Qué tal amigos,

I had a very eventful weekend this past weekend. I went on a trip to the north of Spain, an autonomous region known as País Vasco, or Basque Country in English. Besides the terribly long ride back to Madrid (it is six hours away), the trip was awesome! I went with CityLife again and met up with some people that I had met on other trips. We went to Bilbao on Friday and spent the night there, then went to Guernica on Saturday for a quick stop before heading to San Sebastian and spending the night there. On Sunday, we crossed the border and went to Biarritz, France in the Bay of Biscay. My favorite cities were San Sebastian and Biarritz. I love being around the beach and having that view, so I guess I’m biased, but the views were breathtaking. I loved every minute of it. It wasn’t as great as it could have potentially been because it rained all day Friday and Saturday, so the views weren’t as impressive as ever, but you could just imagine how gorgeous it must be in the summer time. I would love to go to San Sebastian and Biarritz in the summer time. Enjoy the pictures!

Bilbao

Bilbao is the biggest and main city of the Basque region, historically being the industrial center there. There is plenty to see with the mixture of architectural styles with influence from England and France. I was just disappointed with the food there. The Basque Country is known for its pintxos, which are essentially the same as tapas, just with different influences. They taste great, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was finding a place that would serve actual meals, rather than small portions of pintxos. They are great for snacks, but not necessarily fulfilling enough for me to consider them satisfying for my big appetite. I visited the Guggenheim Museum, which was very interesting, albeit my lack of interest in contemporary art. It was definitely worth the visit.

San Sebastián

I LOVED San Sebastian. Our tour guide was very friendly (although most tour guides on the City Life tours are), and entertaining. I didn’t mind being in the rain for a couple of hours walking around and listening to the interesting stories. La Bahía de la Concha is a must-see for beach-lovers in Spain. It is a very relaxing atmosphere. I found the food to be better than Bilbao and the nightlife was also livelier. I had a great time there and would love to go back and get in the beach.

Biarritz, France

Biarritz was absolutely beautiful, specifically the beaches. They say it has some of the best beaches in Europe and I did not doubt it for a minute. Even though it was grey and cold out, it was still a highly romantic setting. The contrast between the light and shallow shore with the deep blue waters, the sea crashing into the rocks, the bridges leading into the sea and the fresh smell of the ocean all contributed to me missing my girl from back home that much more. It was impossible not to. The scene was just yelling out for attention. The crepes were also very good, first time I tried that. I would love to go back to France as well and explore the rest of the country. We will see!