Santander was the surprise of Spain! We literally knew nothing when we booked our trip. All we knew was that we had to leave Logrono and needed to stay somewhere in Spain for three more days before we were heading back to Bilbao and that there was literally nothing available anywhere nearby (listen y’all, do as we say, not as we do. Planning ahead is key!). So off we went to Santandar.
Our apartment was a pleasant surprise and came complete with a little kids corner that Nora loved. The first night we arrived we did a little grocery shopping and ordered a pizza and had a chill night at home.
The next day, our Santander adventure started with a walk to the Parque de la Vaguada de Las Llamas, which would basically become our home base in Santandar. It’s sort of like a mini (Central Park, but like very mini) and it was great!! The whole park has lots of different playground areas, workout areas, walking and running trails, a cafe, and even, Nora’s favorite – an ice cream truck. On day one the weather was great and we hit up almost all the areas of the the park. If you ever find yourself in Santander, definitely find yourself at this park. As a family becoming really, really familiar with parks all over the world, we highly recommend this one.
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After lunch and more play at the park, we walked over to the beach. Even though it was a hair chilly in my book for a beach day, we had fun drawing (shout out to our Aggies for beating Alabama – really late shout out) and playing in the sand. It really is a beautiful beach. Like San Sabastian, I would absolutely love to visit when the weather warms.
After the beach we walked to an outdoor cafe and had our favorite Spanish snack – wine and potato chips.
It was a great day. I love the walkabilty of all of the places we visit. I wouldn’t be sad if I never had to get in a car again. Walking with my family makes me so happy.
Day two in Santander started with a solo run through the Parque de la Vaguada de Las Llamas. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy running in new places? Did you know I used to keep a blog about running? It just does so much for me mentally.
After morning school (we had a lesson on stranger safety – my homeschooling really is questionable), Nora and I hit up the park for more time on the zipline and slides. Paul met us after his own run we had lunch together.
In the later afternoon we headed over to Magdalene Peninsula. Another must-do in Santander! First, and this won’t come as a shock, we found a great little playground overlooking Playa de Bikinis. Nora had so much fun playing at the park. Paul had a blast too 😉
We continued walking around the peninsula and visited the Palace de Magdalena (summer home to the royal family – lots and lots of Downton Abbey vibes), a little mini-zoo (zoo is a very generous term – we saw some penguins and a sea lion), and a small boating exhibit, all before returning to the playground. You remember I said it was a great playground? Well, in part because it sat right next to a cafe. In large part 😉
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| Seriously, if anyone from our home neighborhood is reading this, how do we get a wine cafe at the park??
As I put this post together about our little, random, quick trip to Santander, I realized that I really, really loved it. I didn’t expect much from our visit, but we had a great time. Between the beach and the playgrounds (I didn’t even talk about the beach playgrounds) and the cafes there was so much to do as a family. I feel like this entry isn’t really capturing how great Santander was, but as I’m sitting back in a hotel room in France where it’s currently cold and rainy, I’m dreaming of our Santander days.
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