¿Pueden comer las cabezas?

Since it was our first weekend in Spain, and we didn't really have our feet on the ground until Wednesday, most of us chose not to try to put together a trip to Madrid or Barcelona or any other city for the weekend. However, three of us did find our way to Comillas, a small city to the west of Santander famous for El Capricho, one of Gaudí's first houses. We figured out the bus system (sort of) and went over the hills to Comillas. We arrived in time for lunch and had our first taste of El Menu Del Día, which is something practically every restaurant offers and consists of a first and second course, bread, a beverage, and dessert for a relatively low price considering all of the food you get. I chose Paella for my first course and Chipirones Encebollados for my second course, which was a sauce with squid and onions served with rice. Both were really, really good. The paella was served with the biggest shrimp I have ever seen on top and they still had their shells, eyes, and legs. We weren't really sure how to eat them, but assumed that we just peeled them down the way they are sold in America. When the waiter took the plate full of shrimp legs and heads, we asked, "¿Pueden comer las cabezas?" since we still weren't sure we were eating them correctly. For the record, you don't eat the heads, even in Spain. For dessert, we all got quesada, which is a dessert typical in Cantabria, the state or province (not really sure what it is technically called) that Santander is in.

Paella-my new favorite food!

After lunch, we set out for El Capricho. We were able to go in all of the rooms in the house as well as the balconies and grounds. It was one of Gaudí's first houses and was really neat. The outside had bricks and many tiles with sunflowers and leaves on them.

El Capricho

From there, we walked up to the Palacio, but it was closed for siesta, and since it was Saturday, it didn't reopen, so we just took pictures. It was on top of a hill, so we had a good view of the city.

El Palacio

We continued walking toward Universidad Pontifica, but it too was closed because it was Saturday, which was unfortunate since it looked really neat. We walked along the road that goes along the coast and had great views of the cliffs. We ended up walking a lot yesterday, but it was a very relaxing way to spend the day after such a busy week. By the time we boarded the bus to go home, we were exhausted!

the ocean!