The [free] Weekend.

It's tough to beat a vacation within a vacation, let alone describe it.  But let me put it this way:  when I am enjoying the beach too much to go on a hike (to see a bird's eye view of the city), then it's got to be a pretty good beach.

 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves--there was quite a journey to get to the beautiful beaches of San Sebastián.  We arrived in Bilbao at 5:00 a.m. -- and this being Spain, we knew nothing would be open for a good three or four hours . . . so we decided to "post up" (as Dave likes to say) in a park and take a little nap.  Some people were just heading home from the discotecas and I'm sure they thought we were either crazy or drunk (or both), but it definitely created a great memory.  (And you know that I can sleep pretty much anywhere, so I was just fine.)

After our little nap, we explored Bilbao . . .

 

. . . and then we checked into our hotel (and I took pictures of the room, as promised) . . .

. . . and then we went to the Guggenheim and explored the streets a bit more before going back to the hotel.

At the hotel, we just played games and told scary stories and other such slumber-party activities.  It sounds like an uneventful day, but it was a lot of fun to explore the city--the architecture was really cool.

The next morning we had a quick bus ride to San Sebastian and found our hostel pretty easily (thanks to girls in our group who looked up the maps/directions before).  Outside of our hostel, there was one of the protesting campsites, and Alex and Dave decided to join in on some of their games . . .

I was going to join in, but they finished this game right before I got a chance to.  After that, we headed down to the beach and pretty much stayed there for the rest of the weekend--only leaving to eat, sleep, and dance.

 

 

Our hostel:

Dinner at a pizza/kebap place (I finished my pizza when Khalid still had half of his left)

We met a lot of friends from different countries (most of them were from Australia, and Dave and Alex actually gave them the first discussion on the beach one day) and everyone there was really nice.  I still have yet to meet someone mean here--but then again, I might just not understand them if they're being mean.

As much as I loved the beach during the day, I also really enjoyed it at night.  There is just something about the evening tide and sound of waves in the dark that is so tranquilo, I just love it.  At one point, Dave, Stephen, and I just sat by the dock and talked while we stared at the reflection of the lights on the water.  We also played games on the beach at night, and that was a lot of fun too (until some crazy drunk hobo came along, and then we moved to a different spot). 

[We sat on this sand couch until the tide came and ruined it.]

Basically, I just love the beach, any day, any time. (hint for our family trip in August, unless Havasupai is an option.)  We were all really sad to leave, but life goes on . . . and we're still in Europe so I can't really complain.  Have I said thank you enough for this?  Because it really is the greatest thing ever.

*side story: We saw some missionaries at the bus stop, and so of course I screamed out "elders!!" and waved them over.  I'm not too sure how excited they were to talk to us, but they were way nice and seemed like a good companionship.  Hopefully once my friends get back I won't be so over-enthusiastic whenever I see the white shirts and name-tags.

lather up.

We're back from the beach, safe and sound.  It's late and I'm a tad tired, so details are going to have to wait.  But I knew you'd want to hear that we were still alive, and I also thought you should know . . .

we had a fabulous time.

and the winner is . . .

We have been on a bit of a search for the best chocolate con churros in Oviedo, and I believe that today we may have found a winner.

These treats from Valor definitely the biggest-bang-for-your-buck award, if not being complete winners.  The churros are huge, the chocolate is great, and you get to sit in this cute little old-fashioned salon.  And the people are really nice.  To be honest, at first I thought that they would bring out just a few small churros, but then our waitress walked out with this huge plate and we all got wide smiles and greedy eyes.  They were perfect for a rainy day.

I think that Alexa put it best when we were talking on Skype yesterday:  "The diet starts when I get back."

Our diet starts tomorrow . . . or 16 days from now.

pretty things.

Dear Trent and McConkie family,

I'm going to apologize in advance if (a) you can't understand Megen when she gets back and (b) I am around/calling too much once we get back . . . sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to really communicate with anyone else.  And I also wonder how we'll fair not seeing each other every day.  You see, right now we are both trapped in some sort of Spanglish limbo and I fear that it'll only get worse.  And also, I went on an all-day hike on Sunday without her and we ended up meeting later that night to see each other and chat.  I am so lucky to have her as my best friend, thanks again for letting me steal her away.  It would have been very different without her.

That being said, the hike on Sunday was--simply put--breathtaking.  We hiked up into the mountains and down to a little town that you can only get to by foot or by horse.  There were times when we were only walking on a small edge between a giant rock wall and a cliff.  Pictures can not come even close to how amazing it was.

Yesterday it was really rainy and cold, and so we decided to go see X-Men at the theater--I couldn't really follow along too well with words, but luckily I knew the storyline/characters well enough that I understood the movie.  And we got candy and popcorn so that made it extra great.

