Basque Country

I took a weekend trip with my roommate Alex up to Basque Country in Northern Spain. We started in San Sebastian, the gorgeous beach city.

We were bundled up because it was freezing...

...but apparently that doesn't stop Basque people from swimming in their speedos. There were at least 10 people in the water - they are clearly insane!

A sign in written in Basque - no idea what it says... probably something against the Spanish government. (Everyone we met in San Sebastian was really welcoming and helpful, but we did accidently walk into a creepy bar that we later found out was the hang out for ETA sympathizers... yikes).

San Sebastian at night was absolutely gorgeous, and also super fun! It's home of the best (and most expensive) food in Spain - we got some excellent tapas! We also stumbled upon a random street concert by a really popular Basque band - the place was going crazy!!

We went for a morning hike to see the beautiful bay and mountain views with some friends from our awesome hostel. We met people from Germany, the Netherlands, France, Mexico, Argentina, Canada, and the good ole US of A!

So this picture doesn't even begin to capture it, but the night we left was a huge soccer game between Basque rivals San Sebastian and Bilbao. The streets and bars were absolutely packed with fans - almost everyone was decked out in jerseys and other spirited clothing. I've never seen anything like it. What was especially cool was how well the rival fans got along -

On our mountain ride to Pamplona, we passed through lots of cute Basque villages

Pamplona: the home of the Running of the Bulls!

 There was lots of snow and Christmas decorations

 and they had a countdown to the next Running of the Bulls - only 212 days left!