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 :)
No comments:
Post a Comment