Last Wednesday and Thursday were pretty calm and relaxed days in Pamplona. Wednesday, Pete and I again walked around Lo Viejo. I purchased some cute flats, as the rough cobble-stoned roads of London killed many of my shoes this semester. Also, Spanish people don’t really wear flip-flops and look at you weirdly if you do. So I felt obligated to acquiesce to their fashion….and the shoes were cute. Justification enough, right?
A cool pic of a street in Pamplona.
We spent some more time in Parque Taconera, where all the wild things are. And by wild things I mean some birds and some pretty calm deer and goats. The animal-lover in me was very happy.
A peacock trying to impress the ladies.
This picture is dedicated to my mother, Carol Schaefer, friend of the goats.
Wednesday night Pete took me out for pinchos (which are what tapas are called in northern Spain) hopping. We went to a couple of bars, grabbing a couple of pinchos at each. Pete and I both love the concept of pinchos/tapas. It’s such a healthy way of going about it because the portions are small and when you hop from bar to bar you often eat standing up. And you stretch your meal out, therefore eating less. I really enjoy the huge variety of pinchos they have too. I found a good website on tapas that you can check out if you’re interested: http://www.arrakis.es/~jols/tapas/indexin.html The concept is just so different from anything in the States that I really feel I’m getting a genuine cultural experience. Yes, of course this is once again related to food, but I still feel that’s ok.
Thursday we had originally planned on a taking a day-trip to San Sebastian, a small city on the Atlantic. However, we later rationalized that since we were taking a 10-hour night bus Thursday night to Alicante for the weekend, that we’d hold off and relax and shop for our weekend instead. It turns out Thursday was Labor Day in Spain, so most of our shopping destinations were closed. However, we had a good day of again walking around and buying the things we could in preparation. We ate dinner Thursday night with Ernesto at Café Bar Iruña, Hemingway’s hangout back in the day. They had a great set menu for cheap, so we were all pretty satisfied.
The ten-hour ride to Alicante Thursday was just as anyone would imagine it—tight, uncomfortable and long. Unfortunately, there was a lady snoring unusually loudly behind me too, so Pete and I didn’t get a ton of sleep. Needless to say, naps were a first priority when we arrived in Alicante and checked into our hotel. We actually did not stay in Alicante, but north a bit on Playa San Juan. It was a great area. Not terribly crowded, but a really nice beach. Our hotel was about 50 meters from the beach, if that, so we were pumped for the great location.
I can pretty much sum up Friday, Saturday and Sunday together, as we did essentially the same thing every day: Woke up, bought food and drinks for the beach and beached it all day. It was literally the first time this entire semester where I have done absolutely nothing for a couple days straight. It was absolutely wonderful and refreshing. Pete and I had a great time every day just talking, napping, listening to music and attempting to tan. Key word is attempting. I was really smart with the sunscreen this go around, so no crazy sunburns and lines this time. Originally we had said we’d hit up some clubs and stay out late a night or two, but the sun was so draining during the day that we settled for late dinners and strolls on the beach before calling it a night. Pete treated me to a great beachfront restaurant on our first night where I had spaghetti con mariscos (seafood), which was filled with shrimp, mussels, clams, calamari, etc. I was really happy. The second night I treated us to a nice pizza place.
The view from my balcony.
People out on Playa San Juan.
A happy beach-goer.
The boardwalk on Playa San Juan.
Sunday evening we ventured back down to Alicante and caught our 10-hour bus home to Pamplona. The way back was actually less comfortable than the way down, unfortunately. A couple of Pete’s friends who are also exchange students in Pamplona ended up on the same bus going back, so it was cool to meet and chat with them. We got in pretty early on Monday morning and went right back to sleep until the afternoon.
In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, Pete, Ernesto, Angela, her friend Danny and I decided to throw our own little party. Spain does not celebrate this holiday, only Mexico, and Americans wanting an excuse to party. We, of course, are such Americans. We all headed over to Ernesto’s piso (apartment) to enjoy some good ol’ Tex-Mex burritos and margaritas in celebration. It ended up being a pretty fun and chill night just sitting around, talking and listening to music. Unfortunately, had to keep the noise level down as Ernesto’s neighbor, who obviously was not celebrating the holiday and instead celebrated her sleep time, knocked on the wall to quiet us. Regardless, a good time had by all. I’m so happy that Pete has made these friends over here. He has a bunch of other friends, both exchange students and Spanish students, but Ernesto and Angela and him are probably the tightest. They’re very cool, and since Angela goes to MU, I’m sure I’ll see her a bunch next year.
Today we actually made it out to San Sebastian. It’s a short bus ride away, and is absolutely gorgeous. It’s nestled at the base of some mountains, right on a bay off the Atlantic. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in my life. Check out these pictures and please take a look at my Facebook album for more: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2257708&l=30576&id=15921830
The beach with the tide out.
Town Hall with the mountain and statue of Jesus in the background.
Turtle Island in the middle of the bay.
