I realize that I haven't written in a very long time so this post might be a little lengthy. Just warning you. So many things have happened! I will just have to summarize everything real quick.
One thing I did was go to the opera. We saw Don Giovanni. It was really fun because we got our own box seats and we dressed up and everything. The opera is in Italian, but we had Spanish subtitles. It was helpful that we read the synopsis in English before.
One thing I did was go to the opera. We saw Don Giovanni. It was really fun because we got our own box seats and we dressed up and everything. The opera is in Italian, but we had Spanish subtitles. It was helpful that we read the synopsis in English before.
That weekend we took a bus to a nearby pueblo, Proaza, and had an awesome bike ride. The weather was beautiful and we biked about 15 miles. We were also the only tourists in the whole pueblo. Everyone noticed us: 9 blonde girls with cameras and athletic clothes. Clearly tourists. But it was so worth it.
We also got to celebrate Hannah's birthday!
Diana and I ate lunch with our host mothers the next weekend. Let's just say it was the most hilarious lunch ever. I really enjoyed it! I am so blessed to have such a kind and thoughtful host mom here in Spain. Thanks Beatriz!
After a long week with another Calvin test, Jenna, Ali, Stephanie, and I decided to get out of Oviedo and travel to San Sebastian. This trip was so fun! We got on the bus at 1am Friday morning and arrived at 6:30. It was still dark outside and we had no idea what to do. After hanging out in a cafe for a while, we dropped off our stuff at our hostel and started walking around. It was so beautiful!
When we realized it was still only 11am, we power napped for a bit and then hiked up to a mountain that had a Cristo similar to Oviedo. It reminded us of home (yes, Oviedo is our home now). It was so warm and sunny and the hike had a beautiful view. It was also very windy.
It was so warm we took off our shoes and waded in the ocean! Gelato was our next stop and it was heavenly. The whole day was just perfect.
That night, we ate the traditional "pinxchos" for dinner. They were beautiful to look at! So artfully made, and yummy too. My favorite was this crab-shrimp one. Yum. It was also Valentine's Day and so we had some chocolate and wine back in our hostel room.
The next day we said, "Hey! Why don't we just go to France?" So we did. It cost less than 5 euros for a round trip and was only 30 minutes away. We went to this little border town called Hendaya. Turns out it's not that busy during winter months and we ended up wandering around trying to find the city center, a cafe, the castle, and wifi. Let's just say we weren't that successful. But the beach was beautiful and the warm baguettes were delicious. Also my crepe was to die for.
After getting back to San Sebastian, we made friends with Juan Maria, the McDonald's manager, and he told us about a discoteca right on the beach! It was so fun.
The next day, we just wandered around San Sebastian before getting on our 4:30 bus. We were walking by the ocean and saw this sweet place where we could watch the waves. After about 5 minutes, we got too friendly with the wave and ended up getting soaked. I smelled like ocean the entire 6 hour bus ride back.
Before getting on the bus, we ate lunch at this very organic place that reminded me of the Yellow Deli back home. The juice was a mix of apple, carrot, ginger, and some other things and was a color of neon orange that I didn't know existed in the land of juices. My "cheese salad" was delicious and everything was so healthy.
This past week was fairly uneventful. We had another beautiful day on Wednesday and hiked to the top of Mount Naranco to the Cristo again. It was so warm and sunny and clear we couldn't go to class. It didn't help that we could get a large pizza at Domino's for 5 euros.
After a final exam this Tuesday, we leave for a couple cities in Southern Spain (Andalucía). It's a week long excursion and I am looking forward to seeing more of Spain in the sunny south. I really loved Skyping people this week as well. I love it here, but I also miss all of my friends and family back home. I wish you all could visit me! Love you!
Beso, beso