait for the Rosinskys to arrive. 











Once they arrived, we enjoyed some more beach time, then had a cocktail party in our hotel on our balcony.  We enjoyed some local salami and cheese, and soaked in the views of the ocean. Then we headed back to old town to enjoy some more pinxtos and sangria!

After another restful nights sleep, we did the same thing again, wandering through the town, soaking in some sun at the beach, and just relaxing as much as we could. By mid-afternoon, it was unfortunately time for us to leave. So we hopped on a train that would take us to a completely opposite environment, a energy-filled, people-filled city where they let animals run wild through the streets. We were headed to Pamplona!