week one in pamplona

Our first week of exploring has come to a close. It's hard to believe I've already been abroad for 10 days, and I'm loving every second. We've already fallen into a comfortable weekly routine of going to classes in the morning, finding a small place for lunch, and then wondering around the city until it's time to do something again. 

Monday we started our food adventures at Hemingway's Café Iruña. We had no idea that this was a tourist destination. It wasn't until the next day when our teacher asked us how our first day was that we knew anything about it being THE café where Hemingway went...obviously none of us are up on our history of Pamplona...

After our first (of many I'm sure) experience of food not being quite what we expected, we wandered around the city with no particular destination in mind. We walked and talked and looked and eventually stumbled upon a gorgeous old place called La Cuidadela (the citadel). I think so far that is my favorite place in the city. Built 1571-1645 under the orders of King Felipe II of Spain and considered one of the finest examples of military architecture of the Spanish Renaissance, the citadel has now become a green space in the city that is a perfect spot for the afternoon siesta. 

Tuesday I decided to go on a little adventure by myself and eat at Okapi Taberna. After a wonderful little meal of pintxos (I'm still learning all the food words so I'm honestly not sure what I ate, but I learned that bacalao is cod and is very common here), I walked around the city trying to find a public restroom for a few hours before it was time to meet back up with the group. Turns out the public restrooms have hours. 4:30-till sometime before 10:00. How strange. 

We met up with the Clemson, Alabama, and Auburn group for a pick-up game of soccer on one of the lawns near la Cuidadela. I was one of 3 girls to play, and I had a blast. We ended up playing for 2 hours before calling it quits. We all decided to meet up for pintxos that night at Kiosko in Plaza del Castillo. The night bus ends at 12:10 on weeknights so I cut out "early", but there were nearly 30 of us there all talking and having a grand time. 

Wednesday we lunched at Argileku--Basque for "place of light." Afterward the 8 of us took over one of the basketball courts in Mendillori and played and chatted for about 3 hours. There is the nifty little outdoor "gym" that is designed so that all the machines use your bodyweight instead of cables and such.  There are so many different types of public spaces here.  It's fascinating.

Thursday we needed a break, so after a lengthy lunch (it seems to be a trend) at a small paella place, we all returned to our respective houses to rest before juevintxos--jueves y pintxos combined for a lovely night of vino y pintxos for only 2€. 

Friday I had every intention of taking a nap, but instead I was again convinced that 3 hrs of basketball after eating in the café Florida was a good idea. So, I hd yet to take a siesta and was definitely starting to feel it...

I love my neighborhood. I'm about as far east as you can get in Sarriguren (the first bus stop on the way in and the last bus stop on the way out), so I'm right next to the countryside. It's a fantastically beautiful place to go on a run through the farmland and around trails at the base of the surrounding mountains. I have eaten more carbs in the last 10 days then ever in my whole life, but with the basketball and the walking and the soccer and the running it seems incredibly necessary.

We are on our first excursion outside of Pamplona now. As I type this we are heading to Bilbao to see the city and the Guggenheim, then Sunday on to San Sebastián for a day in the city and at the beach. I think I may have to renege on my promise not to post more than twice a week...even though I'm trying to keep track of everything, writing about it days later seems stale and list-like and uninteresting. And I can promise you that my experience thus-far has not been anywhere close to any of those things. I'll consider 3 times a week and see how that goes. 

I'm loving the group, loving the adventures, loving the life (except for the plethora of white bread and the tiny breakfasts). I'll be in touch!