Adam Gilbertson Study Abroad: Weekend on the beach and saying goodbye to a great friend

There is nothing like the beach on a crystal clear day and this weekend we were blessed with awesome weather. On Friday the entire family (Flo,Emanuel, tef, Marie, Tonito, Kath, Anna and I) took the 3:30 bus to San Sebastian to visit out friend Alia from Vancouver. It was an awesome weekend and all of us are such good friends.

We got there and it was sunny and hot and we had to watch a half hour to her apartment which was about 100 yards from the beach and you could see the ocean from there. The waves were surfable and lots of people wearing wet suits inhabited the beach. We sat around and then made some hamburgers on the grill for everyone.

That night we hit the town as usual and went to some cool parties. One there was some guy playing guitar and we were all singing and some even screaming. We got home really late and all had to find a place to sleep in Alia´´s apartment. I slept on the floor but it was fine, I mean we hardly spent any money this weekend because we bought groceries and never went out to eat. We got up the next day, had some cereal and hit the beach.

The day was perfect. The forecast was for zero clouds and lots of heat. I am sure on the beach it hit mid 80´s during the peak of the day. We layed on the beach all day and eventually all decided to run into the frigid water. We were the only people who swam there, except for the people with wet suits. We later ate some lunch and hit the beach again. I went for a long walk with Alia and tonito thru the town and they have two beachs so it is beautiful. I was getting burned though and since we were so far away we couldn´ get any sunscreen. We all were red and it was a pretty funny thing to see us. Later that night we ate dinner together and had some ice cream. We all were pretty tired from the beach so we just went to a really cool Irish pub and had a drink and went home.

It was so fun because we didnt spend any money and we all are so close we dont need much other than eachother´s company. We can laugh at anything. For example they have the vents that blow air from the sideway and we would hang out at these for ever. Everyone walking by would laugh.

It was cloudy on Sunday but we really didnt need anymore sun so we just say in her apartment and chatted about life. We all want to meet up in 2010 in Vancouver for the olympics. We can stay for free so we will see what happens. It is hard to full fill these types of things. We had to haul all of Alia´s stuff because she leaves from Pamplona and it was work. We all had something extra to carry on the long 25 minute walk to the station. We said goodbye to Alia and Flo who was really close to her started crying and we all had a group hug and left. I will see Alia tomorrow but then she leaves again.

It is hard making such good friends and saying goodbye but that´s life I guess. It was a great weekend and I could not have asked for anything better. We slept on the bus ride home and all went back to our places and rested and loaded up our skin with lotion.

I just decided I will travel to the South of Spain this weekend with 3 Americans. One is from my college so it will be a good time. I will leave on Wednesday and come home Monday. We dont have school on Thursday because it is labor day here so we are making a long weekend. If you know Spain, you probably imagine Andalusia (the South). It is where Flamenco, Sangria, and the bull fights are the biggest. IT will be fun and I haven´t traveled with Americans yet so we will see how it goes.

Only one month left here so I am trying to enjoy it as much as I can. I have had so much fun here and have seen so much. I hope everyone at home is doing well. I heard it snowed but that´s good old Minnesota. It is raining here as usual so I guess today it isn´t much better. Have a good week.

The typical scene as you walk thru the old town. Bars filled with pinchos and people.