(sunset in Sopelana)
I love beaches so much, I feel they deserve their own blog space. I knew I could expect to find some beautiful beaches based off of a few photos in a guide book but no words or photos can really do these beaches any justice. They are so breathtaking. My first beach experience occurred on Thursday when my Irish friend Frances and I decided the day was too beautiful to stay inside the city. We were ready to see some ocean! Of course, she is from Ireland where she is used to gorgeous landscapes and piercingly blue water but I told her living on the Gulf of Mexico is a whole different story. Of course, it is a beach and it is pretty in it's own rugged way but this water is so much more amazing.
We took a quick metro for about 30 minutes (Within a week I have tried almost every form of transportation offered here-pretty neat how easy it is to get around)and were worried we wouldn't have much time before sunset but we spent a good 3 hours on the beach before that happened. I walked in the water but wouldn't dare swim. The water had to have been about 65 degrees! Frances said it was warmer than Ireland so she went head first into a wave-crazy woman! I took several photos as you will see in my Shutterfly email invite. I was so happy and for the first time last week I felt at home. I mean, who wouldn't when surrounded by beauty? This is what I have wanted and all I have asked for since my turn of events 5 months ago.
Frances and I had a glass of yummy wine while watching the sun go down and walked into town for some hamburguesas. They were huge but pretty good. Who ever knew a fried egg would taste good on a hamburger?
Yesterday (Sunday) my new roommate Christian (from Germany) and Norwegian friend Hilde went on a little journey to San Sebastian. I have heard endless amounts of good things about this coastal city. It used to be known as a famous spa getaway. Now it is known mainly for its annual film festival extravaganza and it just so happened that the festival was going on when we decided to journey out there. We took a bus for an hour and 10 minutes and arrived in a beautiful and thriving town. A river runs all the way through it and eventually leads you to the ocean. Yet again, a gorgeous beach. It's a hard life, I know.
(relaxing in San Sebastian)
It was a little annoying to be there during the festival because of the hordes of people. There were tons of movie stars there including from America but I did not see any. I was more intrigued by the town itself. However, these huge groups of people were gathering around hotels where they might see stars leave and when a premier was about to begin they all flocked to the main venue of the festival. It was insane...I have pictures! Hilde and I went straight for the beach to chill out. And for the first time I lost my inhibitions and sunbathed topless like all the other locals. It was hard at first but Hilde encouraged me that it is normal and no one cares. My friend Jaclyn at home also told me to go wild and be topless on a beach so there ya go...aren't you proud of me Jac??
Finally after a nice little siesta, Hilde, Christian and I walked around more. We encountered an excellent ice cream parlor called Helado (ice cream) Boulevard. There must have been 30 different flavors. I ended up getting a combination of mango and coco (coconut laced with chocolate). It was delicioso! Then we watched an interesting performance in the center of a plaza. I'm not really sure what they were doing even though I could understand a lot of what they were saying. It was kind of weird but nevertheless entertaining. Finally it was time to get back to reality...do some homework for class the next day and get some rest. I had a great weekend though and this beach only topped it off!
