The Canary Islands

A little over a week ago I returned from the Canary Islands. The island we went to is called the Gran Canary Island. I went with my Italian roommate, Francesca, for one last get away before she left to go back to Sicily. It was me, Francesca, Francesca's best friend from Sicily, Anna, and about 20 other Europeans studying abroad in another region in Spain with Anna. Needless to say it was a little overwhelming at times being surround by many Europeans mostly of which were Italians. There we rented a few apartments and to my surprise I stayed in one with 7 other Italians. It was a little hard at first hearing lots of Italian and little Spanish. I think after some time they realized how frustrating it must have been for me not understanding much of what they were saying. So they began to speak more in Spanish. All in all I met some really nice and fun people from countries other than Italy as well such as France, Turkey and Poland.

We also all rented a few cars to get around the island. It was a great choice because it allowed us to see a lot more of the island than we would have been able to see by foot. There are a lot of very nice and different beaches but they are all very spread out so driving made it a lot easier to visit the different ones. Also, we took some longer scenic routes to get to different part of the island where we drove along windy, hilly roads which gave us a great view of the beaches, mountains and open land. It was a very relaxing trip where we spent most of our days just going to the beach. We went to a different beach everyday. One of them was a beach with black sand and lots of big rocks from a volcano that had erupted. It was cool to see a beach with black sand for my first time. However, I think I prefer the other ones more. The sand is more soft and the big rocks can sometimes hurt your feet making it hard to go in and out of the water.

One of the beaches


The sun set on our way home from the beach. I am with two of the Italians: Anna and Alex.


We stopped to take a picture from the side of the road.

The weather was beautiful while we were there. In the day it was sunny and in the mid 7o's. I even returned with a little bit of a tan and it was snowing in Vitoria when I came home. However, the snow didn't last long and now it is starting to feel a little bit more like Spring. Francesca officially left this week to go back to Sicily. It was a little weird and sad saying bye to her after living with her for the past 6 months. I am very happy we were able to go on a trip together before she left. We now have a new roommate from England named Elaine. She will be here until the end of May. Even though English is both of our Native Languages I try to speak mostly Spanish with her which is good. Her mom is from Spain so she can actually speak well too.

Well that is it for now. I am planning on staying in Vitoria until the first of April when my parents
come to Spain for my Easter Break which I am so excited about!

Austurias

I have recently gone on two trips that I have yet to update you all on. The first one was to another region in the north of Spain called Austurias. I was there two weekend ago on. We arrived Friday evening and left Monday morning. (February 26-March 1). I went with two other Auxilliares, Dana and Brooke, who I have also traveled with a few times this year. We spent most of our time in the city, Gijon. Gijon is right along the coast and has a beautiful beach with a board walk and a church along the edge of the beach that overlooks the water. There are many pretty green parks too. (Meaning it must rain a lot!) On Saturday afternoon we did a beautiful, long walk along the water over looking the mountains, the open green space and farm land. It was seriously a view that I don't think I have seen anything like before.



The Church on the edge of the water.

In one of the parks

Brooke, Dana and I on the port



Brooke and I on the beautiful walk along the water

A view of the beautiful, blue water at the beginning of the walk

While in Gijon we also went to the center plaza known as the Plaza Mayor. Around the Plaza Mayor are a number of restaurants called Siderias where you can drink their Sidra (Cider) which is a drink made in Austurias and what region is known for. The cider is a drink that is somewhat similar to wine except a little bit more dry and bitter. Definitely something you have to try while in this region of Spain. It is poured for you in a special manner by the waiters holding the bottle from overhead to a glass at knee lever. It is actually a really cool process to see.

Plaza Mayor





On Sunday we made a short trip to Oviedo, the capital of Austurias. My friend, Mary, lives there so we met up with her. It was great to see her. We went out to lunch at another Sideria. One of the main street in the center of Oviedo is filled with Siderias. It is a long, downhill street. There we tried a typical dish called Fabada. It is a bean and sausage stew. It is actually very good but filling. After lunch Mary showed us around the city. Since it was Sunday most things were closed so we weren't really able to go in any where. However, we saw some cute plazas, the outside of the Cathedral which looks really nice and some pretty parks. We also went to this one pretty park along the outskirts of the city that has a really pretty view of all of the mountains and green land with long sidewalks to walk, run or ride your bike on. Overall, I think the city of Oviedo has more character and more to offer than Gijon. However, the beach and the views along the coast of Gijon make it beautiful.

Outside of the Cathedral


A pretty church Mary and I in the park

Fortunately, we lucked out with beautiful weather. Sunny and in the 50's-60's. It was great to explore everything this region had to offer. While there we were in the eye of a cyclone. On Saturday while we were walking along the board walk the waves were extremely strong hitting the side of the board walk. Surprisingly where we werethere the weather conditions were perfect and more dangerous in the surrounding areas. In Vitoria, there were extremely high winds and people were unable to go out at night. So we really did luck out.

The waves splashing up onto the boardwalk. Incredible.

Next Blog I will update you on my trip to the Canary Islands. Stay posted.