Kaixo!!
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| First sit down meal all trip! We had a waitress and everything! |
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| Spanish Sangria!!! |
After our amazing pizza, we headed to our hostel for the night. On our walk to the hostel, we noticed a lot of stores and restaurants that looked very exciting. This town was definitely bigger and more lively than Mondragon! We finally arrived at the hostel; it was called A Room in the City. We were delighted to find the most beautiful hostel we could ever imagine. This place was legit. We ended up in a room with 3 bunk beds that were totally decked out. They had curtains to block out light and a panel inside the cubby with a plug, a usb and a light. Not to mention, this bed and pillow were ridiculously comfy and warm! Check this place out!!!
So we left to go explore, and we stumbled upon a parade! It was a children's parade for Carnival. The kids were all dressed up in costumes that looked like gypsies! They all had little pans and spoons that they were hitting to the beat. It was so cute! We just had to stop and watch.
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| The kids Carnival parade! |
We kept exploring the rest of the day. We went wherever the city took us. We found our way to the beach. It was stunning! The sand was beautiful and the ocean was cold, but worth it! I walked in to the Atlantic for the first time off the coast of Spain! How cool! When we walked further down the beach, there was a man drawing in the sand! It was very amazing! Then we stopped for coffee because when it's that good, you always need coffee!!
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| I made it into the Atlantic! |
From the beach, we could see this mountain with a statue of Jesus on top. We discovered later that this was Monte Urgull. We decided to hike up there to see what the city from above. After a 20 minute hike uphill (and many complaints for water - again, how American of us?), we made it to the top. The views were stunning!
On our way back down, we found the aquarium! We all wanted to go which was very exciting for me considering how much I love aquariums!! At first, it looked like a pirate museum with boat models and swords, and we didn't see any fish... But once we made it down the stairs, there were tons of fish! There was even a pool where you could reach in and touch the fish. Of course I tried it and it was super scary and gross, but I did it!
We continued to explore after the aquarium. We found our way to churros which were very good! After that, we went shopping around San Sebastian! At this point, we decided that we loved San Sebastian so much, we had to stay all weekend, when we only planned on saying one night. Since we had only packed for a two day trip, we needed to find more clothes. We shopped for a while until stores started closing, at which point we decided to head for food. We found Kafe Botanika which was near the water. At this cafe, we enjoyed some wine with an interesting mix of food that was all very good! We had hummus, chips and guacamole, and ceviche. Surprisingly very good together! After dinner, we headed back to our amazing hostel for a good night's sleep.
In the morning, we had to pack up our things since we were moving hostels. After our last minute decision to stay another night, we discovered there were no rooms available at our hostel for the next night. We had to move across town to another hostel called Off Beat. They opened later in the day for check in, so we stored our bags at the previous hostel. After we put away our bags, we headed to the bus station for a trip to France. We took an hour bus ride into Biarritz, France. It's a small town in the south of France with beautiful buildings and shops. We wandered into several shops and found a gorgeous church near the ocean. Even with the rainy day, France was still absolutely beautiful.
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| Welcome to France! |
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| Quite possibly one of the most beautiful churches I have ever been in! |
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| Views of the French Coast |
After much exploring, it was time to get crepes. We all ended up getting a savory crepe for lunch (mozzarella and tomatoes), and a dessert crepe to follow (Nutella, banana, almonds). I guess we didn't realize that we were being loud and speaking English in France until we noticed an old woman staring at us from across the creperie. When she got up to leave, she came up to us and asked if we were from the United States. When we said yes, she said "I thought so." It was very awkward... We got out of there as fast as we could.
We did a little more shopping (macaroons and bookstores galore!) and then headed back to Spain... in the most complicated way possible! We ended up taking 2 bus (combined with a lot of waiting) to the train station that would take us back to San Sebastian. Just after we bought our tickets, we started waiting for the train... in the wrong spot! When we found out where we were supposed to go, we ran for it! Just as we were getting close, the train was pulling away! We missed the train and ended up having to wait 30 minutes for the next train. We got on the train and headed back to San Sebastian.
We made it back to San Sebastian right before we had to check in to the other hostel. We ran from the train to get our bags and then ran to the next hostel, all through the rainy night. We made it just in time to check in at Off Beat. Though this hostel was nice, it was not as impressive as the first night. We settled in and made our way out to find some dinner. We found Bar Aralar for pintxos and wine! It was very delicious! But we still had more room, so we headed a few blocks over to get frozen yogurt - yum!
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| Pintxos |
On our way back to the hostel, we walked through the city center. When we got there, there was a big Carnivale celebration happening! There was a stage set up where the people in the town were dancing and singing. Everyone in the town was there to celebrate. It was such a beautiful thing to see this town celebrating their Basque culture! We stayed for a while just watching them dance and sing. They were also banging the pots with spoons just like the kids did in the parade!
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| Town Center was filled with people! |
After a while, we headed back to the hostel. We started getting ready for bed when we hear very loud music that was coming from the street. We opened the doors to the little balcony and saw a Carnivale parade of the people from the town center heading our way! We stayed on the balcony watching them celebrate. It was very cold outside so we didn't stay for long. We headed back inside and listened to their music all night long. Then woke up to it in the morning too!
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| The parade was right outside our window! |
In the morning, we noticed it was pouring rain. Our plans for the day (to walk around and explore more of San Sebastian) were no longer appealing in the freezing rain. So we headed out for breakfast at a near by pastry shop. It was very good as always! Then we decided to pack up and head out. On our way to the bus, we walked through an art sale on the street! Everything was beautiful and we ended up taking home some amazing Basque artwork.
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| Coffee in San Sebastian |
We bused back to Mondragon and spent the night in since it was pouring rain here too. We had our first laundry adventure which was eventful to say the least. Let's just say Basque washing machines are very confusing!
Anyway, it has been a busy weekend and we are getting ready for a full week of adventures in the schools. This week we are going to be on local television to talk about our travels to Basque country to teach! More about that next time...
Agur, Ms. Peachy
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| Decor at our second hostel |
