Sorry that it has taken me a little longer to write this week! It's harder than the mission since here isn't a specific day set aside for me to do this. The week just becomes so busy, that I honestly forgot.
It has been an incredible week. I feel like I'm probably going to say this every week. Haha! We had our first excursion this weekend--we ended up traveling to Bilbao, San Sebastián, and Saint Jean de Luz, France. Can I just say how much I loved each and every city? In Bilbao, we went to the Guggenheim, which is an art museum. I enjoyed it a ton, and I would love to go to the other two Guggenheims at some point in my life! There was one piece called Matter of Time, which is huge sculptures that you walk inside of. I felt like I was completely alone, even though there was tons of other people. It was a cool experience!
San Sebastián is breathtaking. The city is built right into the mountain, but is right along the ocean. The water was basically crystal blue. But, it was raining the whole weekend, so no swimming! We toured some cathedrals, the king's summer house, and a museum about the Basque people! If you didn't know, the northern part of Spain used to be controlled by the Basque people. Not much is known about them and their origins. They speak a different language, so it was interesting to have Spanish be the second language on signs. We also visited some sculptures that are built on rocks in the ocean. The artist also dug out holes in the pathway, so the breeze/wind from the ocean can come up through the ground. Before heading in for the night, we got pintxos, which are basically tapas. I was adventurous and tried one with raw salmon and sardines! I don't think I'll be eating very regularly, but it was worth the 2 euros ;) Also, the view from our hotel was AMAZING! Our professor told us that our hotel was 15 min away from the city, so we wouldn't be able to spend much time in the evenings around the city center. I was bummed at first, but then we saw the view. It definitely made up for it!
I fell back in love with France after visiting Saint Jean de Luz. Its a small beach town in the southern region of France. It was also controlled by the Basque people, so it had some similarities to Bilbao and San Sebastian. We were able to see the cathedral that King Louis (he built Versailles) was married in, which was very beautiful. Its always interesting to visit cathedrals--they are incredible, but I love the simple beauty of the temple. I was able to eat a couple of different French pastries--fruit tart, crepe, and macaroon. It was probably my favorite lunch from these past two weeks ;).
I love that each and every day I have an adventure. Madrid wasn't my all-time favorite city when I visited Spain in the past, so I was afraid that I would become bored by the sights. But I have really grown to love Madrid. We have been able to visit the temple, find the best churros, explore Plaza Mayor, and get lost in downtown. I am incredibly grateful that I can be here. Not many people get the chance to do a study abroad. I can't believe that I am one of the lucky few that get to do this!
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