Whereas I had picked Ireland to drink, dance, and adventure and Momma Himm had picked Barcelona for Gaudi - Hondarribia had been picked to eat, drink, relax, and chillll. In retrospect, it proved to be all that and more.
Situated just outside of San Sebastian in Basque country, Hondarribia sits right on the French border and contains all the beaches and incredible dining of it's larger sister city, minus the tourists. Our hotel, the Hotel Obsipo, looked like a beautiful castle and was a 5 minute cab from the airport and less than a 10 minute walk to the beach (admittedly, the quaint town of Hondarribia is so small you could probably walk the entire thing in less than 45 minutes).
The Hotel Obispo
The beautiful view from our room at the Hotel Obispo
Hondarribia is a quiet town without a lot of tourists and proved to be the perfect place to end our jam-packed Mom Trip 2017. We walked the beautiful streets of old town, wandered to the beach, and eventually ended upon a restaurant at the end of the strip where we treated ourselves a totally decadent and most delicious, necessary, and grandiose 3-course meal (with wine, lots of it,....at 2pm).
The streets of old town Hondarribia
More picturesque views
The beach
Lunch - first course
Lunch 2nd course (3rd course not pictured, though it was also delicious - I forgot to snap a photo before I stuffed it into my face in all of its deliciousness )
After spending a solid three hours at lunch enjoying great food and even better company (love you Momma Himm!), we waddled back to our castle for a brief nap. Upon awakening, we showered, gussied up, and headed back down into town to discover more culinary delights. We happened upon what I can only describe as the most amazing and memorable tapas (or "pintxos" as the Hond arribians call them) I have ever had, in my life. (If you ever visit Hondarribia, the Bar Restaurante Gran Sol is a must stop dinner spot).
(Our first sampling of "Pintxos"- no idea what any of these were but they tasted like straight crack)
(They called this one "the mushroom" - still not really sure why but man was it heavenly)
Upon our third round of pintxos and our umpteenth round of wine (did I mention "the restaurant of the great sun" was delicious and shockingly affordable...and that we had turned into inexecusable gluttons?) we were suddenly onslaughted and overtook by the presence of two dozen middle aged French men singing and having the best night of their lives. Besotted by Momma Himm’s beauty, one by one they attempted to serenade her - their lack of English skills leaving them to rely solely on my elementary Spanish to relay pleasantries. I begged Mom to let us live our best lives and let them take us in their autobus to the discotecta, but ever the voice of reason, Momma Himm politely declined. (She later informed me that autobus doesn’t mean party bus, it’s just a car). As we walked home from our new friends, Momma Himm proudly proclaimed “61 and still got it” (she sure does).
The next day we decided to go to France for a croissant and gelato because, we could. The 10 minute boat across from San Sebastián to France cost less than a Subway sandwich and was a perfect afternoon trip to satiate our pallets for desert and shirtless French men playing volleyball on the beautiful sandy beaches.
Living our best Mommy/Daughter lives!
On the 10 minute ferry to France because, we could!
France
That evening Momma Himm and I treated ourselves to a 61st bday dinner for Momma Himm at the only Michelin star rated restaurant in town. After the first dish which reminded us of sea urchin, lemon meringue, and dirty dish soap we finally got into some dishes that felt worthy of their M-star. Though our waiter clearly thought us to be peasants, he also told us we were his favorite customers of the night. We went to bed that night feeling we had thoroughly left our mark on this beautiful little town. The next morning we packed up and said goodbye - but not forever, Momma Himm and I both agreed this would not be our last Mom trip or time in Basque Country.
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