When your best friend studies abroad in Spain for a summer, you take full advantage of that opportunity to travel across the world and spend a week with her. Trust me on this. And in July of 2017, that is exactly what I planned to do. I tried to make my travel schedule match with a few friends who were also planning to visit our friend Shelby that summer in Santander, but had no success. At this time, I was working a job that offered limited vacation and I always had to travel around a holiday in order to utilize my vacation hours to the best of my ability and get an extra day off. I knew that I couldn’t miss out on this opportunity, so I ended up planning my first solo trip abroad.
For this trip, I used the site Momondo to book my flight. Momondo will compare tons of 3rd party sites and airlines for you to find the cheapest route to your destination, often with a few long layovers included. I planned to use this to my advantage to squeeze in a few more countries to my 10-day trip. I noticed that I was routed to Spain through Scotland for the cheapest flight option, so I ended up booking a ticket to Glasgow, Scotland so I could explore the city for a day/night on my own before meeting up with Shelby in Spain. I chose a return flight on Momondo with a 10-hour layover in Milan, Italy so I would have enough time to get out and explore the city, at least for a couple hours.
I flew into the tiny Santander Airport and instantly began falling in love with every feeling I experienced – I couldn’t believe I had made it to Spain! Santander is the capital city of the Cantabria region in the northern coast of Spain. Shelby was staying with her family (boyfriend+daughter) in a first-level flat about two blocks off the beach, Playa del Sardinero. Santander is mostly locals and students; definitely not the place to land in Spain if you are expecting everyone to speak english. Most everyone I met spoke only Spanish and this was one of the trips that inspired me to start learning Spanish…it only took me almost two years to actually sign-up for classes. Nonetheless, I was beyond lucky to be crashing on their couch for the week indulging in fresh jamón and Spanish wine that only cost €2 a bottle at the local grocery market.
By the time we got back from the airport on my first night it was getting late and we decided to walk to one of the nearby restaurants for some vino tinto and girl talk. The next day Shelby had to be up early for class and I decided to hang around the flat with her boyfriend, Nick, and daughter, Juliana. We ended up relaxing out on their terrace most of the afternoon catching up and before we knew it, we had polished off our fair share of wine. I wandered down to the beach to catch some sun and woke up from a wine and heat induced nap a few hours later. It was one of those care-fee, “this is what vacation is all about moments” and I couldn’t be happier.
The next day I was yearning for some solo adventure so, as Shelby headed to class I set off on foot down the Playa del Sardinero towards some large bluffs visible off in the distance. I wasn’t really sure of the path I would take to get there, but I knew the Playa de Mataleñas was on the other side of the bluffs and I was dying to explore the small beach that was recommended to me by some of Shelby’s classmates. At the base of the bluffs close to the shoreline, there is a narrow stairway that leads up to a trail that lines the perimeter of a small peninsula leading to the playa.
It was such a beautiful walk and I didn’t want to stop at the beach for long since I could see the Cabo Mayor Lighthouse not much further in the distance, and I knew this wouldn’t be my last trip to the incredible beach. I took some of my favorite pictures from my trip on this sunny walk.
It’s hard for me to remember everything I did on this trip since it has been TWO whole years, but here are a few more highlights.
Dinner: at Vino y Marea is a MUST! The owner, Samuel, is likely to be working and will offer the best service you could possibly imagine. And the food…be ready to enjoy fresh, locally sourced options that are made and served with love. We had an appetizer of prawns and each ordered an entree to split; bull tail, steak, and bacalao. The bull tail and prawns were easily my favorite meals of the trip and both were things I had never tried before! A win win situation.
Samuel!
Cafe con Leche: overlooking the Playa del Sardinero. I stopped at the Balneario de la Concha one morning to enjoy a coffee with some views. This restaurant sits right on the beach and has a small “rooftop” terrace that I was lucky enough to snag a table on and enjoy a great cafe con leche.
Playa de Mataleñas: I went to this somewhat secluded beach several times during my stay in Santander since it was my favorite. One of the most memorable was on Shelby’s last day of class when we came to sip champagne and suntan like the locals. 😉
€2 shots of tequila: We had to have at least one wild night out during my trip. I tagged along with Shelby, Nick, and a group of her classmates to hit the nightclubs. Of course I can’t remember the name of the first bar we went to and ordered shots of tequilas for €2 a piece, but I would recommend it if I did! At that point we were feeling pretty loose and went to some other nightclubs nearby to dance the night away. I was pretty impressed with the nightlife in Santander since it seemed so laid-back during the day. I guess the students all come out of the woodwork after the sun sets. Tequila shots with salt and..lemons?! When in Spain…
Stroll the city center: The city center was only about a mile from where we were staying and I decided to try my luck making it there by foot one day since I was too nervous to try speaking Spanish to the cab drivers at the time. I found my way pretty easily and spent a few hours browsing through the street market and stopping at a local bakery for some eats.
Lunch: at Restaurante Marea Alta. One of the afternoons that I was flying solo while Shelby was at class, I stopped here for a three course lunch. The food was great and the service was friendly! No one spoke english but they did have menu’s in english which made ordering a bit easier.
“Sunrise” beach walk: On my last morning I woke up early and tried to catch the sunrise but it was pretty overcast and my plan sort of fell through. I ended up taking another walk to the Playa de Mataleñas. On my way I passed several people my age coming up from the beach – they had just finished partying from the night before! People in Spain stay out way too late for me. Their norm is to eat dinner around 10pm, go out to the bars/nightclubs around midnight, and around 2-3am the clubs are at their busiest, not closing down like here in the US.
Thank you Shelby & Nick for hosting me! I had the most amazing time!
Next stop >>> Milan, Italy.
Adios!
July 2017
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