Saying goodbye to my Basque home is by no means easy, especially when a new adventure arises, reminding me that there is so much more to see and do in this amazing place. Experiences I will never be able to carve out the time for. The second of May will always be a dear memory in my heart. It was the day I traveled down the Basque coast by car with Unai, my local friend (always find a local friend, always). This particular trip took us from San Sebastián to Bilbao. So, we did

I was very excited as I boarded the train because I knew this trip was going to be very different from the other travels I'd had during my study abroad. I was going to meet up with Dad and Barb and head to Granada. Traveling with parents is very different than traveling on your own or with friends. First of all, the standard of living is much better because, well, Dad has a steady income so we will be staying in a hotel, not hostels, and eating out at nice restaurants. Also,

You don’t realize how cheaply you’ve been living until your dad and his girlfriend come for a visit and you don’t know what restaurants to recommend. Other likely scenarios: he frequently uses the words “pintxos” and “tapas” interchangeably and usually in the wrong regions of the country, he tries speaking Finnish with waitresses whose politeness masks her confusion, your heart is more full because you get to share a place that has grown very important to you with someone you

Last Saturday, I took a day trip with Allison, Kenna, and Rowan to Bilbao! The city is the capital of the province, Biscay, and is the largest city in the Basque country (5th largest in Spain). First, we went to the Guggenheim museum. There was a cool exhibition showing the art of Niki de Saint Phalle, who was well-known for her sculptures called “Nanas.” After that, we had lunch and kind of just wondered around the city for a bit. We climbed some cool stairs that had a nice

The Basques can’t keep me away. I’ve already had the cider house experience twice and my time here isn’t even halfway done yet (well it almost is). This time I went to a different cider house and with only 5 other people. This cider house was much larger, and apparently it’s more well-known. At first, I thought that that would mean it’s more touristic, but I’m pretty sure we were the only group of foreigners. Apparently, it was obvious too. Every time we would walk past this

This last weekend in Barcelona was one of the craziest weekends of my life. It was a roller coaster to say in the least. I don’t know how I’m going to capture it all in a post, but here it goes… We left after class on Friday and took a train to Barcelona. The adventure started with a guy in our group named Robert almost not getting on the train because of a ticket mixup. And another guy slept in too long and missed it. Oh well, at least I made it without any problems. The tra

This weekend, Allison and I decided to explore our own city a little more. So, we hiked Monte Urgull to see the Jesus statue and the amazing views of San Sebastián. There are three mountains and Monte Urgull is in the middle. There’s not much else to say about this, other than we hiked up a hill and took pictures. So, here are those pictures… #culture #spain #basquecountry #photography #sansebastian #europe #studyabroad #usac #basque #donostia #monteurgull

So, Friday the 6th of February was a very busy day for me because after the USAC excursion to Hondarribia and Zumbaia, most of the USAC group also took a trip to a Basque sidería. This trip wasn’t organized by USAC because they pretty much aren’t allowed to plan anything that involves drinking. This was planned through Mikel, a local guy who handles promoting the bars Molly Malone’s and Bataplan to all of the international students. He is also the intercambio of one of the tw

Hondarribia Yay classes cancelled! This was the first USAC-planned excursion (not including the whole Madrid tour). I still had to be at school pretty early, a difficult task for those who had celebrated Pintxo-Pote the night before. Luckily, I am used to my early Friday mornings. First, we went to Hondarribia, a city near the coast of France. We explored the old part of town, which was enclosed in castle walls. Because of it’s proximity to France, Hondarribia experienced its

For the weekend of January 30th, I attempted to travel on my own non-USAC-planned excursion. However, a lot of other study abroad students joined. We decided to go and visit La Rioja, the wine country of Spain. The adventure started with me waking up at 5:30 am and then walking to the bus station with Allison. It sounded easy enough, but it was confusing trying to figure out where we go to get on the bus. Allison and I decided to wait for other people in our group. We did sho

Yesterday was a very exciting day because I experienced my first Basque fiesta! And the unique thing about this festival is that it is only celebrated in San Sebastian. La Tamborrada is a twenty-four hour holiday, starting at midnight on the nineteenth of January and continuing until midnight on the twentieth. The fiesta consists of all the sociedades gastronomicas of San Sebastian dressing up as either cooks or soldiers. The sociedades used to be exclusive men’s clubs that w

Finally arrived in San Sebastián! I slept a lot on the bus but was more awake towards the end of the journey. We drove through beautiful mountainous countryside before arriving in our final destination of Donostia. This city is beautiful! We briefly drove through part of the city on the bus, giving me a nice first glimpse of my new home. The first night we stayed at a hotel on the western side of the city where we had a brief orientation about our roommates and where we would

Today, we ventured to the nearby city of Toledo, just south of Madrid. In Toledo, we took a walking tour of the city and saw La Catedral de Toledo. We stopped for lunch and I tried mazapan, a sweet Spanish pastry made from almond paste. It was pretty cold in Toledo and I was tired so I enjoyed sleeping on the bus ride home. That evening, back in Madrid, I went with a group of friends to watch the sunset from a rooftop bar. The roof had great views of the city and cushioned ar

Hotel Regina provided us with breakfast and then we took a bus to Valle de los Caídos (Valley of the fallen). This place is the tomb of the dictator Francisco Franco. It is a monument reminding visitors of the Spanish Civil war (1936-1939). The church and tomb were built inside the mountain in a man-made cave. On top of the mountain is a huge concrete cross. After visiting the Valley of the Fallen, we moved on to the town of Segovia. We took a walking tour and stopped at Alcá

My flight left San Francisco on the sixth but landed in London, Heathrow on the seventh. British Airways provided complimentary meals and wine, which was nice. I sat on the plane next to Cody and Tyler, twins who are also in USAC.