For the past 100 years or so, San Sebastián has been a beautiful place for the beautiful people to come for a little rest and relaxation. We’re not part of the “beautiful people” crowd, but we’re headed to San Sebastián, anyway. Why should they have all the fun?
In a few kilometers, the GPS lady with the posh British accent is going to tell us to take Exit 27 to San Sebastián.
If the GPS lady spoke Euskara, the Basque language, she’d tell us to take Irten 27 to Donastia. We’re in Spanish Basque Country. The road signs here are in both Spanish and Euskara.
Starting from Scratch
As recently as 1813, San Sebastián was nothing but burnt out buildings and rubble. British and Portuguese armies had teamed up to stop Napoleon Bonaparte and the French army. Napoleon had taken the city for France 5 years earlier.
The British and Portuguese troops succeeded in throwing out the French, but then to celebrate, I suppose, they ransacked the city and burnt it to the ground.
Now in Spanish hands, the king of Spain took a personal interest in rebuilding San Sebastián. Just across the border, the French had their destination for the rich and famous – Biarritz. The king thought that maybe San Sebastián could become the Spanish version of Biarritz. It could, and it did.
The rich, famous, and royally connected flocked to San Sebastián. And why not? The city had been rebuilt in grand fashion. They could find elegant accommodations along two pristine beaches nestled in a small natural bay.
The crowd we’re talking about needed to eat, just like the rest of us. Well, not exactly just like the rest of us. We’d need to up our game a few notches before we’ll be sharing a table with these guys.
Who’s Gonna Feed ‘Em?
So along with the rich and famous came the world’s great chefs to feed them. And they stuck around. Today, San Sebastián has the second-highest number of Michelin star restaurants per capita in the world.
(Guess which city has the most Michelin star restaurants per capita? Hint: it’s not Paris. It’s Kyoto, Japan).
We’re going on a foodie tour in San Sebastián tonight. I don’t know about visiting any Michelin star restaurants, but we’ll definitely be sampling some pintxos.
But First…
We have some unfinished business remaining from last time. Rather than being in a province or department, San Sebastián is officially in Spain’s “Basque Autonomous Community.” What’s that, and what’s up with that?
To answer those questions, we’ve already traced Basque history up into the 19th century. Much of twentieth century Spain was a mess – one nightmare after another. Not unlike much of 20th-century Europe, but most of Spain’s problems were internal.
Spain had it’s own civil war from 1936 to 1939. There aren’t many things worse than a civil war, but one of them would be a civil war that ends with Francisco Franco being the victor.
Franco established himself as dictator, eliminated any political opposition, and established a fascist government. He managed to stay in power for the next 36 years. When a leader remains in charge for that long, it never ends well.
Under the long reign of Franco in Spain, Basque survival was always in the balance. The notion of Basque independence became a distant memory. But in spite of it all, a spark remained.
To be continued…
