With hubby working the evening shift (3:30pm ’til Midnight) this week, our hours during the day for errands and exploring are limited. Mid week we made a bike run into the nearby city of Santander with a number of goals in mind. We wanted to have a look around the city, get some exercise and run errands. 

The bike ride took us along small coastal roads and I couldn’t help but think that the landscape was a lot like the coastal scenery in the south and west of Ireland. Rolling green hills, small fields with stone walls and cows and more goats than sheep. The houses weren’t that dissimilar except for the red tiled roofs. The one big difference here is definitely better weather. The sun shone bright in a blue cloudless skies as we made our way up hill and down dale until we reached the suburbs of Santander. 

The port city of Santander is the capital of the Cantabrian region. Small but perfectly formed it has beautiful beaches and lots of wonderful green spaces dotted throughout. The narrow streets, many of which are pedestrianised lead from one plaza to another, with beautiful ornate buildings. A treelined promenade and cycle path runs along the waterfront, from the stunning Palaccio de la Magelena on a oceanfront promontory in the east to the Ferry Port in the south of the city.

We did achieve much of what we planned for the day but struck out on most of the errands, it seems hardware stores and banks that provide coin are hard to come by. Oh well, we have the perfect excuse to go back…not that we needed one.