Feliz Día de San Valentín!
- Jessica Detwiler
- Feb 16
- 4 min read
In true Valentine's Day spirit, my friends and I pulled out all the stops this past Friday to make this holiday a special celebration. The night was truly the perfect culmination to a great week full of sun and post-work hangouts. It felt like an early end to winter and although I'm sure the hibernation weather will return soon, it was a lovely reminder of what is awaiting us in April and May!
I started off the week with a Monday full of errands and taking the little rascal Pana for a walk. I have really been trying to teach him not to bite the leash when we go on excursions but when he gets overexcited, all that progress goes right out the window. We walked across the city to drop some cookies off at Chris and Mortiz's apartment and after being with the boys, Pana was far to excited to behave on the walk back...evidence below.
One of Elena's best childhood friends, Dave, was visiting Santander this week and it was so fun to show him our favorite parts of the city. We had an amazing (and VERY Spanish) dinner at Bodega Fuente Dé on Tuesday where we ordered a spread of meats, cheeses, and other classic tapas dishes. Spanish food is such an interesting combination of items and I think Dave really got a good idea of some of the most typical plates.
On Thursday I decided to fully lean into Valentine's Day by making some heart-shaped jam thumbprint cookies. I had learned that day that my co-worker Paula's birthday was on February 14th as well so I had double motivation to bake. The first batch didn't have enough flour and they didn't hold their shape well. But, after I fixed that issue, they came out pretty perfect! Some of the hearts were a bit wonky looking, but delicious nonetheless.
As per our weekly tradition, our group met up for some pre-dance drinks and card games. Elvira and Lucía, our new Spanish friends, taught us Americans a new version of "Never Have I Ever" that was super fun! Thankfully, this week was slightly less crowded at bachata although there were still more people than usual. I am hoping that once the study abroad semester ends, the number will go back to normal and we can learn some more interesting routines!
Friday was a great day from start to finish! Everyone was in a great mood at work and it was super sweet to see all the kids celebrating Valentine's Day. It was also perfect weather, except for being a bit windy, and I went for a lovely afternoon run to Magdalena Palace. This is by far my favorite route in the city despite the steep hill up to reach the palace and I look forward to doing it every week.
Anna and I got ready together (hence the first photo in this post) and met up with Dave and Elena at La Tasca for a delicious dinner of pizza and caprese salad. From there our night continued to several bars where our group kept growing and growing. We finally ended up at the karaoke bar and had the best time singing, dancing and playing darts until far too late in the morning.
Dave and I preformed twice and I have to say, we killed it. The combination of "Don't go Breaking my Heart" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" was a crowd-pleaser for the Spanish and English speakers alike. It was so much fun to have such a silly, energetic night with our group and I felt so grateful to have met them all this year <3
Yesterday, after a late wake-up for all of us, Anna and I went to try a new spot for brunch where you can get a toast, coffee, and little sweet treat for under $5! I am not ready to return to US prices...we are so spoiled here with how cheap it is to eat out. The little bakery, called Dulce Cereza Pastelería, is fully furnished with everything a shade of pink and has the most impressive selection of "New York" style cookies (?).
We both opted for an avocado toast with scrambled eggs and it absolutely hit the spot! I will definitely be returning here to try out some of their other offerings and to bring some visitors to brunch.
Since it was such a goregous day, we changed into bathing suits and caught the bus to one of the beaches that is a little further away to play some volleyball. We met up with our group of friends and spent the entire afternoon locked into tournament style games. Eventually, we warmed up enough to make the brave sprint into the freezing cold water! Despite the initial shock, it felt so nice to be submerged in the ocean and ended up being one of my favorite parts of the day<3
Sadly, Dave's time in Spain came to an end last night and we rounded out his trip with some gelato and a visit to one of our new favorite bars. We met up with my roommate Hada and her friend Lucía and had a lovely time chatting around one of the outdoor stoves. Elena, Dave and I called it an early night and went off to bed to catch up on some sleep we were desperately missing from the previous two nights.
There will not be a blog update next Sunday since I will be skiing in Chamonix, France exactly one week from today!! I am SO excited to see and experience the Alps with such an awesome group and will undoubtedly have lots of pictures and stories to share.
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