Day 3: Madrid Shopping and Arrival in San Sebastian

We spent Saturday morning leisurely shopping around Madrid. I really enjoy shopping in Spain; the fashion is slightly different than in the States (more colorful and fun) and prices on certain items can be quite reasonable.  We did all our shopping in the Malasana and Chueca districts, on Calle Fuencarral, Augusto Figueroa, Conde Xiquena, Calle Piamonte.  We never made it to the fancier Salamanca district, next time.  All three of us bought a good amount of (similar) things, including the requisite Zara and Mango items, sneakers, Desigual (one of my new favorite stores), and cute clothes from more unique one-off boutiques.

We literally went to 9 different Desiguals on our trip. This is the San Sebastian one.

After shopping, we hopped on the Renfe train for a five hour ride to San Sebastian (about 50 euros each, cheapest directly through Renfe or at the train station).  We stayed at Pension Edorta in the pedestrian-only Parte Vieja district of San Sebastian, right in the middle of all the action.  All the fancier hotels are outside of Parte Vieja, but I was so happy to stay in the heart of everything, as we could easily walk to all the restaurants and bars which proved useful on our several late nights.  The Pension was nice; charming stone and brick walls, clean and spacious with a private bathroom and helpful proprietors.  Only complaints would be that it was a little bit noisy, the beds and pillows were too hard and flat, and the internet didn't work in our room, but those are minor issues.  It was well worth it at 60 euros a night for two people.  Immediately after checking in, we headed to a wonderful meal at Bodegon Alejandro, followed by an exploration of some of San Sebastian's nightlife.

Pension Edorta
Puerto Street 15, 1 floor
20003 Donostia - San Sebastian