Blogs from Cantabria, Spain, Europe - page 8

Hola a todos, Last weekend I visited Santander, the capital city of the region of Cantabria, located on the northern coast of Spain. For the 2010-11 school year I will be spending another year in Spain working as an assistant English teacher, only this time in Cantabria. I've not yet received my specific school placement for next year but I'm hoping to live in Santander because it's a lively city in a beautiful area on the coast. Cantabria as a region is small enough that most of the people in my program are able to live in the city, regardless of where they are teaching. I wanted to know more about the program in Cantabria and was able to get in touch with a girl in my program named Alissa who is living in the city ... read more

Our last full day in Cantabria started once again with breakfast, but this time we were afterwards bussed to the Fundación Marcelino Botín. Being a foundation started by the owners of Banco Santander, the foundation has a lot of money and seems to have set up tons of organizations in the city of Santander for the promotion of language, culture, and whatnot. There we heard from the Director General and sat through two presentations by ETAs discussing our break-out session experiences. Finally the conference was closed. From there we were transported to Comillas, a northern municipality where the Fundación Comillas, which is dedicated to promoting Hispanic culture worldwide, has taken control of the former Jesuit Pontifical University. We first had a tapas-esque lunch of fish "pudding", squid, a goat cheese salad, flan, and copious amounts of ... read more

Well Andorra, I like you, but now it's time for a 4 month affair with Santander, Berlin, Vienna, and Chicagoland. That being said, yesterday we began our journey to Santander, in Spain's region of Cantabria on the northern coast. This part of Spain is known as being "green" due to its wet climate and therefore lush vegetation. To be honest it is extremely reminiscent of Newport - lots of money, lots of beautiful homes and buildings, and lots of old people. Though I have been here once in 2006 while studying abroad in Spain, I honestly remember almost nothing and am very much looking forward to a few days on the coast. Naturally, since I am traveling, we had to be met with trauma. The first of said traumas was the 1.5 hour bus delay thanks ... read more

Having given up on the sunshine ever returning we try our hand at some mountain climbing and drive into the Picos de Europa, taking the mountain pass an impressive sight meets us as we cross the peak (that and the road abruptly ending leading to some dicey ´offroad´moments). Ignoring the arm wrestling contest that occupies the town square on saturday night we bed early to rise for the mountain trek in the morn. And what a sight it is, a sheer wall of rock rising 700m above. The weather isn´t kind and some of our fellow climbers seem to be expecting more of a sunday stroll, we note several pairs of high heels and one skirt that doesn´t look like it was dreamt up by North Face. That said Stu´s extra layer in case the weather ... read more

Geo: 43.461, -3.80793I didn't bother setting my alarm today, but I was still up at 8! Why??? Why is it so difficult to sleep in??? No matter, off for a walk around this beautiful town. Surprisingly, there were a number of early risers already out on the beach - it's Spain, nobody is supposed to get up this early, only Canadian tourists who have trouble sleeping in! I stayed close by in El Sardinero for breakfast, at the cafe adjoining Heladeria Italiana. After, it was off to La Magdalena, a peninsula that contains a park, beach, and picnic tables. I didn't feel like walking around the entire park just right now, so I decided to return tonight with a picnic. Back to the centre, where I popped into another Springfield and picked up a a bunch ... read more