In the land of the Spanish
Cinematic flapper
Anna Nguyen
Issue date: 9/8/08 Section: Life & Style
I've only been in Spain for a fleeting moment. I passed a few hours in the Basque country, during a weekend trip away from Pau. The very few hours spent were dedicated to visits to the castles and churches. As we left Basque, the next destination was San Sebastian. Another two hours of traveling passed.
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful, I thought, as we finally boarded off the bus into our hotel. I could see the beach nearby, a brightly lit carousel, and an infinite amount of restaurants and shops. Unfortunately, we arrived quite late in the afternoon and my friends and I were not able to do as much sightseeing as we would have liked. We were only in San Sebastian for less than 24 hours. With such an allotted amount of time, I dined with my friends, took a stroll around the shops and wandered aimlessly at the beach before the next day came. ??
Occasionally, nostalgic thoughts about Spain would occur as I pondered what I had missed when I lost two opportunities to go back. Before our extensive French language courses began, my three friends decided to embark on a weekend trip to San Sebastian. Although I easily get a bit restless on train and other traveling methods, the distance from Pau to San Sebastian is reasonable. About four or five hours, I calculated. The idea was alluring, but I decided to stay at my host parents' house and relax while exploring the town of Pau.??
The second chance to go to Spain came up when my friends and I were trying to decide where to go during the school holiday in November. Some friends decided to go back to Spain, specifically to visit Madrid and Barcelona. As I, once again, contemplated on the idea, another friend researched about an inexpensive trip to Brussels, which I chose for the holiday break. Brussels, which is comparable to Paris, was a lovely city and I was happy that I was able to visit it. Art was everywhere. Murals on the walls of aging buildings, vintage-like film posters on walls on the streets, color advertisements. It was an incredible city. But as I recently reread Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises," I often speculate about the possibility of seeing a bullfighter at his most glorious moments. ??
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful, I thought, as we finally boarded off the bus into our hotel. I could see the beach nearby, a brightly lit carousel, and an infinite amount of restaurants and shops. Unfortunately, we arrived quite late in the afternoon and my friends and I were not able to do as much sightseeing as we would have liked. We were only in San Sebastian for less than 24 hours. With such an allotted amount of time, I dined with my friends, took a stroll around the shops and wandered aimlessly at the beach before the next day came. ??
Occasionally, nostalgic thoughts about Spain would occur as I pondered what I had missed when I lost two opportunities to go back. Before our extensive French language courses began, my three friends decided to embark on a weekend trip to San Sebastian. Although I easily get a bit restless on train and other traveling methods, the distance from Pau to San Sebastian is reasonable. About four or five hours, I calculated. The idea was alluring, but I decided to stay at my host parents' house and relax while exploring the town of Pau.??
The second chance to go to Spain came up when my friends and I were trying to decide where to go during the school holiday in November. Some friends decided to go back to Spain, specifically to visit Madrid and Barcelona. As I, once again, contemplated on the idea, another friend researched about an inexpensive trip to Brussels, which I chose for the holiday break. Brussels, which is comparable to Paris, was a lovely city and I was happy that I was able to visit it. Art was everywhere. Murals on the walls of aging buildings, vintage-like film posters on walls on the streets, color advertisements. It was an incredible city. But as I recently reread Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises," I often speculate about the possibility of seeing a bullfighter at his most glorious moments. ??
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