The secret to a great experience?

Stop trying so hard.

El Peine del Viento, Sculpture by Eduardo Chillida - where the city of San Sebastián ends and the sea begins.

Happy Saturday!

Coming to you this week on the heels of a great week exploring Navarra and the Basque Country. While I’ve been to Spain a bunch of times before, this was the first time visiting this area.

So much to do in Navarra including golf at Castillo de Gorraiz Club de Golf! (Just outside of Pamplona.)

My husband Eric and I spent the winter watching YouTube videos and reading info about the Navarra and the Basque Country, so when we finally arrived, we were ready to do everything. And, we even ran into one of the YouTubers we’d watched while researching San Sebastián gastronomy. So cool to see Gabriella Ranelli de Aguirre in person at a pintxos bar!!! (Follow her on Instagram or check out her tours if you’re headed to San Sebastián!)

Plus, we had some great tours with area experts, which made us doubly psyched to really experience the essence of the area. Francisco of NIG DMC Tours (serving the Basque Country and Navarra) gave us a tour of the city that has me wanting to tell everyone, “GO TO PAMPLONA!”

On our trip, we visited 2 of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions on this trip: First, Navarra, which is where we explored Pamplona, golfed Castillo de Gorraiz, and where that route of the Camino starts once you cross the French border.

In addition, we were treated to a tour from Jose Mari of El Camino People. He showed us some secret spots in Pamplona that many tourists haven’t heard of. Stay tuned for those, and in the meantime… if you’re interested in doing the Camino de Santiago, contact Jose!

Jose organizes custom tours of the Camino de Santiago.

Next, we hopped on a bus to visit San Sebastian is in the neighboring region: Basque Country (Euskadi). 

On our tours of Pamplona and San Sebastian, we learned first hand why the area is popular for its world class gastronomy - in the form of Pintxos (bite-sized tapas) and Michelin Star restaurants.

In addition to great food and amazing wine (their Txakoli is fabulous!), we also did a deep dive into the culture and history of both Pamplona and San Sebastian. I’ll be writing more about each city, giving you more guide recommendations, and shoutouts to the tourist offices in Navarra and the Basque Country in the future.

But for now…I’ll start with two hot tips:

1. There’s more to Pamplona than the Running of the Bulls (Festival de San Fermin) - there’s a pintxo festival, flamenco festival, and so many others! Chances are if you’re in Pamplona, they’re celebrating something! Plus, I love Pamplona, because it’s a stop along the Camino de Santiago - mark my words, my husband and I will pass through it again when we tackle the Camino Francés.

2. San Sebastián’s location on the sea combined with the infusion of art and culture in every square inch of the city make it a city I know I’ll return to again. Do yourself a favor and book a trip there this year so you can take part in their “Chillida 100” celebration and tribute to Eduardo Chillida, one of Spain’s most influential artists of the 20th Century. A m a z i n g. More to come on that!

A visit to San Sebastián is not complete without a visit to Chillida Leku - the unique museum with the works of Eduardo Chillida. Be sure to get his book as well. His writings are as inspirational as his art.

All of the tours were amazing.

But here’s the deal. And I think this happens a lot to travelers.

Despite all of the excellence that was going on around me, it wasn’t until a morning run that I figured something out about travel and life in general…

San Sebastián por la noche.