Blogs from San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain, Europe - page 12

because it's such a GORGEOUS day today! After red warnings yesterday about crazy winds and a storm, today is calm and beautiful; I just got back from spending a good chunk of my day in the sun but sadly, I have a 10 pg. paper to write (in Spanish of course) about Velazquez and the Gold Centuries in Spain... boo... this week is actually feeling very school-like, imagine that haha. Thursday I did something very authentically Basque-I went to a sideria (cider house). Sidra (sEE-drah) is alcoholic apple cider and is especially popular in the north. The season for sidra is from about the beginning of Feb. to April. We went with a few locals around 9:30pm to one which was a 10-15 min walk from the university. The first thing you do when you walk ... read more

Finally have arrived in España, but first have to recount a little fro, Bordeaux. After another crepe breakfast Laetitia drove me from Le Mans to the toll booth leading to the main highway to Bordeaux (all major highways in France are tolled, and at very expensive rates; not to mention gas is about 1.30 euors/L, but at least the toll stations make great hitchhiking spots) and she didnt even have time to get back into her car after saying bye before Sammy, a trucker from Belgium heading to Toulouse, picked me up. Like everyone who I've met from Belgium, he spoke great English which made the ride fun. At another toll station on that route it had been about 10 minutes of waiting (the longest yet) when a French authority truck pulled over. The man who ... read more

SAN SEBASTIAN Day 11 I woke up to the rain still pouring down but San Sebastian is beautiful even with the rain so I ventured out anyways. My roommates were a group of Japanese teens studying Spanish. The communication in the room was slightly entertaining with me trying to speak some Spanish and them trying to speak some English. I headed out to the waterfront, Playa de la Concha and Playa de Ondarreta. People here seem to really enjoy active lifestyles. There were all kinds of people running, biking, walking, and even swimming. Lots of people were out at the beach with their dogs running around, which made me miss my fuzz balls back at home. From the beach I headed up Monte Urgull, which has a statue of Christ at the very top. The ... read more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp6wXH15qLc This link is from last night. We were in the main plaza where they raised the flag. It was raining and raining, but everyone was out and it was still really fun. Mary and I went with a French student she lives with to el parte vieja where most of the festivities are. We then followed this parade of people dressed as chefs into the plaza where we banged our drums along with the music until 1am. I wish I knew the words, but they are all in Basque =( I will say that I won't be sad if I never hear those songs again... the few songs were repeated over and over and over and over. Then we went to some bars/dance places and met up with a group of USAC kids. At about ... read more

Yesterday was a fabulous day, just fabuuuulouuuus! I found out that my other suitcase came as well! I'll pick it up on Monday when the USAC office opens. Man, a week without luggage sure gave me new perspective.... now I know how much my leather boots and skinny jeans mean to me.... hah! Kidding, but really... Yesterday we went out for a night on the town. Spain showed us a good time, for sure. We went to some bars with a big group of USAC people and then to a dance club off the beach. Just relaxed today and went to the gym to ride the bike. The daughter has a pass there but is Berlin for school so she doesn't use it so I get to-wootwoot. Here are some pics of San Sebastian. I'll take ... read more