Well, March is already here and it seemed to have started opposite than the 'in like a lion out like a lamb' saying. On Saturday, the last days of February, we were supposed to have the 'perfect storm' and the newspapers and radio were warning people not to leave thier houses after 6pm. We shut all the windows, pulled the shutters and waited...and waited and waited. No big storm ever came. At 6pm on the dot, I was walking along the beach with a t-shirt, not feeling any perfect storm hitting! Somehow it missed San Sebastián and made a big ruckus in France, but we got lucky.
After that, the weather was gorgeous for a few days, so Heather and I took advantage and planned an Hondarribia tourist day. I go there every week day, but am pretty used to getting off the bus and speed-walking straight up the hill to work, and really never appreciate it for the little beach town that it is. After Spanish class we took the bus, and Heather was quite excited to see the bus ride. It has become quite mundane for me, but it really is a gorgeous ride, between rolling green hills and through little villages. Our first stop in Hondarribi was the beach of course! It's funny, I have worked there for a year and a half and have NEVER seen the beach. It was quite big and of course deserted, but as the warm weather comes, I am sure it will be packed. I definitley won't ever go to the Hondarribi beach in the summer - can't imagine seeing all my students when I'm in a bikini. There has to be some student-teacher rule against that no? After some beach strolling we stopped at Il Capo, a cute little Italian restaurant where we sometimes order pizza from at work. With our tummies full with 
tasty pizza and some pasta we continued our walking tour of the city and headed up the hill to the old part. Alde Zaharra in Euskera if you were curious. This part of town, I have seen before, because sometimes I come to work early and just wander around. The houses are basically built right on top of each other, smooshed into a small walled part of the city. All painted white with green and red (the Basque colors) and sometimes blue accents, the town is quite picturesque and makes you feel like you've really walked into a walled-city from many years ago. The cobblestone roads warn you when a car is coming, which still amazes me that they even fit on the narrow and steep roads. Heather found Hotel Obispo and was tickled pink, because her last name is Bishop - which is Obispo in Spanish! I didn't know that. As time neared for me to go to work, we decided to finish up the trip with a coffee to counteract the wine we had a lunch. We entered the Parador - the 4-star famous hotel in Hondarribi. Built in an old fort, the grey stone blocks made me feel like I was drinking a café con leche in a castle! I wish we could have stayed the night there! When we were finished feeling like queens, I headed across the bridge to work, where Jon and Xabi, my favorite 14-year old students, were anxiously waiting for me. Usually I am at work like 20 minutes early, so arriving 4 minutes early had scared them and they were worried I wasn't going to show haha.
tasty pizza and some pasta we continued our walking tour of the city and headed up the hill to the old part. Alde Zaharra in Euskera if you were curious. This part of town, I have seen before, because sometimes I come to work early and just wander around. The houses are basically built right on top of each other, smooshed into a small walled part of the city. All painted white with green and red (the Basque colors) and sometimes blue accents, the town is quite picturesque and makes you feel like you've really walked into a walled-city from many years ago. The cobblestone roads warn you when a car is coming, which still amazes me that they even fit on the narrow and steep roads. Heather found Hotel Obispo and was tickled pink, because her last name is Bishop - which is Obispo in Spanish! I didn't know that. As time neared for me to go to work, we decided to finish up the trip with a coffee to counteract the wine we had a lunch. We entered the Parador - the 4-star famous hotel in Hondarribi. Built in an old fort, the grey stone blocks made me feel like I was drinking a café con leche in a castle! I wish we could have stayed the night there! When we were finished feeling like queens, I headed across the bridge to work, where Jon and Xabi, my favorite 14-year old students, were anxiously waiting for me. Usually I am at work like 20 minutes early, so arriving 4 minutes early had scared them and they were worried I wasn't going to show haha.Other than that excursion, nothing too big has happened. I successfully booked my Semana Santa (Easter Week) plans. We have two weeks and for these two weeks I will be hitting Copenhagen, Stockholm, Riga (it's in Latvia 
- a place I didn't know existed until two weeks ago), and Berlin! Counting down the days! I leave the 26th of March and will of course make blogs alllll about the trip. I will write more blogs before I go for sure, but wanted to share the future plans with you!
- a place I didn't know existed until two weeks ago), and Berlin! Counting down the days! I leave the 26th of March and will of course make blogs alllll about the trip. I will write more blogs before I go for sure, but wanted to share the future plans with you!Hope your March is starting off well - getting more to the lamb part quickly! It's going to get colder here, so I will pull the boots back on soon, but hopefully not for much longer! I need some warm weather over here! I have started buying flowers every week though - makes it feel more like Spring. This week I bought some daffodils from the center outdoor market and put some blue food-coloring in them to give them a little spice, just like Grammy does! They brighten my day every morning :)
Besos!
Amanda
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