Alisas Santander

Twas a rough old night as we free camped (including a wonderful fish barbecue) on Oyambre beach, and it soon became apparent that our surf boards were non too happy perched a-top the van roof; this to the extent that they attempted to become detached at around 5am ...

A very pretty (cobbled alleyways, olde worlde stylee, cows in a field with not only udders, but also tuneful bells which, when youºve got a dozen, made quite a din a la Mike Oldfield) little town, unlike the campsite which was essentially a sodden piece of grass, for which we were charged Euro 22, for the pleasure of a night's shut-eye.

Leaving San Sebastian behind we drove to Santander to spend the night. With nothing more then the car, no place to stay and no plan. As luck turns out we found a cheap Pension to stay at, and ate in their quaint little restaurant, treated to warm hospitality, good food, and free Grappa and Lemonchelo

... English, they really couldn't respond. It was a bit amusing, because apparently in Spain, speaking quite a bit of English actually means not very much. So we switched back to Spanish.

Being Spanish architecture students, the conversation eventually turned to Gaudi, Spain's most famous architect, and then to Calatrava, probably Spain's most renowned architect at the moment. The subject of him designing the new pedestrian bridge in Calgary ...

... way back when I was going hard core with trying to learn Spanish, I did one Spanish course on CD that told the story of a Spanish family going on vacation. The whole dialogue was about taking a train to Santander, and talked about how beautiful the beach and ocean was. The name of the town stuck in my head and like with La Coruna, I told myself that I one day needed to visit this place. And exactly like with La Coruna, it far exceeded my expectations.

... this was definitely NOT a disappointment. One particularly attractive salesgirl made me chuckle inside, because she reminded of a quote I once read on the internet about Spanish women - the quote basically stated that Spanish women were so cute because of what he termed the Iberian overbite. This salesgirl had a bit of that overbite, and I realized that it probably was what made her so darned cute! I don't visit a lot of Sfera stores while ...

... accommodation, fewer long walks in the midday sun
looking for cheap accommodation, no more sleep-sheets to avoid
catching strange diseases from suspiciously stained beds and
unfortunately (for anyone reading this) fewer bloggable disasters and
mis-adventures. Shunning the staycationers, laughing in the face
(not literally) of Australian backpackers and trying to avoid school
trips, anywhere described as family-friendly or anywhere that large ...

... by the way, Ella has really taken off as a professional swing rider! All by herself, such a big girl). Sam enjoys the large teeter-totter type thing for a bit. Its cute ... at first, he waits patiently in line for his turn, but the local kids ignore him because he is so quiet. I find Sam a bit sad, and he tells me the story, at which point I rectify the problem by introducing him to the kids and explaining that he doesn't speak Spanish and is from the States. Before ...

... an image to go along with this hilarity. But take my word for it, it was one of the funniest experiences I´ve ever had. Finally, when the train stopped in the middle of our journey, he woke up, stuck his hands down his pants, scratched himself, looked around and fell back asleep, after which, began the dreaming. For the rest of the time, the man was talking in his sleep, almost whole conversations, and thrashing his arms and legs. I wish I could describe the whole ...

... keen on contemporary art then maybe settle for the worthwhile (and free) external sights. The unusual architecture and the vibrant cafe lifestyle and plaza scenes were far better value really. So whilst the big ticket sights didn't live up to expectations the place itself was unusual and made for a very worthwhile stop, reinforcing the point that ...