Spring Break Part 2: Alicante

So yesterday morning we returned from a great week in Alicante, a town in southern Spain right on the Mediterranean. I got back from Paris, had a day to pack, and on the 1st I went with Summer, Natasha, Destiny, and Camille to the beach for Semana Santa. We flew in and out of Santander, a town about an hour bus ride away from Bilbao, and wow...it is seriously the smallest airport I have ever seen! Once we arrived in Alicante, we were picked up by the caretakers of our apartment. Hours before we left, we found out there was problems with our original apartment, but they found us a 3 room/ 1 bath apartment that ended up being really nice! In total, we had four great days where we went to the beach or the pool by our apartment. The other "cooler" days (it was still consistently 60+ degrees our whole trip), we went to the internet cafe or spent way too much time watching old, Lifetime channel-like movies - enjoying the fact that we finally had TV channels in English. Summer stated that the whole week was pretty much just a giant sleepover; we all stayed up way too late, ate great meals, constantly snacked on junk food, and had lots of really great conversations. We really only have a month left together, so this trip was a great opportunity to bond and spend time together as a group. Highlights of the trip for me were going to the beach and swimming in the Mediterranean sea, running on the beach at sunset, and dancing to a satellite radio station on TV called "Gaydar radio".

Easter breakfast on the terrace

Here's a fun anecdote from our return trip to Bilbao...So when we booked our ticket back from Alicante to Santander, no one really looked up bus schedules from Santander to Bilbao. Therefore, when we flew in to Santander at 10pm, there was no more buses leaving to our city the rest of the evening. We were essentially stranded. To top that off, we found out that the airport closed at midnight and re-opened at 6am...so we originally thought we were stranded for 6 hours, outside, with all of our luggage. great. But once we landed, and asked a couple of people, we discovered that we could take a bus into the central part of Santander, where there was a bus leaving for Bilbao at 6am. Once we got on the very last bus leaving for the central part of town, our driver told us even greater news - that there was a bus going to Bilbao at 3:45am. We got to the central bus station around 11:15pm, and found a Chinese restaurant open until midnight conveniently situated next to the terminal. So we went for a late dinner and tried to stay there as long as possible, still anticipating hours of being stranded outside until the bus came. Once we finally left, we found that we could sit inside the bus station until 1am when they closed. We found a great spot on the floor to sprawl out on, and found free wi-fi so, like anyone deprived of free internet for a week, all the girls were in heaven. However, at 1 we were kicked out, and still had to spend 2 hours sitting outside until the station opened again at 3. We were a sight to see - five girls, all dressed for the beach, laying outside the station with beach towels thrown over them for warmth. Everyone basically pulled everything they owned out of their suitcases and threw on layers for our impromptu outdoor "camping" trip. Good thing Santander seems to be a safe town, and the rest of the night went without a hitch, and Summer and I finally made it home around 5:30am. It was a unplanned adventure, but made for a night we wont forget anytime soon!

Outside our apartment

Now, we have the weekend free to hang out and school starts again on Monday. Last night we went to a reggae bar, which was interesting, and today I think we're going to the beach. I've really enjoyed this long break, but it will be nice to go back and see everyone at school again, and get back into my routine. Only a month left!

Summer and I heading to the beach

Spring Break Part 2: Alicante

Alicante, Spain