It's been a very busy month! I will say that daylight savings time is really bumming me out...I always forget how early darkness comes in the winter. It makes the days feel very short, too much to do, too little time, and absolutely no motivation to stay awake. I'm an old soul in that way.
Recently I've been filling my time planning lessons for school, attempting to teach English lessons 1-1 online, taking private Spanish lessons myself, and traveling when and where I can!
Teaching at my school has been challenging...I suppose when I was a high schooler, I didn't always want to participate or maybe I was scared to say the wrong thing, but my goodness, the majority of the students I work with are so quiet. I stand in front of them looking like an idiot most of the time...but I won't give up!
The most interesting news for this blog are from my recent travels. A few weekends ago I spent time in Bilbao, the capital city of the Basque Country. Only 2 hours by bus from Santander, Bilbao is known as the home to the Guggenheim museum and known for its small tapas known as "pinxtos." I spent lots of time walking and wandering!
(Views around Bilbao)
(the Guggenheim museum)
(One morning, I took the metro to a northern neighborhood of Bilbao, Portugalete, where the river meets the sea! Here one can find a unique suspended ferry. As you can see in the pictures, the small white ferry is suspended from cables on the bridge and slides from side to side. Pretty cool! The other pictures are from walking along the water and finding a spot for a vermouth and a pinxto!)
The second trip in my series of exploring was a day trip to Santilana del Mar, which interestingly is one of "los pueblos más bonitos de españa," one of the most beautiful towns in Spain, recognized by an official organization dedicated to promoting exactly what it is called. The day was relaxing and a fun opportunity to get to chat with and get to know Magdalena better! And of course, we had a menu del dia. On this particular day, Monday, the town was pretty quiet, but we were able to see lots of cows on nearby farms, admire hand-made pottery, and enjoy the fresh air.
And to end this post, a brief summary of a vacation in Prague! The first week in November, the whole of Spain had a holiday on Monday, but lucky for me, Cantabria had the whole week off from school. Naturally, I used these days to finally travel! Prague was amazing; like no place I've been to before. I loved the feeling of visiting during the fall; the air was cold and crisp, the leaves were stunning colors, and the food was incredibly satisfying after walking around. Highlights of the week include: walking across the Charles bridge, sitting in the main square and admiring the architecture, pickled cheese and beer, the gingerbread cookie store (if I could bottle the smells and keep them forever, I would), the views from the top of the clock tower, a day trip to Cesky Krumlov, and a visit to the communism museum.
(Some of my favorite pictures around Prague...)
(the Jewish cemetery and inside the Spanish synagogue - stunning details)
(the Karlstejn Castle...about 40 minutes from Prague and the main living quarters for the Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV hundreds of years ago)
(Cesky Krumlov...3 hour bus ride south of Prague. Interestingly, the sole reason this village is still standing today is because Hitler admired it so much and therefore, spared it's destruction.)
(Foooooooooooood! I could go on for hours talking about the food I had in the Czech Republic. The cuisine is very similar to, what I can imagine is, German cuisine; lots of sausages, smoked meats, potatoes, pretzels, beer, and sauerkraut for example. Also famous are the chimney cakes (trdelnik), the pancakes (palacinky), pickled cheese, and goulash with dumplings.
That's all for today! I hope you have a relaxing weekend and thanks for reading!