San Sebastián and Southern France

This weekend I went on my first trip since moving to Bilbao and if I hadn’t already, I have officially caught the “travel bug” and fallen even more in love with Europe. We left early Friday morning and headed to a small fisherman's town in Southern France – it’s debatable whether it’s truly France or Spain because the Basque country is still feuding over political boundaries – but in a geological sense it was France. The first thing we did when we arrived was visit the outdoor market. They pretty much had every food imaginable, from bread to cheese to fish to fruits and vegetables and nuts. After that we had some free time so we did a little wandering through shops (I bought a Basque flag, and plan on buying a Spain one when I go to Sevilla – they aren’t sold up here) then went to see the beach. To put it simply it was as if they were on a green screen – so pristine, almost tropical. We only spent 2 hours here, which was the perfect amount of time in my opinion, then took off for San Sebastián. 

I assumed we’d drive straight to town, but instead we got to take a boat across the Spain/France border! Friday night I took it easy (finally getting over a week long sickness), hung out at the beach for a few hours then walked to Casco Viejo (old town) for pintxos. I got 3: 1 was raisins rolled in lamb rolled in bacon placed on bread, 1 was a Spanish tortilla, and 1 was smoked salmon with an anchovy and some sort of sauce all on top of bread. All of them were amazing – I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor, and my adventurous order. Dad, be proud I tried the anchovy. On Saturday we got a walking tour of the city and then went on a “stroll” up to “Jesus”. Let me explain two things. First, a “stroll” to Spaniards turns out to be code for “intense hike that will make you want to pass out” and “Jesus” is really a statue of some random Saint but everyone forgets who he is so they call him Jesus since he overlooks the city. The view from the top was gorgeous though, I could see the entire city and harbor, so I don’t regret participating! 

I will post a few pictures below to give you an idea of what I experienced during these 36 hours, but most of them will be on facebook within the week because it is easier to upload on there and I don’t want to swamp the blog. I have a final on Wednesday for my first Spanish class which means 1/3 of the semester is over – time flies! I am absolutely loving Spain, if you couldn’t tell. I feel like I could write for days about every moment/feeling I have, but I’ll save that for stories when I get home since these posts are lengthy enough as is. A part of me wishes I had done this a year ago so I could stay for both semesters, but that’s hindsight so I plan on making every split second of the next 2 ½ months count! In addition to the trips I mentioned in a previous post, I also have one to Barcelona in the works, not booked yet, for a weekend in November but I’m trying to convince someone to go out of the country with me instead (preferably Switzerland, Germany, or Italy). Wish me luck on fulfilling my travel bug! Love and miss you all!