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:

Home Sweet Home...Gijón Version

Hi everyone, I'm back!! I know it's been an incredibly long time since I've written anything, and I'm sure most of you forgot that I even had a blog! Lets just skip over all of my excuses and just say, I'm glad to be back. Also, I forgot how hard it is to keep something like this going. I've been gone so long that I'm not even sure how to begin! But let's begin with the most recent. 

This year I moved to a different city, this time on the northern coast- right on the beach! It's called Gijón, and it's in the region of Asturias. This map shows the region, not the city. (source)

Lessons Learned in Barcelona....

In Spain, Easter is quite the party. At my school, I had a two full week vacation! I spent the first part of my vacation relaxing in Logroño and then I headed out for the first leg of my vacation...in Barcelona! I've never been to Barcelona but we only had a couple of days to visit. (After that we headed out to Rome, Florence, Pisa, and Venice.) I'm going to have to go back sometime because it's such a big city and there's so much to see. But, we did see a lot for how long we were there. I also learned some very important lessons.

Pamplona...Much more than corridas de toros

A couple of weekends ago, a few girlfriends and I went to visit Pamplona for the day. I have been wanting to visit for a while, and while I've driven through a couple of times, I've never had the chance to actually wander around in the city and see the sights. We started off the day getting "breakfast" and drinking coffees, of course.

Got caught in the running of the bulls!

(Quick, someone take the picture before we get in trouble for being on the statue!)

Nacimiento Del Rio Urederra- The Birth of the Urederra River

Today, a big group of friends and I all went on a hike by the river Urederra. It's about an hour and a half drive from where we live, in the neighboring province. My friends went back in October, but I wasn't able to go that day, so I'm so glad that I finally got the chance to go! It is about a 5 mile hike round trip, following the river up to the place where it is "born" or where it comes out of the mountain. This hike is full of breath taking waterfalls and crystal clear blue water - I think pictures may describe it better....

Partilho a tentação com quem mais gosto- Portugal!

Partilho a tentação com quem mais gosto- this is from a sugar packet...sometimes you find great tid-bits on sugar! This one says, "I'll share temptation with those I like the most."

Felices Fiestas Part 1: Madrid

Puerta del Sol- everyone together now!

Since I found out that I was accepted into this program to live in Spain for a while, my family has been really excited to come out and visit me...and they finally made it! I know I'm a little late on the uptake, but this is part of our journey, starting on Christmas. The three of them flew into Madrid on Christmas day, so I took the bus down to meet them. We rented a piso for a couple of days and from there we discovered Museo del Jamon, the Puerta del Sol, the Palacio Real, Parque Retiro, Plaza de Torros, and way too many museums!