We spent the majority of the morning climbing up a mountain toward a giant statue of Jesus. The mountain offered gorgeous views of the city, bay and ocean, so I had to stop every couple of feet for a photo op. Pete’s amazing with how patient he is with me. We enjoyed the slow climb and loved stopping here and there just to take the whole thing in.
Taking a break on the way up the mountain.
We made it up to Jesus!
After our descent, we spent some time wading in the waves on the beach and then sunning ourselves. I was bad and forgot the sunscreen, so I have a bit of a tomato thing going on right now. Luckily, this is even-ing out those crazy tan lines on my arms that I mentioned in my last post that I got during our picnic at La Cuidadela last week. Post basking/baking in the sun, we grabbed some pinchos at Pete’s favorite pincho bar he’s found in Spain, and headed back on the bus. It was a pretty short trip, about 5 or 6 hours, but entirely worth it.
I feel so incredibly blessed to have experienced all these places in Spain and Europe with Pete. I know most couples don’t get this opportunity, and I guess fate just played in our favor, since we’d both decided to study abroad this semester prior to even dating. All my experiences have been enhanced by sharing it with my best friend and best travel buddy. It’s cool that we’ll be able to go back and be able to share pictures and all our stories with everyone. I know he and I are both ready to go home at this point and do just that. I’ll be home late Friday night and Pete is back in the first week of June. We’ve both got a fun summer in Atlanta together to look forward to, which we’re both beyond excited about. Internships will keep us busy during the week, but we’ve got some good nights and weekends planned with his friends, as well as a trip to St. Louis for my cousin’s wedding (yay!) and a possible NYC roadtrip to visit all our friends who are working there this summer.
I suppose I’ll wrap it up by telling you what’s coming up these next couple of days. I am taking an early bus Thursday morning to Madrid to catch my flight to London. I am staying a night in London in possibly my flat and then am catching my flight home on Friday afternoon. It lands in Chicago, so I have to connect to a flight to KC, but I should be home about 10 p.m. on Friday night. I am very very excited to see my family at the airport. I talked to Mom and Dad on the phone the other day and I could tell they were so excited that I was returning in a week. It’ll be great to see home again, the pets, my bed, visit my grandma, drive my car, eat a well-made hamburger….the list continues. I guess I’m an American girl through and through, even though this experience has impacted me beyond my expectations. I feel so lucky to have had it.
I don’t know if this will be my final blog post. Tomorrow will be full of repacking, seeing my lasts of Pamplona, going to a party with Pete’s friends and of course, spending quality time with Pete. (Yeah, I’m going to miss him quite a bit.) And I can’t foresee if I’ll be able to write from London, not that there will be a ton to tell you at that point, as it mostly will be comprised of traveling.
In case this is the final post of “A SAMple of London” I want to say thanks for keeping up with my travels and experiences. I’ve gotten so many e-mails, comments to my blog, Facebook messages and even hand-written letters (thank you, Jenna King) from friends and family, and it’s been so wonderful reading them and keeping in touch with everyone. It’s been fun knowing that you’ve enjoyed what I’ve shared. And it’s cool to know that this blog is something I’ll always have to look back and remember what I’ve experienced. I was initially hesitant to become another blogger out there in the cybersphere, but I’m so glad I did. It was worth every minute of tedious uploads and computer malfunctions. I don’t like good-byes, and I’ve had to say far too many of them in the last couple of weeks, so I’m going to end by again thanking you and telling you to stay tuned for future blogs of Samantha Schaefer. I anticipate some more European excursions in the next couple of years, so this girl is not done yet.
It wouldn't be a proper post without links to my Facebook photo albums. I've included all the European ones just in case you don't want to go back through searching for the links. They're pretty much in order from most recent to least:
Pelirrojita does España: Parte Uno: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2255784&l=beb5b&id=15921830
Pelirrojita does España: Parte Dos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2257708&l=30576&id=15921830
About Londontown: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2252393&l=cd82c&id=15921830
London Ladies: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2254366&l=342e6&id=15921830
A Few of My Favourite Things: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2246066&l=c4ded&id=15921830
A Bray Escape: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2250098&l=eb891&id=15921830
Momas Weekend and Others: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2243803&l=795f7&id=15921830
Be Very Wary of the Gypsies while in Paris: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2240382&l=f51e8&id=15921830
If you tilt it sideways, it becomes art: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2240239&l=b104c&id=1592183
Rome if you want to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2241844&l=f9a27&id=15921830
Roman Holiday: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2241749&l=1f049&id=15921830
Pieces of London/My Royal Premiere!: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2238051&l=d8b55&id=15921830
A sunny day in Londontown/I'm going to Hogwarts!: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2235155&l=3c830&id=15921830
Hooray for English Countryside!: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2234313&l=707ec&id=15921830
Peter does London: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2234309&l=2bae2&id=15921830
Stonehenge: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2230967&l=663bf&id=15921830
Cardiff Castles and Coasts: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2230961&l=535b3&id=15921830
Bashing Around London: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2227248&l=018c0&id=15921830
