Santander: My First Time Out of the Basque Country!

Last weekend I left the Basque country for the first time for Santander! Located in Cantabria, west of Bilbao but still right along the north coast, Santander is a wonderful city.  It is the perfect combo of beaches, mountains, and a nice little city with beautiful architecture and so many kind and welcoming people!

Meet my tour guide for my stay: Antonio!

A last minute find on my favorite site, couch surfers!  Not only did he give me a free place to stay (my own room and everything!) but he showed me all the sites his city has to offer, for the low cost of one beer per hour! Okay, maybe I didn’t buy him that many beers, but I tried my best to pay him back.

We walked all around the city, taking in the sights, and I enjoyed every minute of it! We went to a small, outdoor, free zoo-type-thing that had sea lions, a penguin that may or may not have been alive, and ducks! Where I come from ducks are in every pond you see, but hey! I guess in Spain they are more exotic? There were amazing views of the beach and the ocean from here too. This was my first trip where I was able to get some pictures with me in them! (Thanks Antonio!) 

We went to a huge palace that was constructed for the King but is now used as a library for a University.

Inside the Palace.. not sure who these people are, but i'm looking good!

After getting a HUGE ice cream cone (Hazelnut for me!) we took a ferry to a Peninsula across from the city called Somo. It was a less crowded beach with a couple of bars and drunk twenty-something men singing Spanish songs. Antonio and I took a long walk around the peninsula (which for a while I thought was an island). I took pictures, talked politics, and enjoyed the sand between my toes!

Then Antonio took me up what I would call an ‘incline’… but I think that is just the name of the one in Pittsburgh that I’m used to.  I’m not really sure what they’re actually called. But it’s like a slanted elevator up a small mountain. There I got some of my favorite pictures from my trip! Including what is now my facebook cover photo, haha.

We took a small rest back at Antonio’s place and headed out to meet up with some other couch surfers and some locals to celebrate the festival! The rest of the night was a little more walking, a lot more talking, some yummy pinchos and a few drinks!

The next morning I parted ways with my wonderful host and got some breakfast then went to the beach for a few hours before it was time to catch my bus home. 

My short weekend trips to nearby cities have absolutely been my favorite part of living in Spain for the summer :)

Vizcaya Bridge

These are pictures from a recent excursion with my girls.

We went to the Vizcaya Bridge in Portugalete!

It is a suspension bridge which people use to get back and forth between the rich and poor sides of the city separated by the Nervion river. 

It is the worlds oldest transporter bridge and 

it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

If you're interested in learning more about it you can read here

We were able to take an elevator to the top of the bridge for beautiful views!

SAN FERMIN: The Biggest Party in Spain

Last weekend was San Fermin! It was a much needed weekend of partying and being with other travelers. San Fermin is a festival held in Pamplona, Spain, about a three hour trip away from where I’m staying in Gorliz. It is most famous for the running of the bulls! For me, this weekend was not about the traditional “events” like the bull fighting and running with the bulls, but about meeting up with other travelers and having the opportunity to see a new city with others my own age. It was such a relief to talk with people that spoke English perfectly. I even met two other au pair girls from the States.

I had been planning to meet up with other travelers on Couch Surfers. If you’re not already familiar with this site, it connects people from all around the world. It allows travelers to search for people that are willing to host them for a night or a weekend. The traveler can get a free place to stay as well as meat a local and learn about their city. It is a community based on trust and the common goal of seeing the world, and showing your world to others. I absolutely love it! It also offers a place to create activities and meet ups. This Pamplona “meet up” group of couch surfers had planned where and when to meet on different days.

As I got off my bus, I was twenty minutes early for the meet up so I walked around for a few minutes before just settling in the meet up spot. It took me about ten minutes to realize there were two guys sitting right next to me holding up a little sign facing the other way. “What does your sign say?” I asked. They faced it towards me, “CS”. Couch surfers! And that was the beginning to a great weekend!

