THIS IS THE SPAIN YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT! (San Sebastian)

We have just arrived in San Sebastian and we are starting strong with a beach day. This beach is called Zuriola and over there there's La Concha. They're separated by the river and we're surrounded by a lot of lush beautiful mountains. It really is a beautiful city. And we're at the beginning of the summer. The weather is just starting to warm up and the first of the big tourist crowds are coming in. Everybody's on the beach. You have a lot of surfers but despite the amount of people there's still a very chilled relaxed vibe in the city and yeah I gotta say it could be worse than this right now. Life could be harder. The Basque country is an autonomous region stretching across the border of Spain and France. More than a place it's a culture, a cuisine, an identity. San Sebastian or Donostia in Basque sits in its northeastern corner along the Bay of Biscay and they say if you want to eat well in Europe you come here. There are more Michelin star restaurants per capita than anywhere in the world but beyond that there's an everyday appreciation for good food and wine apparent the second you step foot in the city. We are in San Sebastian Old Town. It's a very charming part of the city with a lot of old architecture and pedestrian streets and we are here specifically to eat tapas. A lot of people come here literally just to eat and we are no different. It's a Saturday in the early afternoon and the streets are packed with people and it's so cool to see everyone just out eating and drinking wine. There's a really cool vibe in this town. And mission number one is to go to a place called Gambara which is an Anthony Bourdain favorite. We are opening them up and it's 15 minutes before opening time and there's already a line out the door so I think we made a good decision to come early. These are called pinchos not tapas as I mistakenly put it earlier. Pinchos are small flavorful bar snacks that originated right here in Basque country. They are individual portions usually built on slices of bread or skewered together with a toothpick. They can be creative or hearty and traditional. Made to wash down with a glass of wine or beer. In Old Town, pinchos bars are conveniently located right next to one another so you can easily go on a poteo or bar crawl. Start to show what this restaurant is known for. Different varieties of wild mushrooms with a ring. Don't mind if I do. You gotta absolutely soak that in egg yolk. Oh my god. It is so simple but the ingredients are so fresh and then you've got a little crunchy sea salt and herbs on top. It is just it is a magnum opus. Well this was amazing. The hype is real about San Sebastian but this tapas crawl is not over yet. We will be going around the rest of Old Town now hitting up different restaurants. We are at La Cuchara de San Telmo, our second tapas stop and they are very famous for one thing which I will show you very soon. You can see the charm of these tapas stops is they're kind of crowded. There's no tables. You stand. It's very casual. First come first serve ordering at the bar and I'm excited. We are embracing the chaos. I'm embracing it. I'm trying to survive it. Oh my gosh. Damn I should have gotten the small. Okay this looks very exciting. It is an octopus grilled with some olive oil and herbs. Brings a tear to your eyes this one. Again, not too many spices. Just beautiful natural flavors. And the star of the show, the suckling pig. It's a pig that's between two to six weeks old that is still nursing and you can see there's just this amazing crispy skin and like pale delicious meat. Oh my lord. Cheers. Thank you for this. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. There's a little sweetness from a jam or something similar. It's amazing. It's amazing. Spot number three. Let's freaking go. Okay can we get a sea urchin? Yes please. Really good. This is the pincho that started it all. The original. Meet the hilda. Invented in San Sebastian in the 1940s. It's simple but packs a punch. Pickled green peppers, anchovies, and lots and lots of fresh olive oil. Oh boy. Okay. Bread and jalapeño. Okay so you eat the bread first and then you eat it. Okay. This is very unique to the Basque region. Oh wow. I think we did good work today. Ate at three spots. Really put away some serious food and it was really delicious. I really see the hype about the cuisine here in San Sebastian. You should come. It's really good. Some cava to wash it down. The Basque country stretches across parts of both Spain and France, which means locals speak both Spanish and French. And then there's Basque, a mysterious language with no known relatives. Whenever I travel somewhere new, I enjoy learning a bit of the local language. If you like to do that as well, you should check out the sponsor of this video, Lingopi. If you don't know Lingopi, it's a streaming service where you can learn a new language by watching movies and TV shows. They have over 3,000 of them in 13 languages, like Spanish, which I used to prepare for this trip to Spain. Think of it as the Netflix of language learning. I always turn on dual subtitles for side-by-side translations, which makes it really easy to learn new vocabulary. And if you don't know a word, you just hover over it like this. And if you click on the word, it saves to a flashcard that you can then use to practice later. Before coming to San Sebastian, I watched several Spanish movies on Lingopi. With their native content from many Spanish-speaking countries and their features, I was actually able to pick up a few phrases that I then used on this trip. They also have a feature called Netflix Select, where you can watch your favorite Netflix shows using Lingopi's tools. This lets you learn how real locals actually speak with authentic accents and slangs. And you can watch on both your TV and your laptop, which makes learning super flexible. Join me on Lingopi's seven-day free trial and start learning how real locals speak. Plus, you'll get 55% off your yearly plan if you sign up today. We are in line for what some say is the most epic steak in the entire world. We got here an hour early and we were not alone. There was a crazy line. So we got in