Tuesday, April 28, 2009

¡Olé España! Part 5 (San Sebastian)

We made it back to San Sebastian in one piece but were pretty disappointed that it was rainy. When Cassie first arrived it was rainy as well and we had held out on doing the sightseeing and beach stuff hoping it would be better weather when we came back from our travels. Sadly, it wasn't.

Luckily, the travel Gods loved us and when we woke up the next morning it was clear, sunny and warm! We put on some of our new clothes that we had bought during the trip and headed for a walk on the water. From my house, along the walkway where the big waves crash, to the old part for an ice cream, to the Concha and past towards Monte Igledo we were headed towards something I have wanted to do since I arrived here! Monte Igledo is the biggest hill in Donosti and at the top of it you can see spectacular views! These are the type of views you see on a post card and if you have received one from me and it was a beach scene, it was probably from this mountain! There is a funicular railway that was built in 1912 and it still running that takes you to the top. I guess you could walk up the hills but we thought sitting in a cute little rail car, going up the hill at a 60% grade to scale the 1000 feet was a great option for 2 €!

Once at the top we were blessed with how beautiful San Sebastian is. I know that I live here every day and I walk the cobblestone streets that are lined with amazing architecture built in the 1800's and past the long stretches of beach or lush parks, but I think I forget how lucky I truly am to live here. Having Cassie in Spain for these two weeks has really given me a chance to explore and be proud of the country I live in. After hopping all over Spain, I was honestly happy to be back to Donosti and the view from the top of Monte Igledo (Mountain Igledo) really put it in perspective. We were super lucky with barely any clouds and a view for miles! We actually even saw in the FAR distance, Biarritz, the French town we went to lunch at two weeks earlier.

We were pretty beat and just really felt like relaxing the rest of the day away, so that's what we did. Cassie taught me how to cook her favorite meatballs and we drank some delicious Spanish wine. We watched our Spanish newscast video that we made in 11th grade and that we always watch when we reunite. It used to be on VHS but we love it so much that we have converted it to DVD. As a tribute to our reunion, we made a newscast reunion. Our Spanish is now much better but it was still fun and we couldn't stop laughing - its like we were 17 again. I had an AMAZING vacation and am so happy came to visit! So many memories, inside jokes and beautiful places we saw - great success!

Besos!
Amanda

No comments: