God Smiled When He Made San Sebastian

On Saturday I traveled to San Sebastian to spend the day on the beach. The entire week leading up to our trip, all of the students struggled deciding on whether or not they truly wanted to go. The weather called for rain and cool temperatures, and we were unconvinced if the 2-hour trip was worth it. We decided to brave the rain and hopped on a bus early Saturday morning.

Welcome to San Sebastian!!!

When we arrived in San Sebastian we quickly made our way over towards the beach. Though it wasn’t raining on us, the air was quite brisk, and thick clouds covered up the sun. We hesitantly changed into our swimsuits and decided to spend a little bit a time just sitting on the beach. Within a few minutes we were all dipping our toes in the ice-cold water and making comparisons to Bear Lake in June. The shock of the cold wore off quickly though, and we decided to wade in up to our calves. 

...then our knees.....

...then our waists .....

One large wave later we were released from all bonds of common sense and happily trumped (USU slang...) through the water with the other devoted swimmers.

Arriving at the beach in San Sebastian

Brooke and I are happy campers

San Sebastian=perfect beach

Me and Nichelle a minute or two before we got soaked

Like good tourists we shrieked and squealed in joy with every wave that rolled in, and the time passed much too quickly. At 1 in the afternoon we decided to get out of the water and explore the massive fort on the hillside. We went to go change in the bathroom but were yelled at by a worker telling us that bathrooms were not changing rooms. (You could have fooled me.) We then discovered that we had to pay one entire euro to get changed back into normal clothes. Of course we found that utterly ridiculous, so we held up towels in the corner right next to the changing room and took turns wriggling into our sandy clothes. ....for free. We probably deserve to have “cheap Americans” tattooed across our foreheads, but I don’t think any of us minded the strange stares we got from everyone else. (Correction---the lifeguard was a fffffffiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeee specimen, and any girl who said they didn’t care what he thought would be a complete liar.)

Finishing up at the beach

We ate lunch and split our group into two. My group hiked up to the fort on the hill and took a million pictures. I soon discovered that not only was this massive fort was not only the military stronghold, but it was also a castle. Hurray for finally checking that off of my list! I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t larger....and cleaner....and more fairytalistic. To be honest, they probably should have stuck with the "fort" label so as not to ruin every girl's hopes and dreams. I guess I’m going to have to keep visiting castles until I find one that lives up to my expectations. Oh shucky darn.

Hiking up to the fort/castle

Playing around on a wall

Sitting in a window

View from the fort

Terrifying tunnel of homelessness and doom

Spending time at the top of the castle

On our way back to the beach we found the most delicious chocolate shop and partook of its scrumptiousness. A half a block later, we found ourselves ordering the most amazing ice cream cones. After another twenty minutes we were off playing on the beach once more.

The rest of the day passed way too quickly, and we were all reluctant to board the bus at 8 in the evening.

Dear San Sebastian:
Thank you for being perfect. Boardwalks with carousels, castles overlooking white beaches, fine looking French tourists and lifeguards: I doubt you need me to tell you that you are ravishingly exquisite. When I return to Spain one day, I will visit you.

Love,

Me