The first guys I met were from Argentina and London, then a few minutes later a guy from Michigan, and another from Sweden showed up. We made our way to a four start hotel room. Oh, does that not sound right? That was not a typo.. a group of couch surfers known for staying with people for free stayed at a beautiful four star hotel room. How? On the couch surfers meet up discussion, a fellow couch surfer from Germany was going to stay the night and had booked a hotel room. His flight got canceled and he wasn’t going to make it. It was too late to cancel his reservation so he gave it to couch surfers, for FREE! 

The four boys went to take a nap at the hotel, still exhausted from the night before. I wandered around the crowded streets taking pictures and taking in the sights and entertainment. There were street performers on every corner: dancers, singers, musicians, and other weird little attempts at making some money off the huge amounts of people that come to their city to celebrate (check out the videos below!). Everyone wore white and red (including me). I mean everyone. I saw one or two people that were wearing normal clothes and everyone stared at them. Good thing I googled “what to wear to San Fermin”.

The next meet up, I was the one with the sign. Being the only female couch surfer at the time, my skills at writing “CS” were the highest. Next came two guys from India, an Armenian guy who grew up in Syria but was living in France (that took the whole weekend to get straight), and from there it’s a long list. But at one point there was a group of over twenty also including people from Mexico, Brazil, Ireland, Germany, and the States.

Then it was time to get the partying started. With a large bottle of Sangria in hand, we began to have a good time! 

When in Pamplona…

As the night went on, we followed bands through the small and busy streets dancing and drinking! There were water guns filled with wine and beer being squirted into everyone’s mouths. Good luck trying to stay sober at a festival like San Fermin!

I was dancing through the streets and clinging bottles for a cheers with people from all over the world. We were all so different, but had so many common goals. To see the world, meet new people, try new things, and have a great time!

So the next morning I may have missed watching the 7am bull run due to seven people sleeping through three alarms… but like I said, that wasn’t really why I was there!

“We’ll always have Pamplona!” 

A Day in Vitoria-Gasteiz!

This was my first day trip outside of Gorliz flying solo. My host father luckily had to go into Bilbao to buy some things so he dropped me off at the bus station. “Un ticket para Vitoria por favor!” (I had rehearsed that once or twice). I took a short 45 minute ride to the green capital of Europe 2012: Vitoria. What the bus ride lacked in culture (comparing it to my bus and combi riding days in Africa full of African music, chickens at my feet, and people trying to sell me things at every stop) it made up for in ease and comfort.

            My only goals were to see the contemporary art museum, walk around, and take pictures; nothing too difficult. I had printed a map with a highlighted path of how to get to the tourist office for some real maps. I stepped off the bus and of course I was already lost. I ended up just walking until I found signs for “oficina de turismo”. Over an hour after getting maps and just wondering around trying to find the popular cathedrals, etc. I realized I had the map facing the wrong way and I wasn’t even looking at what I thought I was. But hey, I just wanted to see the city so it didn’t matter much to me.

            After wondering around for a few hours, going to the Atrium: a contemporary art museum, going into a few little shops and a beautiful church, I wanted to try my Spanish and order some pinxtos at a bar! I walk in and see my fav: tortilla de patata but this one had cheese and ham inside! The guys that were talking at the bar all stare at me. I point saying, “Cuantos… cues….?” The bartender laughs, “Yeah, cuanto cuesta.” From then on he explained everything in English and I responded in English. “How much does this cost?” I had practiced that a million times! Oh well, I got an amazing tortilla de patata at Mallory’s and the guy even gave me a huge slice, I think he may have felt bad for me or something. With bread and a drink it only costs 3.50 Euros!

            Right next door I was eyeing this ice cream place called HUMMM. It was empty… less people to embarrass myself in front of maybe? I went in and ordered this yummy gelato, one scoop of Oreo and one of dolce de leche. I used my little bit of Spanish and a lot of pointing. Me and the young girl working there ended up laughing as I said, “No hablo espanol muy bien” and she explained in Spanish that she doesn’t know any English. I liked that better than the bartender just automatically talking to me in English. I’d rather struggle with the Spanish. That night when I returned home I even tried looking to see if HUMMM has other locations near Gorliz… it doesn’t look like it, but I’ll be on the lookout. It was worth the calories for sure!

Picture taken from HUMMM's website 

Where to for my next weekend getaway? Pamplona for San Fermin to watch the running of the bulls!