I don't speak dutch.

I have been free from work, school and any other commitment for a good 15 days or so now, spent time in 2.5ish countries, and already I know Monday morning will be back to real Monday morning way too quickly and I'm going to have to start getting up at 7 am and remembering what day of the week, what year it is, etc, etc.
To put a long, hilarious story into a nutshell, vacation time and the fake holidays have treated me very well and brought along many good and well, interesting, adventures. I got to spend three days in Amsterdam, three days in País Vasco, 1 day on the autobus, 6 hours sleeping in Granada, and a good week or more resting up and perfecting my Northwestern American English in Huelva with an amiga from my university back home. I have slept like a princesa.

My three days spent in Amsterdam were a mix of bright lights, dutch delights, a ton of English speaking, and very freezing cold weather (yes, I have become so weak after living in Andalucía that 30 degrees Fahrenheit is basically unbearable now). We stayed in a Christian hostel in the infamous Red Light District and it was an adventure in itself sharing a room with some potential Hungarian drug dealers. Good times. The definite highlights of Amsterdam were the Heineken Experience, the Van Gogh museum, and just the prettiness of the city itself covered in snow and decorated up for Christmas with surprises around each and every corner. Due to my ultimate whiteness, many locals came up to me trying to ask me questions in Dutch, and I did not understand a word.


A hot mess of Christmas lights in Amsterdam

On Christmas morning, we woke up bright and early to head out to one of the coolest airports I've ever been to and fly back to the wonderful land of Spain, destination Bilbao. The airport was in a state of cheering up dreary Christmas passengers. There were many random happenings put on by employees there, complete with live music, acrobats, remixing of Christmas carols, and most flights heading out for on-time departures.

We arrived to a sunshiney Bilbao earlier than scheduled and were instantly impressed by the beautiful, clear Spanish spoken by the Basque people and the amazing landscape of the North of Spain. It didn't seem like Christmas one bit and I didn't mind. We spent three days in Bilbao and there is something I can't quite describe about it, but I was enamored and didn't want to leave. Our amazing "Christmas miracle" four star hotel gave us the gift of free tickets to the Guggenheim and it has to be one of the best museums I have ever been to. It is very unique and sparks so much thinking as you go through its many rooms and expositions, I would love to go back. Part of me will always want to live in the north of Spain.

Beautiful, sunshiney days in Bilbao

Today is the final holiday of Spain's crazy holiday season, and the Reyes Magos did not bring me any gifts, which means I must have been bad or slept so long that someone stole my present. Oh well, I am really glad the holiday season is officially closed until next year.