Reminiscing about Paris

I've got a bit of a travel bug lately. I miss going somewhere new and discovering new foods and exploring back roads. But this year, I've decided to go visit my family, and I can't afford to explore new places and buy a plane ticket home! So, to try and tackle my travel bug, I'm going to write some posts reminiscing about trips I've taken that I haven't written about yet. So to start off this series, I'm going to tell you about my trip to Paris!

Prague in "Summer"

This summer my brother's girlfriend was doing a study abroad program in Prague. So of course, since she was in Europe, I had to go on a quick trip to visit her. My brother was visiting her also, so it was all four of us and we had a great time, even though we could only be there for a few days. Unfortunately, we hit a bit of bad weather-it rained almost the whole time! Even so, it was a great excuse to stay indoors and enjoy ridiculously cheap beer, and lots of meat and cabbage.

K and I enjoying some delicious beer! 

Let it Snow...

The cold is just now arriving to Spain. Up until a couple of days ago it has still felt like summer to me, but it is finally winter! We heard that it was going to snow up in the higher altitudes this weekend, so without hesitation we decided to head up to the mountains for some play time in the snow. And we weren't disappointed!

We started out in a very small town called Lumbreras headed towards another small town; Villoslada. We didn't make it quite that far though! 

Ghent, Brussels, Bruges and more food!!

Now that I have given you all of the information I possibly can on Antwerp--or I guess, detailed all the food that I ate--I'm going to do it for every other city we visited in Belgium! Yay!! Luckily Belgium is small and has a great train system, so it's fairly easy to travel around inside the country. We spent one day in each Ghent, Brussels, and Bruges.

Ghent

This was my favorite city behind Antwerp. It has a rich history but it's not over touristy like other cities in Belgium. (cough, cough, Bruges!) There is a little walk around the historical center which encompasses most of the scenic points.

To the end of the Earth and back

Back before Christopher Columbus set sail for the new world and proved that world was in fact round, people thought that the world was flat. They made pilgrimages out to the end of the earth, and when they arrived, they would burn all of their clothes to signify a new beginning. To this day pilgrims still struggle out to this spot to gaze over the sea in the same place where hundreds of pilgrims have stood for hundreds of years.

Last weekend, I went to the End of the Earth, or in Gallego, Fisterre, or in Spanish, Finisterre. (It comes from Latin: Finis-terrae) It's the westernmost cape in Galicia that was thought for hundreds of years to be the end of the Earth. (Galicia an autonomous community in Spain that is right above Portugal.)

Day hike in the Picos de Europa- Ruta del Cares

 A few weekends ago, with a beautiful day ahead of us and no plans, Héctor, a friend, and I decided to go hiking. We decided to do the Ruta del Cares, which is one of the most popular hiking trails in the Picos de Europa.  It's no surprise; the views are breathtaking the whole way- the path is cut into the side of a canyon with a sheer drop on one side and the mountain on the other. At the bottom of the canyon flows the Cares River (Río Cares). 

The Lakes of Covadonga

Ever since moving to Asturias I have wanted to go visit the famous Covadonga because it played a very important part in Spanish history. (Quick language lesson- Covadonga comes from two words, cueva-cave and hondo-deep meaning "deep cave") Legend has it (loosely told) that in the year 722, Don Pelayo was living in the Asturian mountains with his army when the Moors came for them. In the cave now known as Covadonga, the virgin then showed herself to Pelayo and told him that she would protect him and he would win the war. When the Moors came, their arrows bounced off the mountains and Pelayo and his army were able to overcome them. The winning of this battle began the reconquest of Spain, and Don Pelayo is known as the First King of Spain.

Stuffing my face in Antwerp, Belgium

One of the girls that I lived with last year is from Belgium. At the end of the program she moved back home and I haven't seen her since. One weekend she tried to come back to Spain to visit but she ended up being too busy and wasn't able to. So, for Semana Santa (spring break) we decided to go visit her on her home turf. She lives in Antwerp, so that was our first stop. From there we also visited Brussels, Bruges, and Ghent.

Sleeping Dragons and Inland Beaches

Two weeks ago I discovered a hidden dragon lair in Asturias. 

Venice- the city otherwise known as a labrynth

Last year for spring break, two of my friends and I decided to go on a crazy, action packed vacation and visit Rome, Florence and Pisa, and Venice, plus Barcelona, in ten days. Needless to say, running around the Italian peninsula was exhausting, and a little expensive.

By the time we got to Venice, we were completely worn out, and dirt poor. Even so, Venice was still my favorite city that we visited on the whole vacation. Maybe that I've visited so far. It's just so unique.

Cabo de Peñas & Luarco- More hidden gems

A few months ago, my boyfriend came to visit and brought his car. Since we had the liberty of being able to visit several places in one day, we decided to do a lap around the villages close to Gijón and see what they had to offer.

abandoned buildings by the highway 

Lost in the Basque Country

When my family came to visit over Christmas in 2011, we spent a few days in the French Basque country. We rented a tiny little farm house in the middle of the countryside. From this area, we were able to drive around and visit several small towns right along the edge of the border between Spain and France.

Countryside!

Before we got to this little house, we had been visiting cities non-stop, from Madrid (plus a hundred museums there), to Toledo (more museums) to Burgos. We were wiped out, and getting tired of the city life. It was time to relax a little bit and get a taste of small town life in southern France.

Asturias's Hidden Gem: Cudillero

The center of Cudillero

A couple of weekends ago my boyfriend and I were in Asturias for the weekend with no plans. I've been wanting to go to this tiny fishing village called Cudillero for a long time, so we decided it was the perfect day to go! So the both of us and a friend of mine got up early and caught the train out to this coastal gem.

Boa Viagem- Lisbon

Last weekend was Carnival in Spain, which for me means puente! So my boyfriend and I decided to jet off to Lisbon, Portugal for a quick visit.

Praça do Rossio

My dad mentioned before I went that the city was like San Francisco...I can see a connection- the city is full of huge hills! It also has a red bridge, and trams to go up hills. Besides those things, it's got a charm of its own. I really enjoyed the visit and the city is beautiful! Here's my list of cool things to do here: 

Taking a Snow Day

Being from Colorado and growing up in an area where it snows a lot means that when I leave for a place where it doesn't snow, I miss it a lot! Since the city I live in now, Gijón, is on the coast, I probably won't be walking to work in the snow this year.

But a couple of weekends ago I got lucky and got to make a trip to the snow! We went to an area in Soria called Piqueras, and even though I have a sprained ankle and can't hike far, we made the best of the trip with lots of snowballs. I also taught my boyfriend how to make a snow angel...he'd never heard of one before!

Ringing in 2013- London Style!

For the first week in January this year, my boyfriend and I went to London! It's been on my list for a long time, also my dad told me he would disown me if I left Europe without visiting this age-old city, so I decided it was about time to go.


Everyone always told me "London is awesome!" and "You're going to love it there!" so I really didn't have high expectations going in...just kidding! The best part is that in the end it lived up to my dream-like expectations! These were my favorite things: