Hello everyone, my name is Dominic Musilli, and I am part of a lucky group who is studying in Spain this summer! In addition to going to class five days a week, we also take a trip somewhere new each weekend! The excursion I’m talking about in this blog was our beach weekend in Santander, a city along Spain’s Cantabrian coast!
What made this trip interesting was the sheer variety of experiences we had. Starting with the bus ride, we got a first-hand look at Spain’s beautiful and varied landscapes. Starting from the vast plains near Valladolid, we climbed the Cordillera Cantabrica, the mountain range in north. Along the way, we stopped at a picturesque town named Santillana del Mar, which had a rich history of cave drawings by early humans. While there, we explored a museum dedicated to Spanish torture instruments, which, not surprisingly, focused on the inquisition.
After feeling refreshed, we continued our bus ride through the mountains, and then quickly descended towards the coast. At last we had arrived in Santander! The first thing we did was take off our shoes to walk the beach. We also took some stellar photos atop a very square rock by the shore.
Regrouping, we bought ice cream cones and took a hike to a public zoo that had seals and sea lions! From there we continued through a shady park area to arrive at Magdalena Palace, a mansion that served as the summer residence of King Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia.
Unlike the majority of students visiting from Valladolid, my group from Akron decided to stay an extra day in Santander so as the tour was ending, we headed to check into our hostel. For me, staying in a hostel was a completely new experience, and I was impressed at how modern it was and how kindly the owner treated us.
In the evening, we took another walk, chatted atop towels on the beach, and then split up to investigate different restaurants for dinner. Afterwards, we explored the nightlife in Santander and went to bed early the next morning. The following day, I decided to attend my first ever mass in Spanish, and then we opted to check out a marine museum instead of going to the beach (the water was too cold to swim). The museum had an awesome aquarium, and they even had a giant squid encased in glass!
Reuniting for the afternoon, we again got ice cream, and slowly made our way to the bus station, not wanting to leave! It was a weekend of sun, history, and camaraderie, and definitely stands out as a highlight of my summer!