Today we went to the aquarium in Gijon.  And I must say, scuba diving is now on my bucket list.  I was mesmerized by the fish.  I couldn't really get any great pictures of the fish [so just trust me that they're really really pretty], but here are some of us at the aquarium.

We finished off our day with some chocolate con churros [of course].  Until next time.

No Siestas, just Fiestas.

In the past few days, I have found myself wishing that I could just forever live in Spain.  Even though I have been constantly moving and pretty much exhausted, I still don't want to sleep because I want to be awake for every moment of Spain.

We started off our weekend with a little trip to the beach in Gijon.

[We didn't actually build this sand castle.]

It was such a happy day on the beach.  We got there around 3:30 and stayed until 8:30 . . . but it only felt like 5:00 because of how weird the sun is here.  After we got back to Oviedo, we went and got some kebaps for dinner.

After that, we went to the park and talked for a long time.  At one point, we went to the south end of the park where all of the teenagers hang out.  It was probably the weirdest thing I've seen here--glasses and bottles were everywhere and probably over a hundred kids were just drinking and smoking . . . and they didn't even seem to notice or care that we were just sitting and watching them.  It made me really sad to see, I can't even really describe how I was feeling, but it was sad.  On the bright side, the park is always clean as a whistle the next morning [I have no idea how that happens, but it does . . . Oviedo's the cleanest city I've ever seen].  

Today we had our excursion to Cangas de Onis, the lakes, and Covadonga.  [And yes, I woke up on time today.]  We drove through gorgeous rolling hills/mountains and countryside to get to all of the places; and when we were there it was just so peaceful and sunny and happy.

[You can't tell, but we're all standing at the top of this bridge.]

At Covadonga there is a waterfall with a special fountain next to it that supposedly makes anyone who drinks from it get married within a year.  There are seven spouts in the fountain, and I found out after I drank from it that you're supposed to drink from each spout to make the myth come true . . . oops.  But I tried, dad--just for you.

[I don't know why I look like a ghost in this.]

Once we made it home from our excursions, we went to two different markets that were going on.  There were a lot of leather and food booths [I tried all of the different cheeses just for you mom].  

[This was taken at 8:30--maybe I'm crazy but it looks like noon to me.]

There always seems to be a party going on here [especially on the weekends]--it's fantastic.  And now, I'm going to do my homework, make a lunch for my giant hike tomorrow . . . and then head out to the discotecas for a bit of dancing before bed.  And don't worry, I'll sleep on the bus tomorrow.

The Sun at Night

One of the weird things about Spain is that the sun doesn't set until 10:30 at night . . . I don't really understand how that works.  Megen and I went to Guillermina's gallery opening tonight [where we met her siblings and friends and Megen was offered champagne] and I felt like it was only 5:00 as I was walking Meg to the corner of the park.

[Taken at approximately 10:03 p.m., or 22.03h if you're using Spanish time.]

Today was packed with fun.  We played two games in class--I got second place in the first one [Remmy's doppelganger beat me] and won the second!  I hope you're proud.

[This is Sky and the weird game we played.]

I also took a picture of my classroom like you asked me:

[This is Khalid . . . his mustache isn't real in case you were wondering.]

Also, remember how you asked me if I've cooked here?  Well now I can proudly say that I have.

Guillermina pretty much had everything set up for me and ready to go . . . and Paul turned on the stove and fryer and explained how to do it . . . and it was an American meal . . . but nevertheless, I have cooked in Spain.

After lunch I ran down to the school to help cut Remmy-doppelganger's hair and sat out in the beautiful sun and talked with some friends from the program for a while.  I then ran up to the park and went running while the friends got Megen, and then we all met up and got ice cream before:

[This is Alejandro.  Like his ponytail?]

That's right, we learned how to do the tango.  There's a coffee shop that offers free lessons on Thursday nights, so a bunch of people from our group went and tried it out.  I'm pretty much a professional now . . . or at least for the eight steps that I know.

half-pipes and ice cream.

How nice it was to see the sun shining in Oviedo today.  [Granted, it was a little windy, but w.]  And don't get me wrong, I love the rain, but the sun just makes things so much easier.  Like strolling through the park . . . or eating ice cream . . . or skateboarding . . .

Oh yeah--mom, remember how I said that Chase still skateboards, but he'll stop soon-ish?

[This is a fake pose.]

We spent some time this afternoon at the half-pipe of el Campo de San Fransisco while Chase battled with some Spanish punks.  We're such locals now.  He also tried to get me to skateboard, and I insistently said no [many times] . . . everyone thought it was because I was scared, but no matter how hard I tried to explain my fabulous coordination/balance they didn't believe me.  But I stood strong, don't you worry.

Things are great and life is good.  Guillermina bought more fruit today and recognized that I love it, so I think she'll make sure to have a lot of it around now.  Yay for nectarines and other tasty fruits that I don't know the name of.

I love [and miss] you much.