Since we never actually got to visit Santander the first
time we tried to go there we decided a trip back was in order. So we took a long weekend and headed up there
for Halloween. Halloween isn’t really
celebrated here anyway so we were not missing any spooky fun by going
away. We took the train and it was
around 3.5 hours for the trip. If you
read my post on Renfe you can hear all about the train debacle.
Santander is on the Cantabrian coast of Spain and its
architectural style is from the 19th and early 20th
centuries. It is a fairly big city with
a lot going on. There are definitely
tourists but I feel there would likely be more in the summer than the fall
since they have amazing beaches and great nightlife. Our hotel was right on the beach and so we
had a gorgeous view of the ocean. We
left our window open at night so we could just listen to the crashing of the
waves. Brought us back home in our minds
and made us feel very comfortable and happy.
View from our hotel room
We wandered through the city and found some very charming
cafes and interesting shops. It was nice
too because the people there seem to understand that not everyone wants to do
nothing all afternoon and all day Sunday so there were shops open all day. Made me feel like I was back in North
America! I was happy. The bars/cafés here are pretty great in terms
of tiny snacks with your drinks. We went
to this bar one night called Bruja Bar (Witches bar) I just saw it down an ally
and was like that’s where we are going.
It was really neat because there were these witch figurines and things
hanging from the ceiling everywhere. Also
they played cool rock music which you do not often get at the bars here,
normally its just shitty pop music everywhere.
We stayed for 2 beers each and with that he gave us two bowls of chips,
2 bowls of olives and pickles and 2 dishes of mixed candies and nuts (mmm candy
and nuts together at last) It was pretty decent for 8 euros. Also on our last afternoon we decided to stop
for a beer before getting on the train and for 2 euros we each got a beer, a
bowl of chips and a bowl of olives. So it’s
worth going to Santander just for the free snacks!
The coast is really the best reason to go though. It stretches on forever it feels like and
there is nothing ahead of you but ocean.
The water is a perfect shade of blue and the higher up you get on the
shores the more the colours really stand out – blues and greens its awesome. We hiked along the shore for a few hours and
loved every minute. There are many turns
and cliffs you can climb up to and see the city from above. It was so great to just be near the water for
so long.
We found this place to be more of a city and less a place
time forgot so it was nice to not feel like we were living in the past for a
little while. It was a great place to
chill out for a weekend. I will say if
you find yourself near the train station and you see a tunnel full of gypsys
and you think you should walk through there – Do not do it. Its not worth it. It is a gypsy market but mostly it is actual
garbage and people touching you and you have to guard your purse with your
life. The whole time you will just wish you were somewhere else. Otherwise its awesome.
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