one line to put in a food order, and now we're in a second line to get a table, essentially. So, yeah, pro tip, I don't know, get here two hours early, something like that. While waiting for the best steak in the world, we stumbled upon a cultural festival in the middle of Old Town Square. You've got snacks, you've got live performances, people are out and about today. Two hours later, we are back for our steak. Hello, darling. How are you? To start, a very fresh tomato salad with olive oil and thick, crunchy salt. Let's see. So simple and so surprisingly delicious. Oh, my gosh. What did they do with the tomatoes? It's so good. Oh, my God. Take a look at that. Served rare, sizzling. Amazing. Let's go strong with this one. All right. Cheers. Oh, yeah. Look at this. Did you see that one cut? Did you see that one cut? Look at that. How soft it is. Yes, yes. That's my wife right there. Yeah, I just don't know how this could improve. It's just it's like a once in a lifetime steak. A quick 20 minute drive from San Sebastian and you're in France. The road here hugs the coastline winding past bright blue sea, jagged cliffs and sleepy surf towns. The Aritz, with its casinos by the beach, is the big draw in this region. We pass on that and head inland to Bayonne instead, a small city full of charm. Basque identity exists on both sides of the border. But here, there's a particular rustic French flair that sets it apart. One of the craziest and also coolest things about traveling in Europe is that within a 30 minute drive, you can be in a whole new country with its own language and a completely different vibe. So now 45 minutes from San Sebastian, we are in Bayonne, France, which is a very quaint small town in the heart of Basque country. And you can see it's very charming and very beautiful. And I'm excited to explore here a little bit. We've arrived at one of the centerpieces of Old Town. This is the Saint Marie Cathedral, and it is beautiful. It is built in the gothic architectural style, and it just towers over everything else here. Really, the town is just dripping with charm. It's small, the streets are pedestrian, so it's very easy to just wander around and get lost. There will literally be something so cute around every corner. I do love plazas like this. You can find them all over Europe. And I think this is one thing that the US is kind of missing. It's like a central gathering place where people sit outside and socialize. There's no rush, you can hang out for hours. And it just builds this very communal feeling that's hard to find where we're from. Gosh, it is just so beautiful here, especially at the waterfront with all of these cute old houses. So charming. Really feels like I'm in a fairy tale. I think we're gonna take a nice slow afternoon, get some wine and cheese, and just enjoy the sunshine. We've sat down at this waterfront bar. Very picturesque, isn't it? And I've gotten a glass of rosé. Doesn't look like rosé, but it is. We're having our hot girl Europe summer. We've gotten some jambon, which is really special to this part of France. It's kind of like the French Basque Country counterpart to Spanish jamón. It's thinly sliced salt-cured ham, and it's served with some nice cheese and bread. I don't know. I really can't think of anything I'd rather be doing right now than this. Cheers. Delicious. Savory, a little nutty. There's a slight sweetness to it. Birds here are French bread fed, and they know where to get it. The wine here goes down so smooth. French Basque cuisine is distinct from Spanish Basque, and before leaving the region, we head to a local restaurant for a comforting home-style meal. We found a lovely restaurant amongst the quaint streets of Bayonne Old Town for lunch, and I'm excited. A little mocha. Even the cups here are cute. So French Basque cuisine is a little bit different from Spanish Basque cuisine. Spanish Basque cuisine is really seafood-focused. You have a lot of the pinchos, the small plates, and here the food is obviously French-influenced, as they're in France, and it's very drastic, heavy, delicious country food, as you can see. So rich. So delicious. I think they put a little butter on there too. It's amazing. And the seasoning is so simple. There's a little rosemary, some fresh chives, a little garlic, sea salt. 10 out of 10. It's chef's kiss. We got suckling pig and stewed pork cheese with a mountain of fries on both plates. You can see very rustic country food. Cheers. Proper clunk of meat right here. It's like a no-joke portion size. We got this dessert. It's a chocolate and pear tart. Cheers. It's just so delicious. It has the flaky crust, the flan, almost like a creme brulee texture, pear, and then gooey, bittersweet chocolate. This is randomly the chocolate capital of France. They're very well-known for their chocolate here. So this is just like ooey-gooey and delicious. Unfortunately, we have to depart from Bayonne today. It would be such a nice place to hang out for a few weeks and just live a slow, relaxed life. But I'm very grateful to have discovered it because I've never heard of Bayonne before. It was just recommended to us by a random person that we met in San Sebastian and how lucky are we that we got to come here and see all of this. It really is just like old world European charm. San Sebastian is beautiful. The city curves around La Concha Bay, a crescent framed by two rugged headlands, each offering sweeping views of the fishing, whaling, shipbuilding, and trade once defined the city. Today, its relationship with the sea is quieter, but no less vital. And the best way to take it all in is by boat. We take a sunset tour on a boat owned by a husband and wife duo called Bray. It's so cool to see the city from this perspective and to see the natural landscape. It's just so beautiful, surrounded by mountains, built on beaches. It's really lovely. And even more beautiful at sunset. Thank you. It's cava time. Gracias. Learned a new cheers today. It's topa in Basque. Cheers. Not a bad place to watch the sunset. You could find yourself in worse places in the Basque country in the summertime. If you like stunning landscapes, experiencing two distinct cultures side by side, and arguably some of the best food on the planet, this is your place.