S. Sebastian, Madrid, Segovia

Europe » Spain
February 6th 2008

Published: February 6th 2008

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angelicaa

The Beach in S. Sebastian

Hi everyone,

Happy Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday!

The past couple weekends have been alot of traveling. First to San Sebastian, then a weekend trip to Madrid and Segovia.
San Sebastian is about an hour and a half drive east of Bilbao. It is a beautiful little city right along the coast with gorgeous beach. Luckily when we went it was also great weather. It is much more tourist-y then Bilbao so it was easy to find sight seeing things to do. One of the main sights is a huge statue of christ on top of the remains of an old castle. As we hiked up to Jesus, we found an old British cemeteries which were actually really picturesque because there is so much vivid green. Once we reached the top we were blown away at the view of the beach and the city. Me and some friends decided to spend the night, as we are finding that the key to meeting people is participating in the night life. S. Sebastian is also a pintxo heaven with every bar stocked with small snacks for people to eat.
This past weekend the study abroad program took us on a weekend

S. Sebastian

trip to Madrid and Segovia. We started off with the usual tourist sites like the Palace and the Main Cathedral and then had time to wander around. We also got to see La Reina Sofia Art Museum, and the Prado which was amazing. Unfortunately "Guernica" was not being shown, but I did get to see a ton of Goya's peices (he's one of my favorites) and got to see "Las Meninas," one of the world's most famous paintings. During the night time, me and a couple friends met up with a former USF student, Laura, who has been living in Madrid for 2 years now. She showed us a few different districts and I was blown away and how fun and colorful Madrid is. So many different scenes for any kind of person and just an over all great atmosphere.
During our weekend there, we took a day trip to Segovia, a medieval town which I think used to be the capital of Spain. We visited the castle there, which was the castle that inspired Walt Disney. There was also a museum with tons of Knight's suits and armor and weapons. It was surreal seeing all these things that I

An example of Euskera

had only known through fairy tales and childhood movies. Another highlight from Segovia was the huge aquaducts which were influenced by the romans. I think besides seeing all these sights, it was strange knowing we were walking around somewhere where things like the Dark Ages and the Black Plague had happened and to be somewhere that was a key player in world history.
Overall, getting out of Basque country really showed me how different the rest of Spain is there's different attitudes, different lifestyle and also different stage of developing into a major city. It felt like the difference between going from San Francisco to LA, switching from two different cultures that are neighbors... but might as well be two different states.
Oh and one last note.. Mardi Gras.. which here brings the end to all the carnivals they have been having before lent.. I don't have those pictures up yet, but I'm sure that will leave you with some interesting thoughts.

Other than that all is well! I miss you all and hope all is well. Was anyone upset with the patriots losing? and is everyone smiling about for Hillary winning? 😊
I'll send postcards out soon!