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If I learned one thing on this trip, it is that you must not try to find somewhere to sleep around Semana Santa , at the last minute, in the northern part of Spain. We made the mistake and bitterly regretted it. First, we spent a considerable amount of money on international phone calls, from Portugal to Spain, then we had to jump over several of the towns we wanted to visit, either because the youth hostel was full or closed or because there wasn't one at all! We still got the chance to visit two wonderful towns such as Salamanca and San Sebastian. As the early birds we always were, we started wandering through the streets of Salamanca a little before sunrise. This way we had a nice look of this beautiful village still asleep. The old cathedral was empty when we entered it, but as we had to pay to enter the new one, we didn't get a chance to see it from the inside. In the old part of town, we also took a look at the famous University of Salamanca, where Christopher Columbus' travel project was first rejected (sic)! All in all, besides the fact that we managed to get lost while going back to the youth hostel (which is expensive and has few services but is really comfortable) we fell under the charm of Salamanca. We had to leave fast, though, because our deadline for getting back to Canada was getting closer! Our last Spanish stop was in San Sebastian. You can ask [ Cristina ] more about this city, as we were there at the same time! Unfortunately, neither of us knew about it… San Sebastian, city of the sea, has some of the best surf beaches in Europe or so is said! There we found some beautiful architecture, some Rococo monuments and bridges as we'd never seen before. The cathedral |
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| seen through the blooming cherry trees, is very impressive, as is the sun clock adjusted to its shadow. It is unbelievable how a long walk along the beach in early April can be soothing. All along the sand, we could admire a fence made with the symbol of the city, La Concha , which looks like a doubled circle in a box, symbolizing the shape of the Island on San Sebastian. Sadly, after two wonderful days, we had to leave San Sebastian and Spain and head back to France, where we visited some friends before reaching Paris. We took about a week to go all the way up, stopping in Sauternes and Dallet. We had just enough money left to travel by train, so we took it easy and reached Paris in as good a shape as is possible after seven months on the road! We spent our last two days shopping and walking, grabbing our chance to visit the Sacred Heart Sanctuary, so crowded that we could hardly walk and see anything! And then, April tenth arrived and we took our plane… I won't bother you, dear readers, with the details of the coming-back-de pression, but if you ever do what I did, be prepared for a big change in your life, and know that great times always come back! |
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