San Sebastián Weekend Trip!

This weekend was full of great food, sites, and tons of rain! Definitely want to come back here!

Day 1:

We left early on Friday morning to take a bus to San Sebastián! I was able to pack everything I needed in my backpack for initially a two day trip. The bus ride was only an hour and we got there for under 2 euros! We started walking around and knew that we could finally get a large meal that will fill us up. We all decided Italian sounded incredible and found a cute little place. As we walked towards our hostel, we already realized that we had walked over 8,000 steps! Andrea was able to find an awesome hostel in the town that had bunk beds for all 5 of us with our own bathroom. This bed was amazing and each bunk had their own little light and charger. We all were super excited about sleeping some place new and some place that was super warm. Since we were so impressed with this hostel and San Sebastián, we all decided to stay until Sunday. However, this meant that we all had to buy another shirt, which wasn't hard because this town had everything.

After we got settled into our hostel, we began to walk around this beautiful city that is full of life. As we were walking, we saw hundreds of people walking down the hill singing and banging small pans. These little kids were so adorable and dressed in costumes like gypsies. There was music playing and the kids were hitting the pans along with the beat. It was incredible to see how much they treasure these moments before carnival. We watched until they turned away from us and we all had smiles from ear to ear!

Next, we walked closer to the beach, which is famous and packed in the summers. The view in every direction was breathtaking and a few of us dipped our feet in the Atlantic ocean. There were many messages in the sand created by artists. Andrea and I had our eyes on walking up to the large statue of Christ, plus we heard about their famous aquarium. Even though we already felt that we had walked a lot, we decided to make the climb up to Monte Urgull. You can see the statue in this picture.

Now, this hike took about 20 minutes to the top. We stopped every few minutes to catch our breath and complain that we didn't have any water, which is clearly very American of us. We kept encouraging each other to keep going because in the end, we will be very fit and will see amazing views. On this hike, there were many ways to get up to the top and we even passed a cemetery. The road was made of stones and at times, it was hard to find a path that was not as hard to walk on. At each level, we all would take hundreds of photos and even selfies (embarrassing I know). Every step of the way, I could not believe that we are so lucky to be in Spain and experience all of this. The statue of Christ was incredible up close and we were able to explore the castle that it is upon. We spent about an hour exploring and taking different routes to different views. I took way too many pictures to post them all here.

On our way down back to the town, we were able to go to the aquarium! The beginning of this museum had many wooden ships and lots of history about the travels they had. A few of us found a little reading hole for little kids where we were able to take a break from standing and walking. Too bad we couldn't understand them because they were in Basque. The last floor was the aquarium and it was so much fun!! They had so many different kinds of fish and a large shark tank. We were in the museum until closing. I would definitely go back there if given the chance. This was a lot of walking and we were ready for some food! On our way into town, we did find a souvenir shop so I can buy postcards for my students back in the Fort Worth!

We walked through the streets and there were so many people out. Like in Mondragon, there are specific times to eat and we were ready to eat right in the middle of the main time. Since every place was packed, we craved some churros. In Spain, you eat churros with chocolate and now my life is changed forever. While being here in Spain, I have wanted to work on my Spanish; thus, Andrea told me how to order for our group and it worked, for the most of the conversation. After this little meal, we definitely needed a real meal. Since I am picky, Victor and I ended up at a different place than the rest. Together, we bonded over our families and talked about other places we want to travel to. Moreover, we could tell that our legs were going to be sore in the morning. Once we met up after dinner, we ventured back to our beautiful hostel and slept amazing.


Day 2:
We woke up to walk to our new hostel for this night to place our bags before our bus to France at 10:40am. Unfortunately, we got to our new hostel, but the hours were later in the day. So we walked right back to our first hostel and were able to store our bags for the day. Victor checked his Fitbit and we already made half of his daily goals in steps. We made it to the bus station with time to get breakfast and make bets on which number our bus would be located at. This ride was only an hour as well and cost 7 euros.


Since I am always asleep in cars or buses, my group had to wake me up so we could begin our adventure in Biarritz, France. Just like Mondragon, this town was small and had beautiful apartments. It was slightly raining so it seemed like no one was ready to be outside. We walked around and found the ocean view. We walked up the hill to see even better views and see the famous Castle that overlooks the Atlantic ocean. We all were just taking in all the sites and how beautiful it was to be in France for close to two hours.  As we walked around, we found a purse shop that sells a very handy bag, longchamps. Melissa and I decided it was a great investment and had an extra bag to travel with for the weekends. There was a beautiful church in town were we all were able to walk in and say a few prayers.


