Basque Country
With only a few weeks left abroad, my final excursion outside of Madrid, took us to San Sebastián. Leaving from Suffolk at 8 a.m. on a bus with 40 of my classmates, we were destined for a northern region in Spain, San Sebastián. Just left of the French border and the richest region in Spain, it lies within the Basque Country (the region where the prevalent terrorist group, ETA, which has been responsible for multiple bombings around Spain, is from). Although the people in the Basque Country and San Sebastián desperately want to be independent from Spain, it’s definitely my favorite city in Spain that I have been to. It lies against the Bay of Biscay and is completely surrounded by green mountains – absolutely beautiful!
Hotel Mercure Monte Igueldo
We finally arrived to our hotel around 3:30 in the afternoon. Our hotel, Hotel Mercure Monte Igueldo, was absolutely amazing. It is a four star hotel located on the top of a mountain. The views of the city from above were breathtaking. The hotel itself was very nice. However, our rooms were a little mildewed. Good thing we didn’t spend a lot of time inside. Underneath our hotel was an amusement park! They had a haunted house, bumper cars, bumper boats, roller coasters, slides, a boat ride on the edge of the mountain, among many other awesome rides. We never had time to participate in the carnival, but it was impressive and looked like a lot of fun!
Courtyards + Tulips
At 5:30 we met the bus to take us down the mountain to the city. We walked around the city until it was time for dinner in parte vieja (the old quarter of town). There was a great boardwalk that lined the beaches. My favorite parts of the city were the courtyards. Right outside of the town hall was a garden filled with artistic sculptures, white terraces, fountains and hundreds of tulips. Tulips are one of my favorite flowers – it’s a close call between tulips and orchids. I love them. These courtyards all over looked the blue ocean water in the Bay of Biscay.
Parte Vieja
After a walk around the city, I met the school group in parte vieja for tapas. This region is supposed to be known for their fabulous tapas, but I was highly unimpressed and didn’t eat much. However it was fun mingling with my classmates. After dinner, we all decided to explore the nightlife in San Sebastián. There was one street in parte vieja that was overflowing with people. The narrow cobblestone street was only a walking path and either side was lined with bars and shops. Our large group of about twenty kids had such a great time – laughing, dancing and moving from bar to bar for the rest of the evening. The bars in San Sebastián were great! My favorite bar we found played music like U2 and Oasis. Quality listening as compared to the usual rap and techno most bars play.
