San Sebastián

I was recently told to spend the first month and a half traveling around Spain before I start traveling father, and it was the best advice anyone could have given me. This past weekend, 6 others and I took a bus to San Sebastián for the weekend. The bus ride on Friday was a bit rough becuase I was nauseous and only could think about the large amount of homework I had just been assigned that morning, regardless I powered through and took a breath and tried to focus on the trip. I was so glad I didn't take homework and just let myself relax because the trip was INSANELY busy and I walked about 7-9 miles each day. My friends and I stayed at the cutest hostel and lucked out becuase there were 6 beds in one room and 6 of us so no strangers.

Friday we walked around to the water and looked at the little shops and we all became a bit overwhelmed by the fact that we were absolutely in love with San Sebastián. Bilbao is absolutely beautiful, but San Sebastián just had an unexplained simplicity and peacefulness that made us feel like we were truly on the coast of Spain. I could have stared at the water for hours and hours, listening to the families laughing and watching the Ferris wheel on the board walk. It was absolutely magical and I definitely will be going back soon if I can.

That night we met up with other USAC students who were also all from the United States but instead of studying in Bilbao they were studying in San Sebastián, it was a huge group and meeting other students who were having similar experiences was really cool. We went bar hopping and ate pizza while we waited for the discoteca to open, which was a long wait because the clubs open at midnight and usually people don't go until 1am. As a person who goes to bed at 10pm, this has been a huge shift for me! Eventually we ended up at the discoteca and danced the night away, the energy was radiating and gave me a burst of energy I didn't know I had. Another interesting fact about (most) Spaniards is that they usually stay out until 5 or 6am and then get breakfast and then go to sleep. After a full day of travel, that is not something we could do and so we went to sleep around 4am. To no surprise we slept the first half of Saturday and then went out and about to shop and go to the aquarium! Our feet and legs were killing us, but we pushed on because the beauty of the city was motivating us to keep moving. A lesson learned: wear blister pads even when you think you don't need them, as well as get rid of the phrase "beauty is pain" becuase I learned that my beloved black boots are not ideal walking shoes even though they felt that way initially.

The rest of Saturday was a blur and the night end with us in a tiny little bar where locals were singing 80/90's Spanish songs and we watched older couples sing and laugh and dance the night away. At first we felt out of place, but then we realized that no one cared that we were not anywhere near their age group and so we danced until we couldn't any longer!

Originally we had planned to go to this beautiful spa and pool and soak in salt water, but we woke up on Sunday and we were so exhausted we quickly abandoned that plan! Our bus was scheduled for 9pm and immediately we changed that plan too and booked it to the only other bus for the day that was leaving at 1pm.

Overall;

the weekend was beautiful and I want to go back to San Sebastián as much as I can and when it gets warmer hopefully lay on the beach. The little coastal town just was such a homey feeling that I find comforting and calm (minus the jump in prices and the one lady who yelled at us because we sat at an empty table outdoors without food).