Travel Update Part uno... Lorado y Castro Urdiales

So as you can tell from the title this is going to be a 2 part update (ohh yeah get excited) because a lot has happened that I have not filled everyone in on.  Last weekend- for Halloween all 20 of us Americans got to go to Salamanca and I for sure want to give you guys all the details about that.  BUT before I do that, I want to talk to you about another trip I went on, the week before, with three of my good friends.

BUT even before I can do that... I would like to go on a small rant. So you dont get bored, I´ll put a few pictures up in between
 here I go:

                                           Dont get me wrong. I. Love. Spain.
This has literally been the best 60 plus days of my life. I have learned so much about life outside of America and about people in general.  I´ve eatin weird food (blood sausage), tried wierd drinks (absenth) and been more crazy than I would ever have dreamed to be in the States.  But in doing all these things I learned a ton and I honestly feel like EVERYONE should study abroad once in there lives.  There is no way to describe to everyonewhat  you experience or feel through talking or pictures you have to live it.  And thats why I feel like me and the 19 other Americans get along so well- we are all going through the highs and lows together and we have definately bonded because of it. The things you learn are not necessarily academic but rather you ask yourself about ur thoughts and ur views. Why do I do what I do? Are the things I deem right and wrong, that way because of society or is everyone confined by that same sort of things?¿ But there are some things that I really miss from back home and here they are...

1. Friends and Family- I spend way to much time on Fbook talking to my friends back home because I miss them and want them to be here and live the life I am living.  Obvously if there WERE here things would be completely different and the experience wouldnt be the same but I still can wish right? As for family do I really need to say more? Love them all and it for sure makes my day when I get to talk to one of them for a legit amount of time weither on the phone with mom and dad or on facebook chat with one of the sisters when we actually have time to talk and not just say hey because one of us is rushed.

2. American Food and Feeling Full- If I eat one more piece of bread I might burn my casa down to the ground.  I kid you not I eat a LOAF of bread everyday. Dont get me wrong this is the best bread I´ve ever had and when I get back to the states I´m going to miss it but this high carb diet here is killing me.  I´m constantly hungry because I dont get enough protein and I cant remember the last time I ate a green veggie. (thats no joke) Everything my madre makes me is fried!!! Want I want is home cooked healthy food.  Something thats filling so an hour later I´m not thinking about the next meal.  This is also a problem going to the gym where I have no energy and in the morning where I freaking eat cookies and milk for breakfast!.  I´m not Santa so lets cut the crap.  I want eggs, I want King Ranch Chicken, I want green beans, and some mexican food wouldnt hurt.  Side note my first meal is going to be Chick ful a which I realize runs contrary to this whole healthy not fried food speech but hey I´m not in a stable mindset right now.

3. Being Cold All The Time-  I´m cold all the time. Enough said.  My house has heat but my madre doesnt use it.  I woke up the other night and looked at the temp after I had went to the bathroom... 14 degrees.  Thats 57.2 degrees IN DOORS PEOPLE.  I´m walkin to the bathroom in just boxers and I´m pretty sure my toes go black and blue.  The other day I came home from the gym and looked at myself in the mirror and STEAM WAS COMING OFF MY BODY.  No really, steam was coming off my body. You didnt miss read that.  Its really really really cold inside my house.  You know that amazing feeling you get when you go outside and your freezing your ace off and you go back inside and its great because you get all warm? Well here that doesnt happen.  I´m cold outside and I run inside to only slightly less cold and no wind.  Its just not doing it for me to be honest. Heres the pic of the steam off my body.  I was so amazed I took a picture. Idk if you can see the steam BUT its there... (check out my head you can see it)

4.  Warm Showers-  Anyone that knows me knows I take a lot of showers.  I legit enjoy them.  Its relaxing.  Its good after I workout and I´m beat and when I wake up and I´m trying to start my day.  Well here my shower blows.  I end up standing in water half way up my shins.  AND my madre has already told me the water bill (heating) was way to high soooo now I take even colder showers- which I think is amazing because I´ve been trying to be very nice about it and take one shower a day and really quickly but when your cold in yourhouse I kinda wanna warm up in the shower so maybe I have been going a little too long... SUE ME.

5. Basketball/Sports/The YMCA- I miss watching basketball and college football and the NFL. I look at espn daily to read about how badly my teams have lost these past weeks and it hurts.  But not nearly as much as not being there for them! I want to watch the Miami Heat lose. I wanna watch the Bcats win a game.  I wanna sit back and smile as John Fox coaches himself out of a job.  BUT i´m here watching soccer....fml

Ok well now that I got all that off my chest I feel better.  Thanks for sitting through that.  Now back to my life.  The pictures I have posted between my paragraphs have all been of Lorado.  One weekend when a lot of the Americas were traveling all over Europe me, Jason, Laura, and Morgan decided to take a day trip to Lorado and Castro Urdiales two small cities that other than being beautiful dont really have much to talk about.  Lorado is old  and like the picture above feels really European with its narrow stone streets but what I liked more was the landscape of it being on the water.  Good pictures.

We left Santander and it only took about an hour by bus to get to Lorado and than from Lorado to Castro Urdiales about another 30 minutes.  Our bus left at 9 30 and we got back at 10 30 so it was literally a whole day affair.  I really enjoyed it though because it was super chill.  I really dont have that much to say, I mean the places were beautiful but had no real historical significance or anything.  So just enjoy looking at the pictures I took.

Ok so after we had seen all the sites. (Btw how do you say that in the past tense site saw? site seed?)

we went and got lunch before we left for Castro Urdiales.  One of the great things about Spain is they have these plates of the day and you get a lot of food for a pretty good price.  In Lorado I got water, wine, bread, a first course of Lasania, a main course (chicken and fries) and desert for 10 euro a deal that really cannot be beat.  But the really important part of this story is the lasania.  I kid you not it was the best lasania I have had in my life and I´ve had some dank lasania.  This stuff was MONEY.  I mean I´m not big on taking pictures but I took a picture of this food.  It was that good! btw yes that is queso covering the whole thing.  I would take the hour bus ride and pay the 8 euro for the trip just to eat that again.  Heck I would pay the 10 euro that I did for whole meal for just this dish.  It was that good.

The rest of these pictures are from Castro Urdiales. Nothing too exciting about this place other than it was on the water and was really pretty.  The day was perfect for picture taking so by my standards I took a lot.  My friends took atleast twice as many as I did.  I´m not going to type anymore so just take a look and enjoy the pictures. PS I´m going to update tomorrow (or later today depending on how bored I am) about Salamanca.



Ok I lied.  Castro Urdiales is famous for its original lighthouse.  The city was founded by the Romans and they put up a lighthouse which was either THE first or one of the first in Spain.

While I was there all I could think about was A. wow this place is really really pretty and B. I cannot believe people actually live here... In all this old historic culture and with these really nice houses with boats right on the water.  It was incredible.