Truly excited about our purchase, it was now time for some crepes from France! Andrea found a local place that was highly recommended. This place had both sweet and savory options. Since we were starving, we all got savory ones and boy were they incredibly tasty. As we sat down, we realized that this town did not have much nor museums. Since we had already walked around most of the place, we thought we would check for our bus back to San Sebastián. To our surprise, the bus we wanted to take was full and the only time left was after 9pm. For us to be able to stay in our new hostel, we needed to be back before 7pm to check in. We all frantically searched for buses and trains and nothing for awhile. Since we needed to find a plan, clearly we all needed a sweet crepe as well. I had a delicious nutella crepe. Luckily, Melissa found a way for us to take two buses, walk a bit, and then take a train back before 6pm.

With time to spare, we all walked around and found some treats. These macaroons were truly amazing and we all decided to try new flavors. With our little bags full, we walked into different book stores. In addition, Camila needed a bag that wasn't a rolly; thus, we kept walking to find a store that had the best options. We found a place that had tons of pencil cases and we were thrilled. Can't you tell that we're education majors? This store had such cute bags and other things that I was able to get gifts for a few family members.

With our pockets empty with money, we decided to head to the bus earlier to make sure we made all the connections to get back. We were able to find the first bus to the airport pretty easily and we made it to the next bus stop with too much time to spare. As we waited, the more worried we got that we did not have the right information to get back in time. We walked to different stops by the airport to make sure we could find the 816 bus. As we ran, we knew that staying in one place would be best. Over 30 minutes later, our bus finally came. Once we were at the train station, we couldn't figure out how to buy our tickets and or what train we needed. We tracked down the right purchasing area and got our ticket. A couple behind us asked if we were from America and we said YES very loudly. They were from Indiana and were planning on traveling all over the world. They followed us as we missed our very first train back to San Sebastián. Finally, we were on the right train and us girls made jokes that Victor, the only guy, was over all of us so he sat by himself farther away.

We ran off the train and through the streets to get to our first hostel to grab our bags. Since we were on such a time crunch, we had a plan to use the restroom and grab our bags and run across town. With five of us, it was hard to make timing work so four of us ran ahead to make sure we could met the deadline of 7pm. At 6:45, we made it to the hostel and the guys were super confused why we weren't there sooner. We had two rooms. One had three single beds and the other had a single bed and a double bed. Lucky me, I had the double bed!

It was such a long day and we decided to walk about town to find some dinner. Like the day before, San Sebastián was getting ready to celebrate carnival. Most people were dressed in their costumes and were congregating in the square. We followed them and found a large group dancing and singing on a stage. People in the crowd were singing along and banging pots with mallets. We swayed to their music and singing with smiles on our faces. Once again, it is awesome to see them all partake in their cultural activities. After four songs, we decided to get some food so we can sleep soon. Us girls found a place that had tons of yummy pintxos. With room in our stomachs, we needed some treats. Ice cream was the way to go. However, it did take a long time to find a place and it was exactly what we needed after our travels.

We made our way back to our hostel, and it was clear that the crowds were getting larger to celebrate carnival. I really wish I was able to buy a pan and mallet they were all playing and singing with. I was just in owe of all of the aspects in this town at night. We all were exhausted and got ready for bed. All of the sudden, all around our hostel, we could hear loud singing and music. I got a call from Andrea and told us to get to their room right then. All of us were on the balcony were we can see that down a street there was about 300 people ready for their march. They began and came right to the door of our hostel. They sang and sang and pointed at us. We smiled and cheered along with them. It was truly an incredible experience. They were then on the move again down the streets singing and banging the pans. We all went back to our beds, but were up until 1 or 2am due to all the singing and parading through the streets. Words cannot describe how awesome it was to witness this and be apart of this night.

Day 3:
We all woke up ready for another exciting day in San Sebastián. However, as we were leaving for breakfast, it was clear that we were in store for some rain. Spain takes Sunday's very seriously; thus, most places are closed. But, there were places open, luckily for us. When we left, we ran back to the hostel to check out. We stored our bags and were ready to explore in the rain. After 15 minutes, it was pouring and we all wanted to go back to Mondragon. We found the earlier bus and returned back to our hostel. As we made our way back to the train station, we ran into an art fair. I told everyone that I wanted to bring back artwork for my apartment and to always remember where I have been. I ended up buying three pieces! I am incredibly excited to frame them.

With an hour to spare, we all sat in the bus station and ate while watching some Seville futbol. It was great to have another meal before we headed back. We cannot wait to spend the next two weekends traveling as well. Now we are back in Mondragon and ready for another week at schools! Hopefully we can learn more Basque and their educational practices.


Until next post,
Jillian