On Day 4 we all got a chance to enjoy San Sebastián but it would be our last full day here.

I started the day with a nice walk with my good friend Larry Peery who along with his lovely partner, Gloria Ipock, were joining us on their second trip together and Larry’s third trip with me. Larry and I met in 1983 when we collaborated on back in 1983 with him as the builder and me as architect. Some 34 years later we are still the best of friends. What an absolute pleasure it is to have this time together and enjoy some good chats, some wonderful meals and of course a cigar or two along the way.

We enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and some pastries and then made our way back to the hotel to rendezvous with our ladies for a day of sightseeing and shopping. The girls shopped and had a total blast and I enjoyed the architecture.

We stopped for a nice glass of wine and some spritzes and just enjoyed Spain passing by. So nice to just take some time with no rush and just daydream, laugh and chat with two of my most repeat travelers!!! Boy have the four of us had fun over the years and how our lives have changed and transitioned since our first trip together which was in 2012. On that trip to Italy I was still going through my divorce, Isabel was on her first trip with me, and Rebecca had just separated from her husband. Now Isabel and I are happily married, and Rebecca is happily remarried, and Gicela is still just plain happy – as always! I wonder where we will all be five years from now…..?

To finish our time in San Sebastián a group of us booked dinner at the 3 star Michelin restaurant, Akelarre just outside of San Sebastián. https://www.akelarre.net/en/akelarre

Ok first – the architecture and setting are beyond words so even if the food was average I would have been thrilled but then the food comes over a 16 courses and four hours and satisfied is a mere understatement. This is beyond spectacular.

Here was the Menu:

Prawns and Green Beans cooked in “Orujo” Flame and sea roes

Chickpeas and Violet Potato, not Conventional at all

Sourced kokotxa, white Garlic Pil-Pil

Hake in Seaweed stem, Piancton and Oyster Leaf

Squid as a Risotto, Butter Flower

Grilled Lamb Loin. Salad in Skein. Mushrooms and Sweetbreads

Melting Cupcake

A Different Apple Tart

Add a spectacular sunset, fine wine, and of course our wonderful group of travelers and all the ingredients were in place for one of the most memorable dinners of my life.