Yes, it is that time of year again, that time when people party like there's no tomorrow because by tomorrow we all are supposed to repent and fast. Here in Sweden the Tuesday before Lent is not really that big of a deal; they mostly just celebrate by eating semla, traditional pastry. In Spain however, they have an entirely different outlook. I think they use the next 40 days to recover from a weekend of nothing but singing, dancing, and parading around.
I honestly picked the best weekend ever to visit Heather in San Sebastian. Not only was weather gorgeous- it didn't rain once while I was there and it was "warm" compared to Sweden (in the low 50s during the day)- but I also got to experience the magic of Carnival. From the moment the sun went down on Friday, the partying started. In the square down the street from Heather's apartment there was a stage set up where different groups danced in themed costumes. All of the little kids watching were also dressed as though it was Halloween. Little did we know at the time, but the stage show was a preview of the parade that occurred the next evening. We ended up following the parade around the city because we didn't realize it was happening until it had already started and we wanted to see the whole thing. Along the way we stopped in a oriental market type store where I bought a neon, sparkly mullet-esque wig and Heather got a shiny green cowboy hat plus eye glitter! We were some of the few Erasmus (exchange program) kids who really got into the spirit and dressed up. Everyone else was dressed up, from pirates to traditional Halloween ghouls to knights to superheroes and hippies, adults and children were in costume. Large groups of people, either families or other groups from different regions and such would all dress as a theme. These groups would walk around the city and if they could play instruments, then they would serenade everyone. If not, they would construct a clever cart to match their theme and hide a set of speakers inside and then wheel around their music. The music never ended. We could always hear something from Heather's balcony.
On Friday Heather's roommates and some of their other friends came over to make dinner. Mandy (a roommate) and her boyfriend Badel treated everyone to a traditional Puerto Rican dish (Badel's from Puerto Rico). On Saturday night one of the Erasmus girls had a birthday party so I got to meet more of Heather's friends. Then we all went out to a disco-pub/bar called Zabbibo which is right below Heather's apartment. A disco-pub is a small bar without any seating because you are supposed to dance to the music being played. The place was packed like a tin of sardines but it was so much fun and everyone loved my wig! Afterwards we tried to go to Bataplan, a real disco, but it was 15 euros to get in when normal Erasmus gets in for free so decided to skip out (although I wanted to see where everyone there goes to party). Instead we walked around the old part of town checking out what other disco-pubs and "jazz" clubs were open. We didn't get home until almost 5am and that was early for the locals.
Luckily the Spanish have seista. It is perfectly normal to take a long nap in the afternoon and actually most businesses shut down during that time. During the day, Heather showed me around town and we walked along the beach and had pintxos which are small appetizer/tapas like finger foods that are laid out at various bars during the day. We also had churros con chocolate :) On Sunday we hiked up the "mountain" outside of town to the top where there is a giant statue of Jesus which overlooks the whole city. The view was fantastic despite the air being kind of hazy.
I am so glad that I went. My European friends thought I was crazy for going to Spain for the weekend to visit a friend (it's too expensive, it's so far, etc.). But they don't understand that I never get to see Heather and this trip original was only going to cost me what I paid to go see her last year on Spring Break. Plus I had the added advantage of seeing a beautiful place, visiting a new country, and experiencing Carnival. The sunshine was exactly what I needed to recharge me and get me ready to take on my exam in 2 weeks because I think I was starting to get seasonal depression. I also came to appreciate the quiet, laid back nature of Sweden and the beauty of the Swedish language after being away for awhile and having to fend for myself in Paris, twice.
First on the way there, I missed my overnight train due to the metro/RER taking 30 minutes more than the internet had proposed. I thought I was going to have to sleep in the train station in Paris which fortunately the guy at the station was nice enough to let me do but thankfully, Dad had his trusty Rick Steve's guide and he was able to locate a hotel not too far from where I was that happened to have a room available. I missed out on half a day in Spain, but learned several valuable lessons and got to practice my French. I hoped that my way home would be much easier since I had more time and I had already basically done it once. I got lucky because when I checked on to the overnight train, the conductor said that my seat number was wrong on my ticket and gave me a new one. I got a free upgrade to 1st class! All was well until we made our next stops- first a lady with two babies had the seats across from me in my little quad. Turns out she actually only had one seat because the following stop added a woman and her little girl. The lady with the babies actually spoke some English and she asked if it was possible for me to find another seat so that her kids could have one and she could have the other. I was more than happy to oblige but I didn't want to lose my 1st class status. I looked in the next car and there was no one sitting there! The conductor saw me though and said that at the next stop that car was going to be filled but when I explained to him the situation, he said he'd help me find a new seat. I made a bet with the seat I chose and won, because that whole quad was apparently free because no one else came and the conductor said I could stay. So I didn't have to share and I actually got some decent, though short, sleep. All was well as I headed off to the airport but when I got to metro station where I had to switch to the RER train to the airport, an announcement kept talking about a problem with the trains and I thought I just had to switch platforms but my train never came. I ran into 2 older women from Britain and a Swedish girl who now lives in Barcelona because we all spoke English and not really any French. The Swedish girl found a nice French girl who spoke English and informed us that the trains had been stopped due to the problem so if we were going to make our flights, we were going to have to take a taxi. We decided to share 2 taxis to help with the cost. I <3 transportation in Sweden- it is so easy and reliable!
