First we stopped in Santander, after passing through the no-man's land of the mountains.
Santander is basically only known for its beaches...which we took advantage of.
It was way too cold to swim, but that didn't stop the guys from jumping in anyway.
This beauty became the site of our impromptu soccer game.
Then we did some climbing and saw this:
And this:
Gorgeous right?
The next day we did some pueblo hopping-stopping in random little towns, and that evening we ended up in Bilboa.
More beaches and cliffs, and I couldn't tell you the name of this place....
And then we walked by this old cemetary. It's famous for the angel up there in the top left corner.
In Bilboa, we found the outside of the Guddenheim-a famous modern art museum.
It's in the background, fyi.
Bilboa is in the middle of Pais Vasco. It's called "pais" Vasco because once upon a time they were their own country. They even speak their own language. Even today, many of them believe they should still be independent, so groups such as ETA (the terrorist group) exist that keep pushing for independence from Spain, while others think the opposite. So, there's a lot of contention about Pais Vasco-thus this sign.
It says, "We need peace." The top is written in the language of Pais Vasco. It has absolutely nothing in common with spanish.
Day 3:
We went to FRANCE! Saw some beaches, ate, and climbed some more things.
The little french I learned, "I love you."
Last day:
What do you think we did?
Yep, more beaches and climbing-this time in San Sebastian. San Sebastian is literally the jewel of the beaches. The most beautiful, clean, amazing, ect, ect.
La playa de la concha: Shell Beach...can you see the shape?
Yeah, I don't understand...
(Oh, and I forgot to mention that we played bumper cars on the top of a cliff in San Sebastian with a beautiful view of the beach. Yeah. Pretty Cool)
I think I can speak for the whole group when I say that this trip was one of our favorites. We didn't step one foot in a Castle, Monastery or Cathedral. Now, yes we do like to see these things, but they sure get repetitive after awhile. The beauty of the Spanish beaches was a much needed change. So, gracias! Merci! Thank you!
Beautiful! I'm so jealous, I would love to go back to San Se! When I was in San Se we were walking around the city and ran into a bar that had a sign for the Basque Country. "Tourist please remember, you are not in Spain, you are not in France, you are in the Basque country." My brother said ETA would meet there occasionally - but I don't know if that's actually true.
ReplyDeletePS - I finally commented :)
Bilbao... not Bilboa... but same diff haha. And that picture you don't understand? Those random things are supposed to look like combs, so we were supposed to play with our hair in the picture for Cristina for class... silly teacher, she gives us the randomest homework...! haha
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