Highlights: Summer 2015

After being back at uni for nearly a week now, and having completed two exams I am feeling the January blues, like I'm sure many others are too after returning to school, work or uni as well. Being in England in the freezing cold is pretty sad and I'm getting a lot of nostalgia and really can't wait to have the opportunity to travel and be freer, so today's blog I am going to share with you my favourite bits of summer!

So, for those of you that don't know I had the amazing opportunity of staying with a family in Spain and being their Au Pair over summer. I was there for nearly three months during this time I did so many things that I don't have the opportunity, or guts to do at home and I think the overall experience made me grow as a person as I was definitely pushed out of my comfort zone on different occassions.

By far the best experience was in general the cultural experience and cultural exchanged I gained from spending time with a family. This gave me even more insight into the Basque culture and language as I wasn't as much of an 'outsider' as travellers can sometimes be.

FIESTAS

All I can say is, I wish England had these!! Fiestas in Spain are such great fun. I went to three but these are my top two.

Bilbao: La Semana Grande

Bilbao is the de facto capitol of the Basque country and the city if full of culture, including the Guggenheim museum. I found this festival to be a lot bigger (it's a bigger city!) but it seemed to be less sentimental than Vitoria's. I only managed to go for one night, but each night at around 10:30 they would have a huge fireworks display which was magnificent to watch! Throughout the city people are dressed up, and along the river is where the most activity was. There were hundreds of pop up bars and lots of stalls selling various items relating to the festival. I even saw a ferris wheel that had been put up across the river which was lit up.

Puppy

Vitoria-Gasteiz: La Virgen Blanca

Other than Bilbao and San Sebastian/Donosti, this is probably the next biggest fiesta. Vitoria is the autonomous capital of the Basque community and it isn't very touristy so it's perfect for when you want to really absorb yourself into the culture. On the first day of their fiesta they have a zipwire across the town from the church all the way down to a balcony on the other side. A man dressed up in traditional white and blue basque clothing zips down with an umbrella (crazy right?)! Everyone gathers in the square to watch this and it is packed, the first night is the biggest. I was at the festival for the second and third night and both of those nights were full of atmosphere.

There's dancers in the main square, and other street performers, everyone is dressed up in traditional clothing. Lots of different groups do parades around the town finishing in the main square, these were great to watch or follow as they will have a band playing as they as parading around. Even during the day there were loads of things going on, one morning I was wondering around and just off the main square there was a small kart track that had been set-up for kids.

Enjoying the Fiesta!

LEKEITIO and SAN JUAN de GAZTELUGATXE

These were honestly the two most beautiful places that I visited over Summer and I was lucky that these two experiences I shared with the friends I had made there.

Lekeitio is a beautiful coastal town. It isn't very touristy so it's perfect for having a relaxing day in a quiet town. The town itself isn't very exciting, it had all the necessities, but what is really magically about this place are the beaches. Lekeitio has two beaches, split apart by a stone walk-way running along from the beach to an island in the sea. Here, the water was a beautiful green blue and clear and warm.

Me and a friend swam from the beach to the island and walked up the island. This was really fun because we found out that the island was actually a place where they used to send lepers, as we were walking along the path there was an area that had been tapped off and was being used for an archeaological dig. You could actually see some of the old stone walls from houses that had been built. All the way around the island were beautiful views, but none more so from the top (because I swam I didn't get a picture from the top!) Later on in the afternoon a big group of us all went paddle boarding. It was my first time and I was terrible! I spent most of my time just kneeling down on the board because I couldn't balance but it was still a really fun experience, we went all the way around the island and then some of the group decided to climb up a tower and jump into the water as we were on our way back. Paddle boarding is something I would definitely reccommend if you ever get the chance.

San Juan is a hermitage and is a beautiful place to visit, even on a cloudy day as there are a lot (241) steps to get to the top, so on a hot day it's hard work as it is a long walk but 100% worth all the effort! The whole way there I was thinking how beautiful it looked but then the views from the steps and at the top, were magnificent!

I'm not a religious person but it's totally worth going. Don't forget to ring the bell three times for good luck!

On the way up

Happy to be at the top!

BBK LIVE

I was so lucky to be able to get time off to go to the BBK Live Music Festival. After being in Bilbao for a few days I started to notice loads of posters everywhere I went in the city with musicians and bands and the writing BBK Live, so I asked my host mum and she told me that it was an annual music festival held on the top of a mountain.

