España

The three day weekend (they have off here for Pentecost) left a few of us wanting to go somewhere. Being so close, we chose Spain. We rented a car and hit the road into Basque country to the amazing city of San Sebastián. Upon arriving, we explored the beach and downtown area and had an amazing lunch at one of the many, many tapas bars/restaurants. I had spider crab crepes and fresh shrimp. It was completely amazing.

After walking around, we checked into the hotel, changed for diner, and took to the mountains. It was great having a rented car, because we could go places we would have never seen had we taken the train. For example, this mountain field and Spanish graveyard:

The ocean view was unbelievable. I couldn't believe my eyes the whole time. We then drove to the top of one of the main mountain points in the town and climbed an old castle. 

Seeing this in real life was more amazing than I can put into words. For dinner we went to a restaurant that has had many American articles written about its amazing food.

The top left is butter, the bottom left is my entree of glazed suckling pig with apple garnish and dried apple chips. The top right is a traditional Basque dessert curd of goat's milk with walnuts, and the bottom right is an appetizer of Spanish iberico ham, which originally looks like this: 

These legs were hanging everywhere, and they cost thousands of dollars for only one. The meat is shaved very, very, thin and is the most amazing meat I've ever tasted. 

The next day we headed to Bilbao, which is about an hour west. We had a lunch of paella, ribs, and flan. 

It was Sunday, so almost everything except the bars were closed. We stopped by the Guggenheim, and checked out their older section of town. 

We sat in this mist for like 10 minutes. 

Dinner that night was at one of the extremely few places open, a tapas bar also. 

The top picture is fried pork's cheek and red peppers. I'd never had cheek before, and it was amazing. Left to right is season green peppers, a different type of ham that I don't remember, and helado fresca. All completely amazing. I'd live in Spain just for the food. 

Overall, Spain was really fun. I love the sights, the company, and the food, and I loved trying to speak Spanish. I think this trip helped me on the road to not being scared to make mistakes while trying to speak a different language. Being in a different culture at first was completely shocking, but I'm starting to really like it. Tonight my host mom took me for a walk through a beautiful park across the street from the apartment that leads to the Pau river. It flows from the mountains, and I cannot wait to swim in that bad boy. Walking around in a bathing suite not on a beach or at a pool is illegal here, so I'll have to cover up quick! 

For some reason Facebook isn't letting me upload pictures, so check back soon for more shots of Spain!