I honestly picked the best weekend ever to visit Heather in San Sebastian. Not only was weather gorgeous- it didn't rain once while I was there and it was "warm" compared to Sweden (in the low 50s during the day)- but I also got to experience the magic of Carnival. From the moment the sun went down on Friday, the partying started. In the square down the street from Heather's apartment there was a stage set up where different groups danced in themed costumes. All of the little kids watching were also dressed as though it was Halloween. Little did we know at the time, but the stage show was a preview of the parade that occurred the next evening. We ended up following the parade around the city because we didn't realize it was happening until it had already started and we wanted to see the whole thing. Along the way we stopped in a oriental market type store where I bought a neon, sparkly mullet-esque wig and Heather got a shiny green cowboy hat plus eye glitter! We were some of the few Erasmus (exchange program) kids who really got into the spirit and dressed up. Everyone else was dressed up, from pirates to traditional Halloween ghouls to knights to superheroes and hippies, adults and children were in costume. Large groups of people, either families or other groups from different regions and such would all dress as a theme. These groups would walk around the city and if they could play instruments, then they would serenade everyone. If not, they would construct a clever cart to match their theme and hide a set of speakers inside and then wheel around their music. The music never ended. We could always hear something from Heather's balcony.
On Friday Heather's roommates and some of their other friends came over to make dinner. Mandy (a roommate) and her boyfriend Badel treated everyone to a traditional Puerto Rican dish (Badel's from Puerto Rico). On Saturday night one of the Erasmus girls had a birthday party so I got to meet more of Heather's friends. Then we all went out to a disco-pub/bar called Zabbibo which is right below Heather's apartment. A disco-pub is a small bar without any seating because you are supposed to dance to the music being played. The place was packed like a tin of sardines but it was so much fun and everyone loved my wig! Afterwards we tried to go to Bataplan, a real disco, but it was 15 euros to get in when normal Erasmus gets in for free so decided to skip out (although I wanted to see where everyone there goes to party). Instead we walked around the old part of town checking out what other disco-pubs and "jazz" clubs were open. We didn't get home until almost 5am and that was early for the locals.
Luckily the Spanish have seista. It is perfectly normal to take a long nap in the afternoon and actually most businesses shut down during that time. During the day, Heather showed me around town and we walked along the beach and had pintxos which are small appetizer/tapas like finger foods that are laid out at various bars during the day. We also had churros con chocolate :) On Sunday we hiked up the "mountain" outside of town to the top where there is a giant statue of Jesus which overlooks the whole city. The view was fantastic despite the air being kind of hazy.
I am so glad that I went. My European friends thought I was crazy for going to Spain for the weekend to visit a friend (it's too expensive, it's so far, etc.). But they don't understand that I never get to see Heather and this trip original was only going to cost me what I paid to go see her last year on Spring Break. Plus I had the added advantage of seeing a beautiful place, visiting a new country, and experiencing Carnival. The sunshine was exactly what I needed to recharge me and get me ready to take on my exam in 2 weeks because I think I was starting to get seasonal depression. I also came to appreciate the quiet, laid back nature of Sweden and the beauty of the Swedish language after being away for awhile and having to fend for myself in Paris, twice.
First on the way there, I missed my overnight train due to the metro/RER taking 30 minutes more than the internet had proposed. I thought I was going to have to sleep in the train station in Paris which fortunately the guy at the station was nice enough to let me do but thankfully, Dad had his trusty Rick Steve's guide and he was able to locate a hotel not too far from where I was that happened to have a room available. I missed out on half a day in Spain, but learned several valuable lessons and got to practice my French. I hoped that my way home would be much easier since I had more time and I had already basically done it once. I got lucky because when I checked on to the overnight train, the conductor said that my seat number was wrong on my ticket and gave me a new one. I got a free upgrade to 1st class! All was well until we made our next stops- first a lady with two babies had the seats across from me in my little quad. Turns out she actually only had one seat because the following stop added a woman and her little girl. The lady with the babies actually spoke some English and she asked if it was possible for me to find another seat so that her kids could have one and she could have the other. I was more than happy to oblige but I didn't want to lose my 1st class status. I looked in the next car and there was no one sitting there! The conductor saw me though and said that at the next stop that car was going to be filled but when I explained to him the situation, he said he'd help me find a new seat. I made a bet with the seat I chose and won, because that whole quad was apparently free because no one else came and the conductor said I could stay. So I didn't have to share and I actually got some decent, though short, sleep. All was well as I headed off to the airport but when I got to metro station where I had to switch to the RER train to the airport, an announcement kept talking about a problem with the trains and I thought I just had to switch platforms but my train never came. I ran into 2 older women from Britain and a Swedish girl who now lives in Barcelona because we all spoke English and not really any French. The Swedish girl found a nice French girl who spoke English and informed us that the trains had been stopped due to the problem so if we were going to make our flights, we were going to have to take a taxi. We decided to share 2 taxis to help with the cost. I <3 transportation in Sweden- it is so easy and reliable!
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H1,I am so glad u got to party and experience Carnival with H2. I am living vicariously through you two.
ReplyDeleteBeth