I managed to get tickets for all three days and I was so excited! I'd seen the line-up and for me, it was an amazing line-up, including: Mumford and Sons, Disclosure, BRMC, Alt-J, Azealia Banks, James Bay, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Muse, Of Monsters and Men, Kodaline, and so so so many more! I was so so happy about getting tickets, I couldn't believe the line-up, I was beyond excited! I loved nearly everyone listed, I had just recently discovered, and fallen in love with Catfish and the Bottlemen so couldn't believe my luck when I read that they were on the line-up. I was also so excited to see James Bay and Kodaline as 2015 was a really great year for both of them. Now whenever I heard Let It Go or Big Bad World I always think of being in Spain at Kobetamendi. It makes me happy.

MY LOCATION

The family I stayed with lived just outside of Bilbao in the North of Spain, and this was such a good place to be. It allowed me to go into the city nearly every morning when I wasn't working and the city itself had so much culture and a really good transport network. One of my favourite things to do was to just get on a bus somewhere and then when I stepped off I was in a new city, a new place to explore and I absolutely loved wondering around the towns.

Santander

During my stay I visited Santander and wondering around the famous coastal town, again, it was full of history. I also visited another Basque town called Gernika-Lumo which is a very important place regarding the Spanish Civil War as it was heavily bombed in April 1937, in which 70% of the towns buildings were completely destroyed. Much of the towns history is centred around this with an interactive Peace Museum in the centre, giving a history of the bombings and a modern exhibition on unfair treatment of the Basques. I also visited the Eukera-Herria Museum which is the Basque history and heritage museum, including the assembly house and the 'Gernikako Arbola', the Tree of Gernika which is an ancient oak tree, symbolising traditional freedoms for the Basques. The museum gives an interesting history of the Basque people including the Kings and Lords of Biscay, it also has some interactive parts such as films (in translation), traditional basque poems and riddles, songs, dances.

I also explored the city and saw Pablo Picasso's painting called Guernica, which was creating in response to the 1937 bombings. On my walk, I also visited the park and saw Henri Moore's sculpture, 'Large Figure in a Shelter' at the Park of the European Nations and the Monument to peace by Eduardo Chillida who is a Basque sculptor. The Church is also a beautiful example of Gothic architecture, but also has other styles as it was partially destroyed in the bombings.

Gernika is such a great place to visit. Not only is it rich in Basque culture and history but it also has many beautiful mountain walks. If you are ever nearby, I would definitely recommend visiting Gernika for a day or two and visiting these places. It was so enlightening for me to learn about the history of a place and cultural, I think that worldly knowledge should be highly regarded.

MEETING NEW PEOPLE

Whilst away I met so many people, people from all over the world! Being abroad gives you the chance to not only explore new places and broaden your horizons but it's also a great opportunity to socialise in a new place.

There's not much I can say about the people I met except that they are all amazing people and they will be friends for life now, the best I can do is show you some pictures of the fun we had together.

A day out with friends visiting Laguardia Pintxo Pote in Vitoria

THE AU PAIR EXPERIENCE I loved my summer in Spain so so much. Being an Au Pair is a great job for those keen to help others whilst having the ability to work abroad and explore new places. It was the best of both worlds, travelling and getting paid!

The family I was placed with had three boys aged, 12, 10 and 7. This was definitely a handful at times as they tended to have mood swings and be grumpy about the smallest things!

Day trip to Otxiando to watch the bulls run At a mountain pool near the family home

One of my favourite parts of summer spent with this family was going to Gorbea mountains. The family had a shelter up in the mountains, which was literally in the middle of nowhere, we had to drive off-road for about an hour! I stayed in the shelter for about 4 days which was a really fun experience, one that I would do again, but I don't think I would like to spend more than 4-5 days there.

Whilst in the shelter we were totally off-grid, so we had to entertain ourselves without internet or tv. Luckily, I brought a book with me and managed to read a lot of that, but I also taught the boys some card games, and they taught me Basque card games. There was another family staying in the shelter with us, along with the boys' twin cousins. This meant there were always a lot of mouths to feed! One day we went on a short walk and collected some mushrooms, which were bright orange and the next night we had mushroom and omlete, which was really tasty! We went on walks nearly every day and also went on a walk up to the top of the mountain, and for me that was an achievement I was proud of!

I loved it at the top you could see for miles and miles, but my favourite part had to be seeing the wild ponies. On a different walk we saw a herd of ponies and they had their foals with them, it was so cute!

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my summer! I have included some related links below

Other places I visited (and recommend you do too):

Donostia